[This is part 5 to a six-part series on the Euro 2020. The first four articles talked about location, how the tournament works, and the different groups. In this article I will be talking about the pundits’ favored teams and why they are such. In the last part, I will discuss who I think are the favored teams, and how I think the tournament will play out.]
The top two favored teams to win the UEFA Euro 2020 are England followed by France (according to The Telegraph and World Soccer), but I disagree with this. In this article I will break down the two teams that both outlets chose and explain why they are thought to be the favorites. In the next piece, I will provide my own two favorites to win, why I think France and England are the wrong choices. Finally, I will discuss how I think the tournament will play out.
As the current World Cup (2018) winner, it is no surprise France are favored to beat everyone. France already has a dominant side with the likes of Kilyan Mbappé (playing the best soccer of his life), Paul Pogba, Antoine Greizmann, Raphaël Varane, and N’Golo Kanté. France are a threat to any team they face this Euro.
But now that Kareem Benzema (Real Madrid) is back on the roster, (for the first time since 2015) French coach, Didier Deschamps, will have a tough choice to make in terms of who will start on offense: Benzema or Giroud? This is a problem because Giroud has been in good form lately and has already helped France win a World Cup, meanwhile Benzema, who last played for France back in October of 2016, is likely to walk on and take Giroud’s spot, while Mbappé and Greizmann are likely safe choices. This will affect the team that is known to have players who wear their emotions on their sleeves. A wrong coaching selection in the eyes of the players could affect their cohesiveness in matches and cause trouble throughout the tournament. This does not bode well for France.
England came in fourth place in the 2018 World Cup, losing to Croatia in the semi-finals. They were playing the best football they’ve played in quite some time and now they have some star youngsters to bolster their squad. With the likes of right-back Reece James (Chelsea), attacking midfielder Mason Mount (Chelsea), and winger Phil Foden (Man City) providing additional skill to the roster. The main reason why England is favored for the Euro, according to World Soccer, is because they did so well in the last World Cup and because they have added talent coming into Euro 2020.
As support for their claims, World Soccer pointed out that back in 2017, England’s youth teams won both the U17 and U20 World Cups and the U19 Euro. Both James and Mount were a part of the U19 squad, both Jadon Sancho and Phil Foden were a part of the U17 squad, and both Dean Henderson and Dominic Calvert-Lewin were a part of the U20 squad. There are all now in England’s senior squad looking for the same results in this Euro.
But nothing was made of Germany and Portugal, not England, competing in the U21 Euro recently. Also, the current England squad has not played together for very long and they have yet to meet the level of competition the Three Lions will likely face in the knockout stages of this Euro. If a positive for England is their new crop of players then one must ask is this untested and overall relatively inexperienced squad ready for prime time?
Stay tuned for my next article where I will be choosing my top two teams and then explain how I think the tournament will play out.
Photo: Gareth Southgate, Wikipedia, Creative Commons