Ivan Larsen 
The main football tournament in the world is, of course, the World Cup, but the Euro is a strong contender for being considered the second most important. This kind of football is not missed – there is a serious competitive spirit already at the group stage. If you like to fuel your own emotions from watching sports betting broadcasts, be sure to download Melbet app apk.
Outright connoisseurs will be interested in trying to predict the group winners. In this article, we will look at the participants’ chances of triumph in Quartet F – with a clear favorite, but still not without a fight. Additionally, we indicate the current bookmaker odds for first place for each team.
Portugal – 1.45
Some fans categorically do not consider the Portuguese national team to be a grand team – they say they only had bronze in 1966 and the semi-finals in 2006 (without medals) at the world championships. But at the Euro, the Portuguese performed much better: they took gold and silver once and reached the semi-finals three more times.
One can argue about the strength of the current teams of Slovakia, Iceland and Bosnia, but the very fact is that in qualifying the Pyrenees showed a real master class, achieving a 100% result in points. In the last ten meetings, Portugal also beat Sweden in a control game, and only the latest freight train created a sensation – the Slovenes stunned the Portuguese by scoring two unanswered goals against them.
Cristiano Ronaldo, of course, is already a bit old, but the Portuguese national team has enough stars besides him. Perhaps other players seem a little more modest, but there are practically no weak links. Portugal are considered the fourth most likely winner of the entire Euro (along with Spain), and the only way they can fail to win their group is if they play the fool.
Türkiye – 5.5
The Turkish national team is perhaps the most glaring example of instability in European football. In its entire history, the team has only gone to the World Cup twice but has an impressive achievement there in the form of bronze in 2002. The situation at the Euro is similar; only the bronze medals were won on the third attempt in 2008. Thanks to the expansion of the continental forum, the Turks have reached the last two editions, and the 2024 tournament will be their sixth.
The qualifying group of the Turks could not be called very easy – there were traditionally strong Croats and strong Wales. However, Vincenzo Montella’s team succeeded, leaving the Balkans one point behind and helping to ensure that the British team was overboard. But Turkey’s play still cannot be called overly confident: in the last ten games, it lost three times, losing in freight trains to Japan, Hungary and Austria.
The traditional strength of the Turkish national team is that if they are in the mood, these guys are able to lay down their bones on the football field. True, without the mood, they are capable of playing a draw with Armenia, as in the qualifications. Therefore, the tournament prospects of this team will greatly depend on how strong their coach is as a motivator.
Czech Republic – 7.0
Until the beginning of the 90s, this country was part of Czechoslovakia, and the united team had significant success in the form of two world championship finals and gold at the continental forum. Without the help of the Slovaks, the Czechs reached the World Championship only once in thirty years and did not make it out of the group there, but they did not miss a single Euro, and in 1996 they took silver, and in 2004, bronze.
However, the current Czech Republic raises questions about itself. The selection against Poland should not have been easy, but Kadra unpleasantly surprised her fans by finishing only third and four points behind the Czechs. The question is why Ivan Hasek’s team became only second, losing the lead in additional indicators to Albania! At the same time, the statistics of the last ten meetings show that these guys can lose to the Albanians, playing in a draw with them, the Hungarians and the Poles. Against this background, six victories no longer seem like a great achievement – they were won over even weaker opponents.
In short, these are not the same Czechs who once achieved impressive heights. They still have to thank the draw for the fact that Georgia was included in their group – thanks to this, the chances of reaching the playoffs are not so small.
Georgia – 18.0
A 100% debutant in any major tournament, who had never before had the slightest hope of making it to the Euro or the World Cup. It wasn’t there this time either – the miracle happened only thanks to the Nations League playoffs and amazing dedication in the decisive match.
In the qualifying group, the Georgians’ successes were very modest: they took penultimate fourth place, behind not only the natural leader in Spain but also Scotland and Norway. 8 points in 8 matches means two victories over the record outsider Cyprus and home draws with the Norwegians and the Scots. In the playoffs of the League of Nations, they managed to defeat Luxembourg without any problems, but in the decisive game there was a sensation – the Caucasians endured a penalty shootout, and in the lottery they managed to knock out the more senior Greeks.
In the last ten matches, Georgia beat only Cyprus (twice), Thailand (freight train) and Luxembourg. The Caucasians drew with Scotland and Greece, but the latter result turned out to be more valuable than many victories. However, it is obvious that the Georgians cannot play on equal terms with stronger opponents – unless as an exception and in front of their own stands. They will be happy with even one point in the group stage, but they probably won’t even dream of winning the group.
Our forecast
В этой группе есть явный аутсайдер – Грузия, которая вряд ли навяжет борьбу хотя бы за третью позицию. There is a clear outsider in this group – Georgia, which is unlikely to force a fight for at least third position. There is also an obvious favorite in the form of Portugal, but it may be weakened by the traditional desire to conserve strength in the group stage, especially since it is impossible to fall lower than the penultimate place, and even this theoretically gives the desired ticket to the playoffs. We don’t really believe in the Czechs, but we believe that the Turks, in certain circumstances, will compete for leadership. However, our prediction is that the Pyrenees will win.
