Euro 2020 odds: Ranking all 24 teams at Euro 2020 after matchday three

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the Euro 2020 group stage.

Over the past 12 days, we have been treated to some spectacular goals (hello, Andreas Christensen), high drama, a social media clamour for Jack Grealish to start for England, followed by a social media clamour for Jadon Sancho to start for England, the return of fans in stadiums, sensible use of VAR and the dulcet tones of “Super Ally” McCoist on the mic.

It hasn’t all been sunshine and rainbows, though. Literally. Uefa have rightly been condemned for their abject mishandling of the city of Munich’s request to illuminate the Allianz Arena in rainbow colours for Germany’s match against Hungary, during pride month, no less. That didn’t stop the German fans from turning up to the Allianz Arena draped head to toe in the LGBT+ colours, though.

There has been some criticism that the 24-team format has led to watered-down final games, with some teams already assured of their place in the knockout rounds after two matches. But on the whole, it has been a largely excellent start to the tournament.

As we approach what we are duty-bound to call the “business end” of the competition, now seems like as good a time as any to reflect upon the group stage, and in particular which teams have impressed and which teams have fallen short. No prizes for guessing which category everybody’s “dark horse” Turkey falls into…

Without further ado, here are i‘s Euro 2020 power rankings so far:

24. Turkey

Well, at least they scored a goal. A 4-2 World Cup qualifying win over the Netherlands in March, inspired by a superb hat-trick from Burak Yilmaz, led to plenty of commentators (some i writers included…) singling them out as a team to watch. Alas, Turkey lost all three matches… by an aggregate score of 8-1.

23. North Macedonia

The only other team to end up with nil points. Unlike Turkey, though, tournament newcomers North Macedonia can hold their heads high. A goal from 37-year-old Goran Pandev against Austria and a guard of honour for the same player against the Netherlands, rank among the top moments of the competition.

22. Poland

Desperately poor in defeat against Slovakia but fared far better against Spain. A consistent issue that Poland have had over the past decade has been creating chances for Robert Lewandowski but they improved in that regard as the tournament progressed. The Bayern frontman’s first goal against Sweden was a thing of beauty. Still, might have expected to do more with the players available, particularly against Slovakia.

21. Russia

They won a game that they were expected to against Finland and were hammered in their other two matches. Losing comprehensively to Belgium is no disgrace, even if they should have been helped by the absence of Kevin De Bruyne in that game, but the manner in which they unravelled in a must-not-lose match against Denmark in the final game was bitterly disappointing.

20. Scotland

Scotland didn’t play especially poorly in any of their three games but a return of one point and one goal indicates that they struggled to make their mark at a first major tournament since 1998. Ultimately, issues in both boxes cost Steve Clarke’s side: they conceded five goals and converted just one of their 41 attempts on goal. Nevertheless, the performance against England will offer plenty of encouragement moving forward.

19. Slovakia

Provided one of the most memorable moments in European Championship history. But not in the way they would have wanted to… Martin Dubravka’s own goal against Spain must rank near the top of the best (or worst, depending on your point of view) ever seen at the tournament. Did well to beat Poland in their opening game, but it was all downhill from there. Shambolic against Spain and deservedly hammered.

Euro 2020 outright winner odds

*All odds provided by Betfair and correct as of 23 June

France – 4-1

England – 6-1

Italy – 6-1

Germany – 13-2

Spain – 8-1

Netherlands – 9-1

Belgium – 9-1

Portugal – 11-1

Denmark – 20-1

Croatia – 50-1

Czech Republic – 50-1

Sweden – 50-1

Switzerland – 66-1

Ukraine – 75-1

Wales – 100-1

Austria – 125-1

18. Ukraine

Contributed to a helter-skelter match against the Netherlands by launching a valiant, but ultimately unsuccessful, late comeback but were disappointing in defeat against Austria in their group finale. Scraped through to the next round by their fingernails, courtesy of results elsewhere.

17. Finland

Finland had never qualified for a major tournament before and unfortunately, for them, their first victory and goal when they got there was overshadowed by Christian Eriksen’s collapse and Uefa’s subsequent shoddy handling of the incident. Markku Kanerva’s side gave a good account of themselves during defeats to Russia and Belgium but didn’t quite do enough to scrape into the last-16.

16. Hungary

Hungary were expected to get trounced in all three matches and the fact that that didn’t happen is a testament to their spirit and organisation, not to mention the goalkeeping heroics of captain Peter Gulacsi. A tad fortunate against France but they earned it after a dogged, determined display. Almost completed mission impossible by squeezing into the last-16, only to concede late on against Germany.

15. Switzerland

Unfortunate to not beat Wales, outclassed by Italy and deserved winners against Russia. A par score for Vladimir Petkovic’s side up until this point. The Swiss aren’t renowned for being excited to watch, but Xherdan Shaqiri has done his bit to spice things up by scoring a couple of crackers against Russia.

