Euro2020 Fixtures & Outright Odds

Italy will play Turkey in the first fixture of the delayed Euro2020 tournament this Friday at 9pm (Central European Time).  Despite the challenges of the past year,  UEFA have managed to pull together a unique tournament that will see the 24 participating national teams play 48 matches during the Group and Round of 16 stages prior to the Semi-Finals at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday 6 July and Wednesday 7 July, and the Final, again at Wembley, on Sunday 11 July.  

Matches are being played at stadiums in 11 cities in 11 countries across Europe and, unsurprisingly, the president of UEFA, Aleksander Ceferin, has recently commented on the enormous logistical, legal and linguistic challenges this novel format has presented, saying “I would not do it again!”

The Draw for the tournament is as follows:

• Group A (Rome/Baku): Turkey, Italy (hosts), Wales, Switzerland 
• Group B (Copenhagen/St Petersburg): Denmark (hosts), Finland, Belgium, Russia (hosts)
• Group C (Amsterdam/Bucharest): Netherlands (hosts), Ukraine, Austria, North Macedonia
• Group D (London/Glasgow): England (hosts), Croatia, Scotland (hosts), Czech Republic
• Group E (Seville/St Petersburg): Spain (hosts), Sweden, Poland, Slovakia
• Group F (Munich/Budapest): Hungary (hosts), Portugal (holders), France, Germany (hosts)

The fixtures for the tournament are set out below:

GROUP STAGE         

Friday 11 June

• Group A: Turkey vs Italy (21:00, Rome)

Saturday 12 June

• Group A: Wales vs Switzerland (15:00, Baku)
• Group B: Denmark vs Finland (18:00, Copenhagen)
• Group B: Belgium vs Russia (21:00, St Petersburg)

Sunday 13 June

• Group D: England vs Croatia (15:00, London)
• Group C: Austria vs North Macedonia (18:00, Bucharest)
• Group C: Netherlands vs Ukraine (21:00, Amsterdam)

Monday 14 July

• Group D: Scotland vs Czech Republic (15:00, Glasgow)
• Group E: Poland vs Slovakia (18:00, St Petersburg)
• Group E: Spain vs Sweden (21:00, Seville)

Tuesday 15 June

• Group F: Hungary vs Portugal (18:00, Budapest)
• Group F: France vs Germany (21:00, Munich)

Wednesday 16 June

• Group B: Finland vs Russia (15:00, St Petersburg)
• Group A: Turkey vs Wales (18:00, Baku)
• Group A: Italy vs Switzerland (21:00, Rome)

Thursday 17 June

• Group C: Ukraine vs North Macedonia (15:00, Bucharest)
• Group B: Denmark vs Belgium (18:00, Copenhagen)
• Group C: Netherlands vs Austria (21:00, Amsterdam)
• Friday 18 June
• Group E: Sweden vs Slovakia (15:00, St Petersburg)
• Group D: Croatia vs Czech Republic (18:00, Glasgow)
• Group D: England vs Scotland (21:00, London)

Saturday 19 June

• Group F: Hungary vs France (15:00, Budapest)
• Group F: Portugal vs Germany (18:00, Munich)
• Group E: Spain vs Poland (21:00, Seville)

Sunday 20 June

• Group A: Italy vs Wales (18:00, Rome)
• Group A: Switzerland vs Turkey (18:00, Baku)

Monday 21 June

• Group C: North Macedonia vs Netherlands (18:00, Amsterdam)
• Group C: Ukraine vs Austria (18:00, Bucharest)
• Group B: Russia vs Denmark (21:00, Copenhagen)
• Group B: Finland vs Belgium (21:00, St Petersburg)

Tuesday 22 June

• Group D: Czech Republic vs England (21:00, London)
• Group D: Croatia vs Scotland (21:00, Glasgow)

Wednesday 23 June

• Group E: Slovakia vs Spain (18:00, Seville)
• Group E: Sweden vs Poland (18:00, St Petersburg)
• Group F: Germany vs Hungary (21:00, Munich)
• Group F: Portugal v France (21:00, Budapest)

The top two in each group plus four best third-placed teams go through.

Rest days on 24 and 25 June

KNOCKOUT PHASE

Round of 16

Saturday 26 June

• 1: 2A vs 2B (18:00, Amsterdam)
• 2: 1A vs 2C (21:00, London)

Sunday 27 June

• 3: 1C vs 3D/E/F (18:00, Budapest)
• 4: 1B vs 3A/D/E/F (21:00, Seville)

Monday 28 June

• 5: 2D vs 2E (18:00, Copenhagen)
• 6: 1F vs 3A/B/C (21:00, Bucharest)

Tuesday 29 June

• 7: 1D vs 2F (18:00, London)
• 8: 1E vs 3A/B/C/D (21:00, Glasgow)

Rest days on 30 June and 1 July

Quarter-finals

Friday 2 July

• QF1: Winner 6 vs Winner 5 (18:00, St Petersburg)
• QF2: Winner 4 vs Winner 2 (21:00, Munich)

Saturday 3 July

• QF3: Winner 3 vs Winner 1 (18:00, Baku)
• QF4: Winner 8 vs Winner 7 (21:00, Rome)

Rest days on 4 and 5 July

Semi-finals

Tuesday 6 July

• SF1: Winner QF2 vs Winner QF1 (21:00, London)

Wednesday 7 July

• SF2: Winner QF4 vs Winner QF3 (21:00, London)

Rest days on 8, 9, 10 July

Final

Sunday 11 July

• Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2 (21:00, London)

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France, coached by veteran Didier Deschamps, are strong favourites to win the Henri Delaunay Trophy on 11 June with odds of 26/5 from bookmaker SBK.  Les Bleus are current World Cup holders and seek to repeat the double they achieved two decades ago when they won the World Cup 1998 and Euro 2000.  They are expected to top Group F, possibly the most challenging Group in the Tournament as it includes Germany and Euro2016 champions Portugal.  France are in  terrific form, having topped their Nations League (beating Portugal along the way) and enjoy a world ranking of 2.  Karim Benzema, the Read Madrid forward, has been recalled to the team after a six-year absence, in an effort to boost the tournament goal tally.  Kylian Mbappe, the PSG forward, will also be crucial to the team’s success.  France scored 25 goals from ten qualifying games, far behind world number 1 team, Belgium, with 40 goals and England and Italy, both with 37 goals.  

England are also tipped to win Euro2020 with best odds of 6/1 from bookie SportNation, making Gareth Southgate’s side second favourites behind France.  The tournament’s year-long delay may favour England, ranked world number 4,  as it has allowed younger players such as Mason Mount, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden to mature.  If England reache the Semi-final and the Final, the home advantage of Wembley Stadium will undoubtedly assist the team (whose best tournament performance to date was reaching the Semi-final back in 1996).  

Belgium are currently a good value bet with odds of 15/2 from UNIBET.  Ranked world number 1 for the past two years,  the national side is brimming with talent and includes stars such as Romelu Lukaku who has scored as many international goals as Lionel Messi, Son Heung-Min and Klylian Mbappe combined.  Coach Roberto Martinez will be delighted that Manchester City star, Kevin De Bruyne, has largely recovered from injury and he is expected to participate in Group B matches, although he may sit out on the first fixture, against Russia, on Saturday 12 June.  The creativity of De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Youri Tielemans give Belgium a huge edge on their rivals.

Other national teams that could be in the mix to win Euro2020 include Germany, with odds of 9/1 from bookie SBK reflecting the team’s slide in form over the past three years.  Spain, Portugal (defending champions) and Italy are also in the mix with similar odds.