- The Euro 2020 soccer tournament has reached the elimination round stage.
- France and Italy remain the top choices to win the tournament.
- England, Spain and Germany are also near the top of the betting board.
The Euro 2020 soccer tournament has reached the end of group play with elimination rounds set to begin on Saturday, June 26. Wales will play Denmark in Amsterdam at 5 PM local time which is 12:00 noon Eastern/3:00 PM Pacific in the US. In the second game, Italy will play Austria in London with an 8 PM local time kickoff that puts it at 3:00 PM Eastern/12 noon Pacific in the US.
The sixteen teams that have qualified for the elimination stage are:
GROUP WINNERS: Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, England, Sweden, France
GROUP RUNNERS-UP: Wales, Denmark, Austria, Croatia, Spain, Germany
BEST THIRD PLACED TEAMS: Switzerland, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Portugal
The Euro 2020 Final will stay in London after a bit of discord between UEFA and the British government. There had been some concern that the UK travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic would see the final relocated out of London. UEFA wanted modifications that would allow thousands of supporters from overseas along with 2,500 or so ‘VIPs’ to travel to England and attend the semifinals and finals at Wembley Stadium in London. The exact terms of the agreement have not been made public but one component of the deal that is known is that the final three games will have 75% capacity at Wembley which will put the attendance at over 60,000.
UEFA’s president, Aleksander Ceferin, said in the statement announcing the attendance deal:
“The last 18 months have taught us — both on and off the pitch — how integral fans are to the fabric of the game.”
There hasn’t been much in the way of off field controversy otherwise. The highlight of the late group stage has been a ‘scantily clad fan’ invading the pitch during the Belgium-Finland game in an apparent promotional stunt for a gimmick cryptocurrency.
The futures betting odds have also been revised though France and Italy remain the favorites. Here are the updated numbers from BetOnline.ag:
ODDS TO WIN EURO 2020
France +350 Italy +550 England +650 Germany +650 Spain +750 Belgium +800 Netherlands +900 Portugal +1200 Denmark +2000 Croatia +5000 Sweden +5000 Switzerland +8000 Wales +8000 Czech Republic +10000 Ukraine +12500 Austria +15000
We’ll have a handicapping overview of the Euro 2020 elimination rounds up tomorrow.
