Euro 2016 Winner and Runner-Up Betting Tips

With just a few days to go until the first ball is kicked of the 2016 European Championships, the excitement is building and every man and his dog has an opinion on who is the team to watch and the truth is, most of them are quite credible shouts with teams performing better than they ever have and the old giants maintaining their dominance over the smaller nations, this could be the most unpredictable Euros yet!

I'll tell you what though, we'll still have a cheeky breakdown of all of the big players in this year's tournament so you can make an educated decision on who will win this thing, whilst also telling you who we fancy to be lifting the famous trophy on 10th July.

Who are the bookies favourites?

Obviously every bookie will have their own ideas on they think will win, so have they gone for the easy selections or are have they thrown a couple of surprises into the mix?

Favourites - France

So, most bookmakers think that the Host Nation are the likeliest to win on home soil. If they did, then this would be the 3rd time in a row that France have won an international tournament held in their own country - what a record that would be.

Why France?

The French did not have to qualify for this tournament and therefore have not played a competitive fixture in over 2 years, so why have the bookies installed them as favourites? The strength of their playing squad is there for everyone to see, with new recruits N Golo Kante of Leicester, Dimitri Payet and Manchester United's wonderkid Anthony Martial adding to the likes of Pogba, Griezmann and Varane, you can see why this team is extremely formidable.

France also have history on their side, as mentioned before, they won in 1984 and 1998 when the World Cup and European Championships were held in France so they know how to win in front of their own supporters, especially their manager, former France World Cup winning captain Didier Deschamps.

Second Favourite - Germany

The reigning World Champions are second in the list of bookies favourites and it comes as no surprise really. They always perform in big tournaments and with the experience of winning the World Cup and welcoming back a player of the quality of Marco Reus from injury, there's a lot of hype surrounding this German team.

Why Germany?

The Germans did not exactly blow people away in qualifying, losing 2-0 to Poland at one stage, but they did still finish in 1st place and did their job professionally. This only adds weight to the idea that Germany are a tournament side, they notoriously make silly mistakes in qualifying and get through to blow people away in the finals and they seem to be perpetuating this in 2016. This is backed up by their capitulation against England where they lost 3-2 after being 2-0 up. Surely this is in the bookies minds when they install Germany as second favourites, they have still kept the faith.

Then there is obviously the fact that they have some of the world's best players such as Toni Kroos, Manuel Neuer and the brilliant Thomas Muller (who we have backed for the Golden Boot).

Third and Fourth Favourites - Spain and England

The Spanish are the reigning European Champions having won the last 2 European Championship Finals and they are still a massive player in World football, which is reflected by their FIFA World Ranking of 6th. They dominate football matches and look beautiful whilst doing so.

I'm sure many of you will be aware of England, they look a lot different than they did 2 years ago. These last 2 years have been a massive transitional period for England, with the emergence of Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy and Alli and the retiring of Lampard, Gerrard and other key figures. They're now a hungry, young team that people honestly don't know much about in terms of handling the pressures of International football.

Why Spain?

As mentioned before, these guys have won the last 2 European Championships and have still retained a few of those players. The Tiki-Taka masters cruised through qualifying and their horror show in the last World Cup doesn't seem to have affected the bookies too much, who feel that they will be looking to avenge their early exit last time around.

Look, these guys can be so dangerous and with top goal scorer Paco Alcacer emerging to replace Torres and Villa, they will be thinking that they have a brilliant chance to make this 3 European Championship wins in a row and to be honest it wouldn't come as a major shock.

Why England?

This one is a very interesting question, England look completely different to what they did in the last Euros and Roy Hodgson has overseen the transition from 'golden generation' to 'young lions'. I do think that England would not be this fancied if they hadn't produced a brilliant come back against the Germans. If they had lost that game 2-0, questions would have been asked and people would of begin to lament their lack of fight and belief.

Some of the young players coming through look like potential world beaters, but is this tournament a little too early for them? Jamie Vardy will be thinking this is his last chance at 29 years old to establish his name globally. Watch this space - England are a very interesting pick.

Best of The Rest

• Belgium
• Italy
• Portugal
• Croatia

The rest of the teams that the bookies are giving an outside chance to are all capable of winning the tournament but in some cases, such as Croatia and Italy, the odds are slightly optimistic. Belgium are not as fancied as their team on paper would suggest, do people think that they're going to flop? Italy have an old team and a defensive manager, but that defensive manager won 3 Serie A titles in a row with Juventus, so he is a born winner. The Portuguese have the goal scoring machine that is Cristiano Ronaldo, he hasn't been able to inspire Portugal to any kind of greatness in the past but with people commenting on his apparent decline this season, will he have the last laugh? He usually does.

Our Outright Winner Tip - Germany

We think the Germans will win it. Their team and the emergence of the Bundesliga as a top league and the fact that they were World Cup winners just 2 years ago all work in their favour. That 3-2 reverse against England would not have happened in a competitive tournament and we fancy Thomas Muller and co. to blow most teams away.

Runner-Up - Spain

They're in the opposite side of the draw to Germany so there's a chance that they will not meet until the final if both teams perform as they are expected. A Germany v Spain final would be a great spectacle and very entertaining. I think it will symbolise the passing of the torch from Tiki-Taka to German Gegen-pressing as the new way to win football matches and display the power over world football that the Germans now possess.