14. Czech Republic

Started the competition with a bang against Scotland with Patrik Schick scoring one of the finest goals in European Championship history. Faded after a promising start against Croatia before losing to England at Wembley despite creating numerous opportunities. A mixed bag.

13. Croatia

Croatia were desperately poor against England and didn’t fare much better against the Czech Republic. But Zlatko Dalic’s ageing side delivered when it mattered, deservedly beating Scotland to not only qualify but pinch second place from the Czechs. Luka Modric’s sumptuous outside-of-the-boot goal at Hampden Park, meanwhile, has to go down as one of the best in the group stage.

12. Austria

Austria beat a team they should have beaten in North Macedonia and lost to a team they were tipped to lose against in the Netherlands. But in their third game, against a Ukrainian side that looked to be at least their equal, Austria got the job done in impressive fashion. Austria are in the knockout stage of a European Championship for the very first time but have their work cut out to go much further with Italy up next.

11. Denmark

Surely everybody’s second team now? (Sorry, Wales). It is remarkable that Denmark’s players have even been able to summon the strength to play after witnessing Eriksen’s cardiac arrest in the opening match. The victory against Russia, which ensured a place in the last-16, has been, without question, the highlight of the tournament so far. Damsgaard’s curler, beer showers from the stands, Christensen’s piledriver, coaches frantically checking Livescore after the game. It had absolutely everything.

10. Wales

Wales put themselves in the perfect position by securing qualification before having to play Italy, the outstanding team in Group A, in their final match. Robert Page’s side have been defensively resolute and shown plenty in attack too with Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey rolling back the years. Face a stern test against a Denmark team that has its tails up in the next round, though.

9. Portugal

When you have Cristiano Ronaldo in Golden Boot scoring form, anything is possible. Despite being involved in the “Group of Death” at the start of the tournament, Ronaldo is two clear in the top scorer charts with five goals, three of which have been penalties. Early evidence suggests that this Portugal side is far less secure at the back than their Euro 2016 winning side and that could cause them issues against Belgium.

8. Germany

It looked as though the unthinkable might happen at Wednesday night as Germany sunk to the bottom of Group F while trailing against Hungary, not once, but twice in Munich. Leon Goretzka’s late goal dug Germany out of a hole and sent them through to the last-16. German teams of yesteryear have been lauded for their consistency. Not this lot. One minute they look unplayable, the next they are all over the place. Plenty for England to ponder…

7. Spain

It took a while for them to warm up but Spain looked much more like their old selves in their final group match against Slovakia. They were certainly given a helping hand – no pun intended – by Dubravka to set the ball rolling, but the second half saw Spain run riot. There are still question marks over their strikers, however, with Alvaro Morata and Gerard Moreno yet to find their top form.

6. Sweden

Deserve credit for topping their group ahead of the overwhelming favourites Spain. Rode their luck at times against Luis Enrique’s side after having just 14.9 per cent of the ball, but did enough to beat both Slovakia and Poland. Emil Forsberg has been prolific and Alexander Isak lively in attack, but this Sweden team is built around its stinginess in defence.

5. France

Antoine Griezmann has scored. Karim Benzema has scored twice. But no goals so far for French football’s golden boy, Kylian Mbappe. When the PSG speedster starts motoring, France will really be a force to be reckoned with. Although Didier Deschamps’ side did enough to top a tricky group, there are weak spots to be targeted, notably in defence and on the left wing. Plenty of room for improvement.

4. England

Much more was expected of England in an attacking sense, given this squad is packed full of talent at the top end of the pitch. But Gareth Southgate appears to have stumbled upon a winning formula by making his side extremely difficult to break down – only Italy can match England’s record of three clean sheets. It hasn’t been pretty, but international tournament winners are rarely free-flowing. Germany next.

3. Netherlands

One of only three teams to enjoy a 100 per cent win record, alongside Italy and Belgium. The Dutch have exceeded pre-tournament expectations, although bigger tests await. To say that Frank de Boer hasn’t been universally popular since taking the job would be an understatement, but his 3-5-2 system has worked well and enabled key players Gini Wijnaldum, Memphis Depay and Denzel Dumfries to shine.

2. Belgium

Belgium’s golden generation isn’t quite as venerated as it once was with a number of key players, notably Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Eden Hazard, not quite as good as they once were. But when you have Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku at the absolute peak of their powers, you’ll always be in with a chance of beating any team. Made light work of a tricky-looking group.

1. Italy

Swaggered their way into the last-16 with three wins out of three, scoring seven goals and conceding none. Italy’s football culture has historically revolved around being defensively organised and tactically superior to their opponents: this side live up to that age-old stereotype but they can certainly carve teams open in attack too. For all their good play, though, Roberto Mancini’s tailor is the Azzurri’s MVP so far.

More from i on Euro 2020

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