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01.06.2021 » Portugal faces the "Group of Death" in the EURO 2020
A total of 24 nations will fight for the European Championship title this summer, just five years after Portugal lifted it in Paris, after beating France in the EURO 2016 final... A lot has changed since then, starting with the obvious health threats from the COVID-19 pandemic, but also in terms of players, coaches and even favorites/underdogs... Nevertheless, a few things remain the same and Portugal for example, are still relying on their captain Cristiano Ronaldo, who has turned 36-years last February and will most likely play his last European Championship. The Portuguese superstar will try to lead his teammates to another international trophy, but the road to success is going to be a bumpy one.
Cristiano Ronaldo - Analyzing Portugal's squad and chances in the EURO 2020
The 'Group of Death'
Portugal were drawn into Group F, together with Hungary, Germany and France. On the paper, Hungary is obviously pointed out as huge underdogs, but underestimating opponents can easily lead to big surprises in a tournament like this... In terms of previous titles, Germany already won 3 European Championships in the past (1972; 1980; 1996), while France won it a couple times (1984; 2000). Portugal may have won the last edition (2016), but it was the nation's only big international triumph until that year.
Nevertheless and due to UEFA's new rules implemented since their last edition, not only the top 2 teams in each group will go through, but also the four best (out of 6 groups) third-placed teams will advance to the last-16 knockout stage. This means that there is a possibility where none of the big sharks (Portugal, Germany and France) will actually have to exit the tournament in the group stage, but all that depends on how many points they earn and how well other third-placed teams do in the other groups...
Hungary - the underdog
It wouldn't be the first time we would see a major underdog surprising the favorites and actually progressing into the tournament's next stage. However and in order to accomplish that, Hungary would have to be at their best and, at the same time, hope that their opponents would underestimate them. Their journey to the EURO 2020 wasn't easy at all and they have only qualified to the tournament after beating Bulgary and Iceland in the playoffs.
The odds for Hungary to win the EURO 2020 are currently at 500/1.
Germany
The Germans are always favorites in big events, may those be European Championships or World Cups. However, they're coming off a huge loss against Spain (6-0) in last November, which somehow exposed the Mannschaft's vulnerabilities. As usual, their team is filled with talent, but at times, they still seem to lack the necessary combination between experience and youth. In their favor, they'll be playing all their 3 games on local soil, as every game will be hosted in Munich, at the Allianz Arena. If you think the markets are actually underpricing Germany in the tournament, you can always grab an online casino bonus to boost your earnings and then bet on Germany to reach the final.
The odds for Germany to win the EURO 2020 are currently 8.50/1, as they rank 4th in the favorites to win the tournament.
France
The reigning World champions will be seeking revenge in this European Championship, as they will a chance to beat Portugal in the last fixture of the group. The last time the two nations met was in the EURO 2016 final, at the Stade de France in Paris. Ronaldo and his teammates made history by clinching their first European Championship trophy, but they left France in shock by stealing them such a big trophy in their own backyard... Didier Deschamps has plenty of talent at his disposal, and it's going to be hard to see this team failing to go through even in such a competitive group...
The odds for France to win the EURO 2020 are currently at 6.00/1, as they rank 1st in the favorites to win the tournament.
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Portugalis on June 4, against Spain. You can watch Spain vs Portugal, Netherlands vs Scotland, Poland vs Russia, England vs Austria, France vs Wales, and Germany vs Denmark, all matches provided from our live football game pages.
Portugal next game:
Spain vs Portugal kick-off time (04-06-2021):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 01:30
Jakarta (Indonesia) | UTC/GMT+7: 00:30
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 23:00
Italy (Turin) | UTC/GMT+2: 19:30
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+2: 19:30
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+1: 18:30
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 14:30
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 13:30
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 10:30
Sources: ronaldo7.net / eurosport.com / uefa.com
