Belgium Clear Favorites of 2024 Euro Group E Odds
Lukaku Top Scorer in Qualifiers
Ukraine Going Under Radar
Belgium’s golden generation has come and passed. But Euro 2024 presents an excellent opportunity for the Belgians to make a deep run. Some Belgian legends, like Kevin De Bruyne, are still around for what could be one last shot at silverware. While groupmates Ukraine have been going under the radar, Slovakia and Romania are also in Group E. We’ll check out all of the Euro 2024 Group E odds ahead of this June’s tournament.
De Bruyne, Lukaku Key for Belgium
In 12 matches as Belgium’s head coach, Domenico Tedesco is an unbeaten 8-4-0. He made a big call to leave Thibaut Courtois, one of the best goalkeepers in the world, home after a dispute over the captaincy last June. Koen Casteels is expected to get the nod instead.
Since returning from an injury in January, Kevin De Bruyne has been superb for Manchester City and he and Romelu Lukaku are Belgium’s stars. Lukaku led the UEFA Euro Qualifiers, with 14 goals as Belgium finished with an unbeaten 6-2-0 record. Lukaku should start up front, with Jeremy Doku and Leandro Trossard on the wings.
Belgium have the luxury of having Lois Openda as a backup striker as well. With the team going through a transitional period, don’t be surprised if Tedesco trots out a few different lineups in the Group Stage. Charles De Ketelaere had an excellent season with Atalanta and he could be an X-factor off the bench as well.
Heading into the Summer, Belgium show -250 Euro 2024 Group E odds to come in first. It’s highly unlikely but they do sit at +1600 odds to finish in last place as well.
Slovakia Could Struggle to Score
Slovakia have quietly made three straight European Championships but they’ve won just two of their last six matches. Regardless, bettors should know they’ve always managed at least one win at each major tournament they’ve qualified for. Gone are the days of Marek Hamsik, but Slovakia still have some talented midfielders.
Stanislav Lobotka played for Francesco Calzona this season at Napoli and his club coach will double as his national team coach. Juraj Kucka and Ondrej Duda could be the other two starters in midfield.
Center back David Hancko is a threat from set pieces and casual fans may know his partner Milan Skriniar, who had a season derailed by injuries. No Slovakia player scored more than three goals in qualifiers and the striker position is their biggest weakness. Robert Bozenik, Tomas Suslov and Lukas Haraslin are options.
It won’t come as a massive surprise that Slovakia are -125 favorites to finish in last place. Still, this is a team that could spring a surprise result somewhere on their Euro schedule and they are priced at +1000 odds to win Group E.
Inexperienced Romania Unbeaten in Qualifiers
Romania surprised quite a few people by finishing in first place in the Group I UEFA Euro standings in qualifiers. Under Edward Iordanescu, Romania went 6-4-0 and won and drew against Switzerland. This is their first major tournament appearance since Euro 2016 where they went 0-1-2.
While Romania did well to finish in first place in their qualifying group, they played against Switzerland, Kosovo, Israel, Belarus, and Andorra. This will be a huge step up in competition for a team that is inexperienced at the highest level.
Still, there are certainly some bright spots in the team. Radu Dragusin hasn’t played too much since joining Tottenham but he’s a complete young center back. Nicolae Stanciu and Ianis Hagi will supply the team with creativity. Meanwhile, Denis Dragus is coming off a 14-goal season for Gaziantep in Turkey and he should compete with George Puscas for the starting striker role.
The latest odds list Romania at +600 to finish in first place in their group. Meanwhile, a last-place finish is priced at +250.
2020 Quarterfinalists Ukraine Have More Potential
Ukraine might just be the most interesting team in Group E, given their mix of talent, experience, and unpredictability. The Blue and Yellow can boast they have the La Liga top scorer on their roster. Artem Dovbyk scored 24 goals for Girona this season as he helped them qualify for the Champions League for the first time. Ukraine winger Viktor Tsyhankov was another big part of Girona’s success.
Mykhailo Mudryk hasn’t been at his best at Chelsea but the winger has an electrifying pace and will cause problems for defenses. Then, there are players like Ruslan Malinovskyi, Andriy Yarmolenko, and Oleksandr Zinchenko, who have all been here before.
Ukraine made a run to the Quarter-Finals at Euro 2020 and there’s no reason they can’t reach that stage again. They even have their goalkeeping position sorted this time around. Andriy Lunin has been superb filling in for Courtois this season at Real Madrid. Ukraine could be one of the surprise teams of the tournament and the Euro 2024 Group E odds list them at +550 to come in first. They also sit at +350 odds to come in last place but we doubt that’ll be the case.
