The EUROS So Far

The favourites at the start were France and Belgium with their pool of talented stars but only 1 of them are left standing as we are down to the quarter-final stage of the Euro 2020 tournament.

The quality of the teams and the standard of play has been really high despite 9 own goals, the most there has been in any international tournament. 

All the teams have made an impact at the tournament even those that have exited early. Scotland held England to a draw, Macedonia qualified for their first major competition in their history and Hungary acquitted themselves admirably, holding France to a draw and were 6 minutes away from eliminating Germany. 

So, who remains and who do you think can progress now we are at the business end of the tournament?

Which Nation Can Progress in the Tournament?

World Champions Les Blues are out, losing to a spirited Switzerland if you can believe it and so are the Mannschaft losing to old adversaries England. So, let’s start with the 3 Lions, they boast a squad full of stars, some of which haven’t even got their boots muddy. Jadon Sancho has yet to feature in any of the games, and Jack Grealish has only played 112 mins out of 360 possible game minutes and never featured for the full 90 minutes in any game. But these are the exciting and gifted players that England will need as they go deeper in the tournament.  Grealish has made 2 assists already, 1 for Sterling, their top scorer and 1 for their captain Kane who has finally broken his duck. Maybe the news swirling around his transfer is distracting the Tottenham man.

Betting on Euro 2020 & Other Sports

There are tons of ways to bet on the Euro 2020 – have a bet with a friend, bet at a retail bookmaker, or bet via an online bookmaker. For a fun Euro 2020 Tournament Predictor try the euro 2020 predictor from freebets.com where there is a £50 Just Eat Voucher up for grabs just for entering. You will also see the best quarter-final bets and you have the options to share your prediction on Twitter! Plus, if you take a look around the site, you will find free bet bonus offers for joining up as a new member of one of the many formidable online bookies!

Next Up For England

Their next opponents are Ukraine and it will be their first game away from their home at Wembley. Ukraine went through the wars with Sweden that went to extra time and saw 3 players come off with injuries. The victors will face either the Czech Republic or Denmark in what must be the easier half of the draw. However, Denmark have been through a harrowing experience and the incentive for them to win the whole thing must be a potent force driving them forward.

Italy Belgium Face-Off

The plum tie of the round has to be Italy versus Belgium with the winner then clear favourites to progress to the final. Italy struggled to despatch a mid-level team in Austria after their dazzling group games but they are favourites with bookmakers but the match up is intriguing. Both teams play with an attacking mindset with surprisingly Belgium being the more pragmatic in this tournament as they rely on their midfield to pick passes to their in-form front line. Italy has shown themselves to be a more balanced team, relying less on 1 single striker and sharing the goals around the team.

Belgium are one of the oldest squads in the tournament and where the game could be won is in the fitness levels, as Italy seem fitter and press more aggressively so if they do turn the ball over regularly and keep possession, Belgium will tire earlier and afford Italy more chances. The other quarter final is between Spain and Switzerland, with Spain favourites but don’t write off the gutsy Swiss team who can be more clinical than the profligate Spanish attackers.

As we have seen already in the tournament, any team can win on their day, predicting the winner is pure guesswork. Often, it’s our attachment to a team that influences our call but as 32 become 8, the odds are narrowing as quickly as the number of games before the trophy is lifted.