Euro 2016 Betting Odds: Germany And France Emerge As Early Favorites
Euro 2016 is right around the corner and betting odds are already showing which teams are emerging as the early favorites to win the tournament. The reigning champions, Spain, are looking like they are going to be dethroned, according to multiple betting odds. Germany and France are currently the teams with the highest odds to win the tournament.
It is no shock that Germany is one of the teams that came out on top, given the fact that they are currently the reigning World Cup champions. Germany has lost no steam despite being demoted from the first to fifth best team in the world by the FIFA world rankings.
Argentina, the team who Germany beat in the World Cup finals, is now considered the best-ranked team in the world, according to FIFA. Also ahead of Germany are Colombia, Belgium, and Chile. The FIFA rankings give a good estimate, but is also wrong a lot of the time.
Germany has been given 7-2 odds to win the European Championship by Skybet. That means Germany has the second-best chance to win the tournament trailing behind France. Historically, both teams have been powerhouses in Europe.
For instance, France is ranked 21st in the FIFA’s world rankings, but is still given 3-1 odds by Skybet to win Euro 2016. Granted that the European Championship only includes European teams, 21 is still a very low ranking for a team like France.
Germany should be able to tear through Group C. Their group includes Northern Ireland, Poland, and Ukraine. Germany has a far more talented roster than each of these squads. In the qualifying round, Germany did have two losses. One loss to The Republic of Ireland and one loss to Poland.
In Group C, Germany should have no issue being a shoo-in to advance out of the group stage. Poland has a relatively young squad and they could arguably be the best talent the country has seen in years. It is possible that they may be able to pull an upset against the Germans and at least come in second place in Group C. Although Northern Ireland and Ukraine aren’t bad teams, they don’t have the firepower to keep up with Germany.
France may have a tougher time in Group A. Romania and Switzerland both are ranked higher than France by the FIFA world rankings. Aside from those two teams, France has to face Albania, which they should have no issue defeating. The ranking of Romania and Switzerland obviously contradict various odds that have made France the favorites.
Though it will be a tough challenge, France definitely has the talent to pull through. Players like Paul Pogba, Karim Benzema, and Antoine Griezmann are all world-class talents. Any team would have trouble dealing with a trio like that.
The FIFA world rankings aren’t as accurate as they seem. They do take special consideration to certain situations, but the results come out inaccurately. The system desperately needs to be changed. The rankings are based on a point system that doesn’t gauge the real power of teams correctly.
USA Today Sports reported a detailed outline on how the FIFA world rankings are assessed. There is a specific formula used to actually gauge the ranking of each team.
- Ranking = match result x importance of match x strength of opponent x strength of confederation
Though it makes sense how FIFA laid out the formula, it can be highly inaccurate. USA Today Sports pointed out that teams like Chile, Romania, and Wales should not be ranked as high as they currently are. These teams are some of the best in the world, but being placed in the top 10 is a little farfetched.
Despite the calculations of the FIFA world rankings, Germany and France should not have any trouble making their way far into the tournament. Clearly, the rankings have no impact on the betting odds and both teams remain two of the favorites to win Euro 2016.
[Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images]
