Since the expansion of the final part of the Euro to 24 participants, those teams that look like random guests have also begun to enter the tournament. However, Group D at the upcoming continental forum looks very worthy – even with almost three qualifying places, the teams will still have to compete for the playoffs, and it will not be easy for fans to guess who will win the quartet. If you like sports betting and want to make a forecast, go to mostbet-uz-aviator.com, and we will look at how bookmakers see the group’s triumphs.
France – 1.55
Le Bleu are considered one of the two main favorites of the entire tournament – their chances are rated on par with the British or slightly lower. The French national team is strong in any generation: It’s not for nothing that she is twice a world champion and the same number of European champions. It will also not work to refer to the fact that these achievements are the merit of past generations: not so long ago the Gallic roosters took silver in Qatar.
In the qualifying group, the French went without losing points until the last round, and only when first place and a ticket to the Euro were guaranteed did they relax a little, sharing points with Greece. Note that the traditionally powerful Netherlands were also among the competitors, but this did not bother France. The only thing that spoils the almost perfect picture is that over the past year, Le Bleu played freight trains with the Germans twice – and lost both times.
Quartet D should not frighten the French, if only because the strongest rival there is the familiar Netherlands, who were unable to stop the Gallic Roosters in qualifying. Actually, France has two almost equivalent squads – they can rotate without losing the quality of the game and maintaining the level of motivation for their players. First place in the group is not guaranteed, but it is very likely, and the odds for passing ⅛ give a meager 1.04. Failure to make the playoffs would be a huge sensation – it is estimated at 11.0.
Netherlands – 3.9
Three times silver medalists of the world championships, as well as winners of Euro 88 – this is what the main achievements of the Dutch team look like, and there are also a number of slightly more modest successes. However, the Netherlands cannot be called a stable giant of European football – rather, they have very strong generations alternating with worthy, but not outstanding ones. The current composition is rather the second case; at least, no one seriously considers the Orange a contender for the title, and it will be extremely difficult to get on the podium.
In qualifying, the Netherlands had no problems with weaker opponents, but were beaten twice by France and finished second. But in the League of Nations last summer, the Orange lost to both the Croats and the Italians, and in the March freight train, they also lost to the Germans. The Netherlands are not bad, but they haven’t beaten top-level opponents for too long.
In their quartet, the Netherlands may well defeat the Poles and Austrians, but the French must be in a special mood – they must take revenge. If they succeed, the Orange can lead the group; if not, the second position looks capable. Koeman’s team’s entry into the playoffs is valued at only 1.21, and failure to reach the playoffs is valued at 4.5.
Austria – 9.5
In the middle of the last century, the Austrians even took bronze at the World Cup once, but this team has long been missing stars from the sky – it is a strong middle peasant, nothing more. The Austrian national team is going to the Euro for only the fourth time in its history, and had never made it there until the final part was expanded to 24 participants (in 2008 the country participated as the host of the tournament). But at the last continental forum, Das Tim reached the playoffs for the first time, and probably wants to repeat the success.
The Austrians performed well in qualifying: they took only one point from the Belgians, but they took all six in confrontations with the equally strong middle peasants the Swedes. As a result, Austria became second, ahead of the third Scandinavians by as much as 9 points – maybe Sweden itself was to blame, but this still had to be taken advantage of. Last fall, the Red and Whites unexpectedly tied with Moldova in a freight train, but then picked up the pace – they defeated Germany and Slovakia (also a Euro participant) 2:0 each, and simply defeated a generally good Turkey with a score of 6:1.
Such low chances of winning the group are due to the fact that it will be difficult for the Austrians to fight two giants at once. Poland, by the way, won’t even give up third place just like that, so Austria’s passage to the playoffs is valued higher than failure – 1.95 versus 1.85.
Poland – 12
The Eagles are twice bronze medalists at the World Championships, but their success at the Euro is much more modest: they made it to the forum for the first time only in 2008, and after three attempts they only reached the playoffs once (quarter-finals in 2016). The star generation of the middle of the last decade is gone, and now the Poles look like outsiders of their quartet, albeit not a weak one.
Why shouldn’t they be outsiders, having failed the qualifications! Yes, in a group without giants, the Poles ended up only third, behind Albania and the Czech Republic, and fourth place Moldova was only 1 point behind, having taken 4 points in personal matches with Kadra. Polish footballers were saved from watching the Euro on TV only by getting into the Nations League playoffs, but not everything went smoothly there either: Estonia was dismantled into pieces, but Wales were put to the test only in a penalty shootout. In the last ten matches, the only clear positive seems to be the victory in a friendly match over the Germans, but that was a year ago.
The Poles will not be first in the group and are unlikely to compete for at least second place. The third position theoretically gives a ticket to the playoffs, but it still needs to be earned, so bookmakers give 2.3 for Poland to qualify for ⅛ and 1.63 for its failure.
Conclusions
The French should win this group thanks to a scattering of stars – especially since they beat the Netherlands twice in qualifying, and the other two opponents look clearly weaker and can only fray the nerves of the favorites. The only thing that can give a surprise is the Netherlands if they gather for a head-to-head match and take revenge on France for old grievances.
