Bill Connelly, ESPN Staff Writer
England lost to Iceland. France drew with Canada. Germany drew with Ukraine and lost to Greece. Portugal lost to Croatia. Italy did the bare minimum against Turkey and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Euro 2024 starts on Friday, and a lot of the tournament’s betting favorites didn’t leave amazing last impressions on the way to Germany.
If I’m being honest: It’s a lot more fun that way. After a club season defined by dominance and relative predictability — can you believe Real Madrid won the Champions League and LaLiga, Manchester City won the Premier League and PSG won Ligue 1? — this tournament opens with a spectacular sense of uncertainty. The pressure is high, the underdog stories are legion, and for at least a moment, the favorites don’t really look like favorites. Let the roller coaster begin.
You’ve done all of your tournament prep. You’ve read the big previews, you’ve checked the squad lists twice, you’ve checked on the young stars, you’ve taken your daily dose of England angst. Now let’s touch on each team one last time and make our picks.
A couple of notes: Odds below are derived from current ESPN BET odds. Statistical leaders below are the players who have generated the highest combined xG (shot value) and xPVA (the possession value added by pass completions) over the past year. We have dabbled with that combination before. It is an offense-friendly measure, but hey, scoring is important, right?