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 E predicted finish (with BetMGM futures odds)
1. Belgium, 2. Ukraine, 3. Romania, 4. Slovakia
| Team | To advance | To win group | To win Euros |
| 1. BEL | -1600 | -200 | +1800 |
| 2. UKR | -275 | +350 | +6600 |
| 3. ROU | -125 | +700 | +15000 |
| 4. SVK | -120 | +900 | +50000 |
Belgium is the clear favorite in this group, as they hope to rebound from a nightmarish 2022 World Cup in which they failed to reach the knockout stage. Their roster is filled with players who ply their trade in Europe's top leagues, including Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard and Roma’s Romelu Lukaku, who could be a value bet to be top goal scorer.
Ukraine, Romania and Slovakia remain unknowns. However, I do feel good about Ukraine finishing second. They deserve a lot of credit for qualifying after having to play all of their matches abroad because of the war.
Best bet — Belgium to reach quarterfinals (-110, DraftKings)
Taking my optimism for Belgium a step further, I have them advancing from at least one knockout round at a very reasonable price. The winner of Group E will play a third-place team in the round of 16, and I like that path for Belgium to at least make it to the last eight of the competition.
That could lead to a tasty quarterfinal match against France. And that’s why I am not betting on Lukaku to be top goal scorer and Belgium to not proceed further in the tournament.