We have reached the business end of the Euro 2020 soccer tournament, with the knockout stage for the Round of 16 set.
There have been some surprises, but the majority of nations expected to advance from the group stage have moved on to this point in the competition. Take a look at the full bracket for the rest of the European showcase below.
We give you:
The #EURO2020 last 16!
Which side of the bracket would you want to be on? pic.twitter.com/S7PbIegfWN
— DW Sports (@dw_sports) June 23, 2021
As you can see, the left side of the bracket is much more difficult than the right, with heavy hitters Spain, France, Italy, Portugal and Belgium all there.
The Round of 16 has a couple of mouth-watering encounters, headlined by England taking on Germany and Belgium squaring off against Portugal.
However, the tournament sets up perfectly for England in the long run. If the Three Lions defeat the Germans, they will get to play Sweden or Ukraine in the quarterfinals. The semifinal round and final are being played at Wembley Stadium in London, which begs the question: Is it coming home?
Before we jump into the projections, let's take a look at where the future odds are sitting to win the tournament.
Euro 2020 Betting Odds
Odds via DraftKings
| TEAM | ODDS |
|---|---|
| France | +410 |
| Italy | +650 |
| England | +700 |
| Germany | +700 |
| Spain | +800 |
| Netherlands | +850 |
| Belgium | +900 |
| Portugal | +1100 |
| Denmark | +1900 |
| Sweden | +5000 |
| Croatia | +6000 |
| Czech Republic | +10000 |
| Switzerland | +10000 |
| Wales | +10000 |
| Ukraine | +12000 |
| Austria | +15000 |
As you can see, Italy has made a big jump up to being the second favorite after being one of the most impressive teams in the group stage. Everyone else is sitting pretty close to what their pre-tournament odds were, but at this stage, there's one team I like and that's England at +700 odds via DraftKings.
England might have only scored two goals — both coming from Raheem Sterling — during the group stage, but its defense has been incredibly impressive. The Three Lions. who haven't conceded a goal, also have only let their opponents create a total of 1.73 expected goals, which is the second-best mark in the tournament.
Like I mentioned, if England can get past Germany, it has the easiest path of anyone to the final. The Three Lions will get to play Round of 16 and semifinal matches, as well as the final, in London.
So, you heard it here first: It's coming home.
Now, without further ado, let's get into the projections for the Round of 16 matches. If you'd like to read more about how I determine my projections, you can check them out here.
