Why the bookies rate England as favourites to win the Euros

England are the bookies’ favourites to win the European Championships this summer.

The UK’s leading bookies have Gareth Southgate’s side as 5/1 favourites after winning seven of their eight qualifiers.

The tournament, delayed by 12 months, is still set to be staged across 12 countries in the space of a month, with Wembley Stadium hosting the semi-finals and final.

Whichever tournament the Three Lions head into they are always well supported by their fans, often the most-backed team of the tournament. That is the case so far with the Euros.

Southgate has a strong squad that could include Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood in attack. That would be as formidable as they come.

However, it’s the defence that has some big questions hanging over it. Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has not been a popular choice with fans for more than a year now, due to his poor performances time for club and country.

Centre-back Harry Maguire has looked better for Manchester United this season but still lacks consistency and is prone to mistakes. And whilst John Stones has been performing very well for Manchester City this term, can he replicate that form for England? He hasn’t done so to date.

The manager has a number of choices in both full-back roles – almost too many at right-back are fighting for the starting spot this summer.

Protecting the back four has also been a big issue for England over the years.

Declan Rice has started to make that role his own, but the West Ham United star has very little competition here. Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips has made the past few squads.

Who are the other favourites?

World champions France are narrowly behind England according to the bookmakers’ odds of 11/2.

Les Bleus were runners-up at the previous European Championships before hammering Croatia 4-2 in the 2018 World Cup final. Croatia had beaten England in the semi-finals.

Didier Deschamps has an incredible amount of talent to choose from that many top players are not going to make the squad.

They won the last World Cup without the likes of Karim Benzema, Anthony Martial, Kingsley Coman and Aymeric Laporte.

Belgium have been very impressive of late and have seen their odds cut to 6/1 to win Euro 2020. Roberto Martinez’s side recently hammered Belarus 8-0 and beat Wales 3-1 in 2022 World Cup qualifying matches.

Although Eden Hazard hasn’t shone since moving to Real Madrid you can expect the superstar to make a big impact this summer, provided he’s fit.

The Red Devils also have a highly talented squad, including Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Dries Mertens and Youri Tielemans.

Germany follow at a price of 8/1 ahead of defending champions Portugal, who are 9/1. The Germans have a highly-talented and experienced bunch to pick from, whilst Cristiano Ronaldo is the leader of a promising Portuguese squad that could include Joao Felix, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Ruben Neves.