As the European 2012 Championships beckon, bookmakers around the globe are starting to offer ante post markets on who will be in with a chance of lifting the trophy. Throughout this article we will be looking at the current odds of the major teams and how they might fair in the competition when selecting a team for the outright winner betting.
NOTE: All odds are taken from WilliamHill.com, one of the top bookmakers for betting Euro 2012.
Spain – 9/4 (3.25)
The Spaniards go into the competition as outright favourites, and rightly so. They have won the last two major international championships they have taken part in. A comfortable qualifying process has just outlined how tough a task it’s going to be for any nation to halt them it their tracks as they push for a third straight title.
The strength and depth that they have in their squad is quite staggering, with quality players such as Febregas and Pedro struggling to break into the starting XI.
Their strengths defiantly lie in their attacking based squad. They have a host of players who would walk into any team in the world (domestically) that, when playing as a single unit, combine to make them one of the great international outfits.
Coupled with this is the fact a lot of the players are great friends and bare from only a few teams around the world, mainly Spain. Only four of the current squad play outside of Spain, giving them a huge edge when it comes to camaraderie and team bonding. This is not often a factor that many pick up on, but numerous past players have stated that low team morale can send you into games 1-0 down before you have even kicked a ball.
The Spanish certainly have the momentum going into Euro 2012. For many years they were known as the nearly men of international football. Their break through year of Euro 2008 where they won this competition sparked a run rivalled by that of only the greatest teams of years gone by.
Picking a weakness in their team is tough. From their ‘keeper to their strikers, they have a solid outfit and look capable of dealing with injuries to major players. IF anyone does beat Spain, they are going to have to play the game of their lives to do so.
Germany – 3/1 (4.00)
It’s surprising that the bookmakers have the odds of Germany and Spain so closely matched. Whilst Germany are one of the most exciting young teams in international football, they have some way to being of the same standard to the Spanish. Nonetheless, the do have quality throughout their ranks and that steely German efficiency may just pop its head up at these championships.
The Germans have always been there or thereabouts in major championships over the years. They spent a few years in the wilderness where they undertook a rebuilding stage and have come back a bigger, better and stronger team as result.
In the early part of the 2000’s the Euro’s have been less than kind to the Germans with consecutive first round exits in 2000 and 2004. However, they invested this time wisely to take a back seat and bring through the talented youth of which they now have in abundance. 2008 saw them finish runners up to Spain and they will be itching to get revenge come June 2012 in Poland and the Ukraine. This might be a team to consider when betting on the Euro 2012 outright winner.
Looking at the squad and player ages of the team, shows that there was only one player over the age of 30 in the whole squad. Their youth policy is starting to reap massive rewards and with the likes of Podolski, Gomez and Ozil, they have an abundance of match winners.
It’s this youth that could prove to be their downfall. In 2008 they were thought to of massively overachieved with such a young team. With the lack of experience in major championships is questionable whether the Germans have the nous to get over the finishing line.
Whilst this is uncertain, one thing is for sure and that is that German football has a bright, bright future.
Netherlands – 7/1 (8.00)
The Dutch are one of the biggest underachievers in world football. The talent that has come throughout their ranks is simply staggering, and even more staggering is the fact that these players have yet to combine and lift more than one major international honour for their country.
Their squad now has a host of international super stars and easily a good enough team to compete for major titles. The likes of van Persie, Huntelaar and Robben and dubbed as some of the best players in Europe and 2012 could just be their year.
They poses one of the best forward lines in world football. Their midfield has the flair, creativity and ability to change a game in a second and combined, should lead them in good stead. A questionable area will be that of their back line. It’s very inexperienced and even the youth that currently obtain those roles, look pretty mediocre. But the Dutch like playing attacking football and it wouldn’t be surprising if they went out with the mentality of scoring one more than you do and care little about their defensive set up.
There’s absolutely no doubt that the Netherlands can be the team that puts a stop to Spain’s domination in world football. It just feels like we say this every year and well, they often fail to live up to expectation. If they manage to qualify from the hard Group B, they are clearly one of the favorites to win Euro 2012.
England – 8/1 (9.00)
Many are saying that this is the last throw of the dice for the current crop of English footballers. For too long now they have failed to live up to the hype of having some of the best footballers in world, when time and time again they fail to deliver in major championships.
After the catastrophe that was the World Cup in 2010, former England manger Fabio Cappello tried to add some young, exciting players to the team. The English fans and media have been crying out to get rid of the hyped up ‘superstars’ for too long, but yet they stay apparent throughout the qualifying stages. New manager Roy Hodgson does not has backing from all fans, but honestly, what manger in England had…
Looking through their current squad of players they have no fewer than 10 players aged 30 or over. Now this can be seen as a good thing and in all honesty, you need that experience. But you have to feel that for these ten players, realistic chances of international titles are running out, fast.
They do have the quality to mount a serious assault on Euro 2012. Players such as Gerrard, Terry and Hart are class players and provide a stern backbone to the team. But for whatever reason, the team fails to gel and results are all too predictable.
Former professional footballers have been apparent in voicing their concerns over the English national team saying there is no camaraderie like the Spanish, Germans and Dutch all poses.
There are positives for English team and reasons why you can invest your earned money on their 8/1 price tag. The likes of Wilshere, Carroll, Young and Johnson are all young, hungry and most importantly, ridiculously talented. These guys are the future of English football and its time the ‘old guard’ stepped aside to show the world what they can do.
Italy – 14/1 (15.00)
The Italians are winners. They have a colourful footballing history and it was only in 2006 where the lifted their last Word Cup. Things have gone slightly downhill since then with players retiring and becoming of a certain age, coupled into a poor Euro 2008 and a quite shocking 2010 World Cup.
This may have been a blessing in disguise for Italy who in their most recent squad for their qualifying game versus Estonia, fielded only one outfield player over 30.
There comes a time where all countries have to go through a transitional period to replace legends of yester year. It appears that Italians are starting to come through the other side with a host of young talent such as Rossi, Marchisio and Balotelli all making names for themselves in the domestic game.
Their country will expect from this young squad and the pressure of a nation who expect so much may make Euro 2012 a competition too soon for the Italians. One thing is for sure though, that a repeat of the last two international tournaments simply will not be tolerated and more than likely will not be repeated. Italy at 14/1 looks a solid outside bet and we will see their current shape in their first group game against champions Spain.
Ukraine 40/1 & Poland 50/1
The two host nations realistically have little to no chance of causing an upset in this tournament, and as outright winner we wouldn’t select any of them. But if they can get a run together and manage to qualify from their respected groups then who knows what might happen.
What they both need is the support and backing of their nation. Time and time again when a host nation strings a few results together the country becomes untied and this undoubtedly feeds into the players.
They are both long shots, with Ukraine being the strong out of two nations, but they could be a viable option as back to lay opportunity for Euro 2012.
