Euro 2020 Betting Guide: All you need to know about this summer’s European Championships

After the postponement of last summer’s Euro 2020 tournament, fans across Europe are buzzing for the beginning of it this summer.

12 countries are set to host this tournament, with the start date being the 11^th of June, and the first match will be played in Rome. The final will take place at Wembley Stadium in London on the 11^th of July. Below, we have listed the key things you need to know before the start of the tournament.

 

Countries are Allowed to Select 26-Player Squads

The big news broke out in April – instead of the usual 23-player squad, teams will be allowed to select 26 players for this summer’s European Championship. The explanation is that it was brought to lessen the workload of the players after an intense season. This rule was approved “in order to guarantee the smooth running and continuity of the competition”.

Teams will also be allowed to make five substitutes per game. It is important to note that, however, 23 players will still be the maximum number of players permitted on team sheets.

 

Host Cities

It was announced by UEFA that 11 cities will act as hosts for the matches: Amsterdam, Baku, Bucharest, Budapest, Copenhagen, Glasgow, London, Munich, Rome, Seville, and Saint Petersburg. Interestingly, Seville was not a planned host city, but it was selected to replace Bilbao, and Dublin, which was set to be home to four matches, has had three games moved to Saint Petersburg and one to London.

Officially, the reason why UEFA chose to have multiple host countries for the tournament is the fact that 2020 marks the 60^th anniversary of the first EURO in 1960.

 

Favourites and Underdogs

Understandably, world champions France are the favourites to win the tournament, which would be the second time they have won both the World Cup and the EURO one after another, having done that in 2000. By winning the tournament they will move level with Spain and Germany who have three championships.

The Netherlands is also among the favourites, although they have not qualified for the last two major tournaments. They have built a strong team in recent years, so definitely keep an eye on them.

Spain is always among the teams with a big chance of winning a major championship, and if they manage to do so this summer they will become the most successful team in European Championships history as it will be their fourth title.

Germany, Italy, Belgium, and England are the honourable mentions, with all of these teams having extremely talented squads at their disposal, so they are sure to cause problems to any team they face in the competition.

As for the underdogs, the first team that emerges is Portugal. Although they won the tournament in 2016 and are being led by Cristiano Ronaldo, bookmakers do not place them among the favourites for this summer’s competition.

Croatia is another team to look out for, they do have a change of generation at the moment, but they always seem to produce on the big stage.

 

Read More:

Will England win Euro 2020?

England favourites with France to win Euro 2020

Relevant news