The World Cup is great, but nothing compares to the UEFA European Championship, aka the Euros. Almost every match is very competitive, and many of the countries are rivals from a historical and/or sporting perspective.
Euro 2024 will be played in Germany with matches held in 10 cities. Twenty-four countries will compete in six four-team groups with each side playing three matches against its group foes. The top two finishers in each group and the four-best third-place squads advance to the knockout phase, which is a bracket-style tournament to determine the champion. The final will take place July 14 in Berlin.
This group preview includes a predicted order of finish and the best prop bet involving a team or player. Throughout the Euros, I will tweet out my individual match bets and any additional futures.
Group A predicted finish (with BetMGM futures odds)
1. Germany, 2. Switzerland, 3. Scotland, 4. Hungary
| Team | To advance | To win group | To win Euros |
| 1. GER | -5000 | -250 | +550 |
| 2. SUI | -225 | +550 | +8000 |
| 3. SCO | -120 | +800 | +15000 |
| 4. HUN | -140 | +600 | +8000 |
Germany are the deserved favorite in this group, but I have some questions about how far they can progress after a decade of disappointment since they won the 2014 World Cup.
Die Mannschaft were eliminated in the group stage of both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and got knocked out in the round of 16 in the last Euros. They have several bright young players and a well-regarded manager in Julian Nagelsmann, who will be under pressure to bring the three-time Euros champions back to international glory.
Switzerland, Hungary and Scotland will battle for second place, and maybe one of them can qualify to the knockout stage by finishing third. I can see myself betting something that’s pro-Scotland, but I want to wait until after the Scots’ first match, as they are a big underdog against Germany in the tournament opener.
Depending on how Scotland's first match goes, there could be better prices on them to qualify from this group.
Best bet — Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala to be Germany’s top goal scorer (+600 each, FanDuel)
- FanDuel offer: Bet $5 and get $200 in Bonus Bets
I had trouble finding a bet for this group, so I’m going to make two smaller bets and split my stake on Wirtz and Musiala to create a +300 bet that one of them leads Germany in goals.
The 21-year-old Wirtz was the catalyst in attack for Bayer Leverkusen, who won the Bundesliga with an undefeated record and only lost once in all competitions. Musiala is also 21 and already has experience in a big tournament after featuring in the 2022 World Cup. He plays for Bayern Munich, so he has experience playing for Nagelsmann at the club level.