55 nations begin their quest to qualify for Euro 2024 tomorrow night all aiming to emulate Italy’s success in 2020.
Ahead of the big kick-off Republic of Ireland are in friendly action against Latvia this evening in the night’s only international match. Mark Walker has previewed that one for us here.
Ahead of real stuff starting on Thursday night let’s have a quick look at what lies ahead…
The tournament will be hosted in Germany between June 14th – July 14th 2024, with the final played at the Olympiastadion, Berlin. 10 cities across Germany will host matches at the tournament.
Hosts Germany are the only team to gain automatic qualification meaning that holders Italy must qualify as one of the other 23 teams that will participate in the finals.
20 teams will qualify directly from 10 groups with the other three nations qualifying via the 2022-23 Nations League route which will involve a series of play-off matches.
The draw for the finals will take place in December 2023.
Let’s have a look at how things look for Scotland, Republic of Ireland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland
Group A
Group A sees Scotland in alongside Spain and Norway in what looks like a straight shoot-out between the three for the two qualification places.
Georgia could be a dark-horse however, after they topped their Nations League group, unbeaten in a group that contained Bulgaria and North Macedonia. That guaranteed them a play-off place for Euro 2024 as is the case for both Spain and Scotland. In theory, ALL five nations in Group A could qualify for Euro 2024!
Steve Clarke’s men are 13/8 to finish in the top of the table which could boil down to them keeping Erling Haaland quiet in their head-to-heads with the Norwegians.
Group B
Republic of Ireland face a daunting task in Group B where the Netherlands and World Cup runners-up France lie in wait. Stephen Kenny’s squad lack the quality they’ve had in the past and a third placed finish, ahead of Greece and Gibraltar, looks the best they can hope for.
France are 4/5 to top the group with the Dutch at 6/5. Republic of Ireland are 9/2 to qualify.
Group C
England dropped in to Pot 2 for the qualification draw and that led to them being draw alongside Euro 2020 winners Italy, who of course beat Gareth Southgate’s side in a dramatic penalty shoot-out at Wembley to claim the title. Ukraine could put a spanner in the works but North Macedonia and Malta will be the group’s also-rans.
Italy’s no-show at the World Cup should make them even more focused on qualification but it’s England who are the bookies favourites at 10/11 to top Group C with the Italians at 5/4.
Group D
Wales will fancy their chance of a crack at another major tournament from Group D. An ageing Croatia side are the top seeds in the group and trips to Turkey and Armenia look tough assignments, especially without the talismanic Gareth Bale but the Welsh have been the course a few times now and are 4/5 to qualify.
Group H
Northern Ireland have been drawn in one of three six-team groups which means a couple of additional matches. They toiled in their Nations League group, winning just one game in six, so expectations will be low going in to this qualifying campaign. That’s reflected in the betting where they’re 7/1 to finish in the top two which is likely to be occupied by Denmark and one from Finland or Slovenia.
Upcoming Match Previews & Tips
- Wed 19:45 Ireland vs Latvia
- Thu 19:45 San Marino vs Northern Ireland
- Thu 19:45 Italy vs England
- Thu 19:45 Denmark vs Finland
- Thu 19:45 Slovakia vs Luxembourg
- Fri 19:45 Inverness Caledonian Thistle vs Partick Thistle
Golf Tips
It’s a busy week for golf with three events across the PGA & DP World Tours so The Caddy concentrates on the WGC Dell Technologies Matchplay but also provides tips for the Corales Puntacana Championship and the Jonnson Workwear Open.
Racing Tips
Rizzel’s NAP of the day for Wednesday runs at Ffos Las and is currently priced up at 2/1. His other runner is priced as 9/1, and runs at Haydock.
As always, let us know your best betting tips and predictions for today in the comments section below and good luck with all your bets!
The post Wednesday’s Top Tips: The Euro 2024 Lowdown appeared first on MrFixitsTips.