Euro 2024 betting guide: Best bets, team trends and players to watch 

Euro 2024 is just days away.

The latest: UEFA's most coveted prize will be awarded on July 14 in Berlin, Germany. But it's the road to get there that's tough, with 24 of Europe's top teams battling it out through the group stage and knockout rounds.

Check out our Euro 2024 betting guide for our tournament best bets, team trends, players to watch, and more.

Euro 2024 betting guide

Field and odds to win the tournament

Let's quickly cover our bases for who's playing — and who's favoured — in Euro 2024.

Germany hosts the event and sits third on the odds board behind France and England. The Three Lions (+300) are favoured and hope to break through after several close calls in recent tournaments.

They finished runners-up to Italy in the last Euro Cup and were semi and quarterfinalists at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively.

Speaking of the Italians, they are +1,400 to defend their title. Luciano Spalletti's squad boasts a strong midfield but has some serious question marks on the back end.

Portugal and Spain are just ahead of Italy, tied at +800 odds. Cristiano Ronaldo could be making his last Euro dance with the Portuguese while Spain aims to cash in on some major hardware with their re-tooled youthful squad.

Here are the 10 teams with the shortest odds to win Euro 2024:

If you're interested in reading about some longer shot options, we'll point you towards these five Euro 2024 sleeper teams, including Denmark at +4,000.

Team trends: Can anyone stop Les Bleus?

Sleepers and dark horses are intriguing but the winner is likely coming from the group with odds shorter than 10-to-1.

England is favoured but France enters this tournament in great form.

Les Bleus hold FIFA's No. 2 ranking — behind only Argentina — and have a 10-2-2 record since losing in penalty kicks of the 2022 World Cup final.

They did just draw Canada, 0-0, in a pre-tournament friendly but Kylian Mbappe didn't play in that match.

Mbappe is arguably the best player in the world and the rest of France's roster is stacked with names like Antoine Griezmann, Aurelien Tchouameni and William Saliba, who can carry dominant play at each level of the field.

That squad put England to bed in the 2022 World Cup quarterfinal.

If something similar happens this year it could be Gareth Southgate's last gasp. His Lions enter with just one win in their last five fixtures (1-2-2). Losses to Iceland and Brazil coupled with ties to Belgium and North Macedonia should have fans worried.

England's defence is shaky at best, especially on the left side. It's offence led by Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham will have to carry the weight.

Finally, let's talk about the Germans.

They're the only group to have handed France a loss since the World Cup final — and they've done it twice. Germany had a nightmarish start to 2023 (0-1-3) but has been much better since Julian Nagelsmann was appointed last September.

The team has a strong mix of veterans like Toni Kroos, Leroy Sane and Joshua Kimmich alongside young studs such as Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala and Kai Havertz.

Germany is unbeaten in 2024 (3-1-0) with wins over France and Netherlands.

Players to watch

Mbappe just signed a massive contract to join Real Madrid but this Euro Cup has to be top of mind.

The French sensation ghosted in the last edition of this tournament, scoring zero goals and recording just one assist as Les Bleus were eliminated in the Round of 16.

I'll go ahead and call that a freakish outlier.

Mbappe won the Golden Boot at the 2022 World Cup and has 47 goals in 79 caps for France as a whole. He's coming off a 44-goal season for Paris Saint-Germain and should do damage this time around.

Another player worth watching is Mbappe's soon-to-be teammate, Jude Bellingham.

The English phenom is favoured (+175) to win UEFA Young Player of the Tournament for good reason. He just scored 23 goals in his first season for Real Madrid en route to winning La Liga.

Bellingham's 95th-minute equaliser 😤#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/2Udowr54A4

— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) March 28, 2024

It will be interesting to see where Southgate has Bellingham playing for England. He could slot in as the team's striker, though Kane currently occupies that spot, or play in the midfield.

Portugal's Ronaldo holds the third-shortest odds to win top goalscorer (+1,200) and fifth-shortest odds to win UEFA Player of the Tournament (+1,600) at 39 years old.

The striker scored 35 goals in 31 league games for Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League and had 10 goals for Portugal in Euro 2024 qualifying.

Euro 2024 betting guide: Best bets

With all that said, here are my best bets for Euro 2024:

Click linked odds to add selection to betslip. Note: Lines have changed/markets no longer available if grey.

Spain to win Group B (-125): Spain is in the Group of Death alongside Italy, Croatia and Albania but I think it'll come through with the most points.

Italy has some huge question marks with an injured defence and Croatia is still hanging onto a squad from its golden era that is well past its prime.

Spain, on the other hand, has a young and exciting team which advanced to the semifinals in Euro 2020. The squad just handed Andorra (5-1) and Northern Ireland (5-0) consecutive beatings in friendlies and also went 7-0-1 in qualifying.

Germany to reach semifinal (+110): I think France has the best team in this tournament but Germany isn't far behind.

And if both countries win their groups — as they're heavily favoured to do — the teams wouldn't be slated to meet until the championship match.

Germany's record with Nagelsmann at the helm gives me a lot to be excited about. The team has only conceded twice in four matches this year and has beaten France twice, alongside Netherlands.

That's not to mention the obvious advantage of hosting the tournament.

Wirtz UEFA Young Player of the Tournament (+600): Wirtz just helped Bayer Leverkusen win its first-ever Bundesliga title alongside the DFB Pokal in a historic, unbeaten double.

The 21-year-old forward netted 18 goals and added 19 assists for Leverkusen across all competitions and will form a deadly attacking trident alongside Kai Havertz and Jamal Musiala.

If Germany goes deep into this tournament as I expect it to, he will surely have a huge role in the team's success.

Wirtz has only scored one goal for Germany in 18 appearances but it was the game-winner against France in a March 2024 friendly. Expect big things from the young gun.

Soccer picks made at 1:18 p.m. on 06/11/2024.