Have a free bet on the Euro 2016 Group stage
Round One begins this Friday and in preparation we take a look at the best of the betting, plus predict the groups and win TaF booster cash!
This Friday at 21:00 (CET), France and Romania kick-off in the opening game of Euro 2016. With 24 teams contesting this year's prize, UEFA have made this their biggest event ever and yet it's the old favourites that are dominating the outright betting.
As hosts, France will be expected to put on a strong challenge and have always performed well in their homeland, winning this tournament in 1984 and the World Cup in 1998, both played on French soil. World champions Germany, powered by golden boot favourite Thomas Muller, and current Euro Champs Spain, have both lost some key experience since the last major tourney, Lahm, Xavi, etc, while Belgium and England will both fancy a shot at the big prize in the year of the underdog.
PokerStrategy members can play along for free by taking part in our Euro 2016 prediction game in the forum thread here. Predict the result for every match in the group stage or make special bonus predictions to win up to $50 for your TaF account.
First Round
All 24 teams have been split into groups of four, with the top two from each, along with the four best third placed teams, progressing to the next round of 16 where it becomes a knockout competition.
Group A
A very strong France side shouldn’t struggle to top this group with such a talented squad and quality in every position. The main concern, if there is one, is be the suspension of Karim Benzema leaving them short of a true number 9, although if Antoine Griezmann can carry his La Liga form into the competition this may not matter. Coral make him 9/1 to win the golden boot. France's closest challenger could well be Switzerland who are on bad run of form but who do have enough experience and quality to make it through. Romania and Albania make up the numbers here but with the revised tournament structure one of them could yet find a way out into the next round.
| Sportsbook | France | Switzerland | Romania | Albania |
| 1.35 | 4.75 | 9.25 | 23.0 | |
| 2/7 | 4/1 | 9/1 | 25/1 | |
| Coral | 2/7 | 9/2 | 11/1 | 16/1 |
| Titan | 3/10 | 4/1 | 17/2 | 22/1 |
| NetBet | 1/3 | 16/5 | 8/1 | 28/1 |
Group B
England breezed through qualifying, winning every match, but any confidence they have might be undermined by a top heavy squad, with precious little quality in defence outweighed by their strongest strike force in years. Qualifying here will be considerably trickier, although it should be the minimum of their expectations. Russia and Wales, especially Gareth Bale, will both fancy their chances of goal against the English and a victory against Slovakia, but it is England who should really top this group.
| Sportsbook | England | Russia | Wales | Slovakia |
| 1.8 | 4.0 | 5.25 | 9.5 | |
| 5/6 | 5/2 | 5/1 | 15/2 | |
| Coral | 4/5 | 13/5 | 9/2 | 9/1 |
| Titan | 4/5 | 11/4 | 5/1 | 7/1 |
| NetBet | 4/5 | 16/5 | 4/1 | 9/1 |
Group C
The favourites for Group C, and quite possibly the best team in the whole tournament, Germany will be expected to prove the bookmakers right and top the group, providing they don’t slip up against Poland. They shouldn't really, Poland have exited at the group stage in all four of the last appearances at major tournaments but, powered by Robert Lewandowski, they are always in with a chance and hit 33 goals in qualifying, more than any other nation. Ukraine qualified through the playoffs but still have the quality and potential to make it out of the group, while Northern Ireland must surely be happy to be at a tournament for the first time in 30 years.
| Sportsbook | Germany | Ukraine | Poland | Northern Ireland |
| 1.35 | 8.5 | 5.25 | 23.0 | |
| 1/3 | 6/1 | 9/2 | 25/1 | |
| Coral | 2/5 | 5/1 | 9/2 | 25/1 |
| Titan | 2/7 | 15/2 | 9/2 | 25/1 |
| NetBet | 4/11 | 9/1 | 16/5 | 22/1 |
Group D
Possibly the toughest of all the groups, D features four teams all ranked within FIFA's top 30. Spain are the unquestioned favourites, not least since they have won the last two European Championships, but much has changed for the Spanish in the last four years, not least a humbling early exit in the world cup two years ago. They still head into the group stage as near certainties to top the group, providing they don’t falter. Both Croatia and Turkey can put up a strong challenge, not least to each other, while the Czech Republic won through in one of the toughest qualifying groups so cannot be underestimated here. Even the bookmakers are split on this one.
| Sportsbook | Spain | Croatia | Czech Republic | Turkey |
| 1.5 | 4.25 | 9.0 | 10.0 | |
| 4/7 | 7/2 | 7/1 | 7/1 | |
| Coral | 8/15 | 3/1 | 8/1 | 10/1 |
| Titan | 1/2 | 16/5 | 8/1 | 8/1 |
| NetBet | 10/19 | 11/4 | 9/1 | 9/1 |
Group E
International heavyweights Italy, so often a team to avoid, head into this year's championships with arguably their weakest squad in years while, in contrast, lightweights Belgium, have picked by far their strongest and are now favourites with the bookmakers to top the group and dark horses for tournament. That said, never rule out the Italians who, despite their current problems, have tournament pedigree. Both however will need to overcome Zlatan Ibrahimovic's Sweden, which could prove tricky while the Republic of Ireland will also be hopeful of making a good showing.
| Sportsbook | Belgium | Italy | Sweden | Rep of Ireland |
| 2.1 | 2.6 | 6.5 | 12.0 | |
| EVS | 13/8 | 11/2 | 10/1 | |
| Coral | EVS | 7/4 | 6/1 | 9/1 |
| Titan | 11/10 | 6/4 | 11/2 | 10/1 |
| NetBet | 21/20 | 6/4 | 6/1 | 11/1 |
Group F
In what looks like the softest group, Portugal really shouldn’t struggle to come out on top. While unlikely to make it to the final rounds due to a tough pairing with Group E, their main goal threat Cristiano Ronaldo could stack up enough goals to be threat for the golden boot in the first round alone. William Hill certainly think so and are offering 8/1 for him to do exactly that. The battle for next round qualification will be a shootout between group second favourites Austria, Hungary and Iceland, with the latter rising rapidly up the world rankings in recent years.
| Sportsbook | Portugal | Austria | Iceland | Hungary |
| 1.85 | 3.15 | 6.0 | 12.5 | |
| 10/11 | 15/8 | 112 | 10/1 | |
| Coral | 10/11 | 7/4 | 13/2 | 11/1 |
| Titan | 3/4 | 2/1 | 13/20 | 6/5 |
| NetBet | 4/5 | 11/5 | 5/1 | 13/1 |
Outright Winners
| Sportsbook | France | Germany | Spain | England | Belgium | Italy |
| 4.0 | 4.5 | 6.5 | 9.5 | 12.0 | 17.0 | |
| 3/1 | 4/1 | 11/2 | 8/1 | 11/1 | 16/1 | |
| Coral | 11/4 | 9/2 | 9/2 | 9/1 | 11/1 | 18/1 |
| Titan | 3/1 | 4/1 | 11/2 | 8/1 | 11/1 | 16/1 |
| NetBet | 11/4 | 3/1 | 5/1 | 17/2 | 11/1 | 17/1 |
Terms and conditions
Players have until the START of every game to make their predictions in a special thread for every match, plus use the dedicated forum for bonus predictions. Bonus predictions must be entered before 21:00 CET on June 10. All bets paced after this time are void. In the event of a tie, a raffle will be used to determine the winning player.
Partner's sportsbook prices are subject to change, and are correct at the time of publication. Good luck!
