The 16th edition of the UEFA European Championships takes place this summer, with a winner almost impossible to predict beforehand.
There will be 24 countries going head-to-head in six different groups, with ten teams facing elimination ahead of the knockout stages following a tense group stage. The top two teams from each group will qualify automatically, with the four best-placed third place teams also qualifying.
That makes the group stages tense until the final game, with the likelihood of any dead rubbers greatly reduced.
Group B stands out in that regard, with one heavy favourite followed by three teams all looking to compete amongst themselves for the second and third positions.
Belgium, Denmark, Russia and Finland will all go toe-to-toe with each other and while Roberto Martinez’s side are favourites to progress as group winners, the other three sides will all feel they can beat each other to boost their own chances of making it to the round of 16.
Winning the tournament from third place isn’t unheard of either, as Portugal showed during 2016 having not won a single group game but qualifying on the basis of their goal difference not being negative.
But with three sides shaping up pretty fairly to duke it out, Mirror Sport takes a closer look at the betting markets for Group B.
Winner
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It’s no shock at all to see Belgium sitting as odds-on favourites to win the group. With the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Youri Tielemans and Thibaut Courtois among their squad, their quality is far greater than that of their opponents.
Denmark had a change of manager earlier than expected due to the delayed tournament but the new manager has really got them looking good defensively. Since Kasper Hjulmand took over, the Danes have kept eight clean sheets in 12 games and their only defeats have come to Belgium.
They will feel that they have enough about them to shut their opponents out but also have enough going forward with Christian Eriksen, Martin Braithwaite and Kasper Dolberg to be able to eek out some victories.
The Russians on the other hand will be looking to make consecutive knockout rounds in international tournaments for the first time ever. Manager Stanislav Cherchesov has picked a relatively experienced squad and during qualifying they won eight out of ten games, losing twice to Belgium.
The underdogs are definitely Finland, who will be led into the tournament by Norwich striker Teemu Pukki who carries their hopes on his back. They were able to win six of ten qualifying fixtures, finishing only behind Italy in their group but a lack of quality throughout the team means it’ll be tough for them.
If they can find a way to stay compact defensively and even get just one win from the three games, they will have a good chance of qualifying as a best third-placed team.
On paper it certainly seems as though the biggest game of the group will be between Denmark and Russia, with a win for either team really likely to help them secure qualification in a group otherwise dependent on how Finland performs – whether it be good or bad.
