England, France or Germany? Who is the biggest favourite for the European Championships?

The European Championship kicks off on Friday evening and as always we can look forward to a battle of stars and the best that European football has to offer. But who is the biggest favourite to win the overall title? Let’s take a closer look.

England

The biggest favourite according to the bookmakers. No wonder, the team around Bellingham, Kane, Foden or Saka has a huge strength and desire to finally prove something. But that’s just it, England have never won the EURO and only at the last tournament reached the final for the first time.

England have only one trophy in total and that was the gold from the 1966 World Cup. It has been waiting for success ever since and the European Championships seem to be anathema to the Three Lions. Moreover, coach Gareth Southgate has been hugely criticised for failing to win anything with such a strong squad. That’s why we’d look for the very biggest favourite a little elsewhere.

France

And where else but in a team that has reached the final three times in the last four championships (European Championship or World Cup). The breadth of the squad is the envy of all of Europe, as Didier Deschamps could easily field two or three elite elevens.

At the same time, he has not only quantity, but mainly quality. Kylian Mbappé is one of the best strikers in the world, while Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann have consistently performed well for the national team. In midfield and defence, there is also plenty to choose from.

Germany

The third biggest favourite is probably home Germany. Although they dropped out of the group at the last World Cup in Qatar and experienced a major crisis, they are now slowly returning to their strength. The return of both Toni Kroos and Manuel Neuer will help the team tremendously.

The slight downside may be that the Germans were not so much in the thick of it, as they were guaranteed participation thanks to the hosts and thus have not played a competitive match since December 2022. However, it won’t particularly upset such a packed squad and winning on home soil will be a huge motivation.

Portugal

We add a fourth pick for the winner, and that is the Czech Republic’s opponent from the group. As far as names go, Portugal have probably the most stacked squad of all, at least in attack. Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Félix, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes or Rafael Leao are a formidable force. In addition to that, a quality defence led by Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo, Diogo Dalot and Nuno Mendes.

The reason why Portugal are not being given more chances is the lack of a system. After all, stars on paper don’t automatically mean victory, and it’s creaked a lot in recent championships. But new coach Roberto Martínez flew through qualifying without losing a point and has indicated that he has done a good job with the team.

Source: UEFA, Transfermarkt