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 D predicted finish (with BetMGM futures odds)
1. France, 2. Netherlands, 3. Austria, 4. Poland
| Team | To advance | To win group | To win Euros |
| 1. FRA | -2500 | -185 | +400 |
| 2. NED | -450 | +275 | +1600 |
| 3. AUT | -135 | +750 | +5000 |
| 4. POL | +150 | +1000 | +20000 |
When the tournament draw took place in December, I thought Group B was the best overall group and should be labeled the “Group of Death.” But after closer inspection, Group D might be stronger from top to bottom.
France is in the middle of their golden generation led by Golden Boot favorite and new Real Madrid signing Kylian Mbappe. The Netherlands have a lot of talent, especially at center back, and they’ll have the support of their orange-clad fans, who always travel well to major tournaments.
Austria and Poland also should have a lot of traveling fans, since both countries border Germany.
Best bet — Poland to finish bottom in Group D (-130, DraftKings)
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With France and Netherlands in this group, the last-place team is likely Austria or Poland. Led by an experienced manager in Ralf Rangnick, the Austrians have emerged as a tournament dark horse. That leaves Poland as the pick to finish bottom of the group, especially after getting bad news about striker Robert Lewandowski, who could miss the team’s tournament opener after picking up an injury in a pre-tournament friendly on Monday.
The Poles played a very boring style at the 2022 World Cup, and it somehow got them out of a group ahead of Mexico and Saudi Arabia. They scored three goals over four matches in Qatar, including two against Saudi Arabia and a consolation penalty in the final minute of a 3-1 loss to France in the round of 16.
Poland qualified for the Euros through the playoff, where they beat Wales on penalties. They don’t have the midfield to give service to Lewandowski (if he's healthy), and their defensive style of play will only take them so far if they can’t create chances.
Taking the under on 2.5 goals in Poland’s opener against the Netherlands is a bet I’ll likely take given the Poles’ negative style, Lewandowski’s fitness doubt and the Dutch’s solid backline.