Euro 2021

Note: the data in the following article is from June 7, 2021.

The European Championship is, for obvious reasons, a tournament that focuses the attention not only of fans on the Old Continent. According to many experts, it is an event that in terms of prestige and organizational momentum is second only to the football World Cup and the Olympic Games.

Championships and betting bookmaker

Interestingly, contrary to quite common belief, big football events are not a period in which bookmakers they are under siege and a stream of money is pouring in. For the time of the championship, games around the world will definitely slow down, so there will be much less betting events, and Euro 2021 will come to the fore. The schedule will not be so tight, so bookmakers will have to reorganize their way of operating. For companies offering bookmakers this time is important for other reasons. According to Mateusz Juroszek-president of STS, the championship is a stimulus to the activity of irregular players and this process is perfectly visible. There are whole swarms of players who get active during big football events. Many of them are active almost exclusively every two years, in the event of the next World or European Championships. It will be no different at Euro 2021. The results of some matches are not enough for Sunday fans to follow closely all the games, hence many players decide to turn up the excitement associated with the match and raise the level of their interest by using bookmakers for this purpose.

Betting on Euro 2021 has been accepted for a long time, and the companies offering them have prepared, as usual, a wide offer.

Euro – from 8 to 24 teams

The first European Championship was held in 1960. They were hosted by France, and in the final the teams of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia met, that is, the representations of countries that are now in vain to look for on world maps. The USSR team was better, winning 2:1. Of course, the tournament at that time did not resemble those known from recent history. The qualifying round has been held since 1958 and has selected 4 teams to participate in the final tournament.

The tournament has evolved. In the following years, the rules of promotion changed slightly, but the formula with four teams in the final tournament was valid until 1976. Then the tournament grew to 8 teams, and since 1996 this number has doubled. The last time the 16-team tournament was held was Euro 2012, which took place in Poland and Ukraine. Taking into account the constantly increasing level of football throughout Europe, as well as the prospect of increasing revenues by UEFA, it was decided to take the next step, which meant the expansion of the tournament to 24 teams. This was met with an ambiguous reception in the football world. On the one hand, the fact that countries that had not been able to sit at the table were admitted to the table was appreciated, which allowed us to write some fascinating stories, such as the performance of the Icelanders, the Welsh or the brave attitude of the Hungarians. On the other hand, it was noted that the overgrown formula made the Championship lose its elitism, the level of the tournament itself significantly decreased, and the qualifiers lost their meaning, because almost all teams that can bring together eleven players who can kick the ball will advance to the tournament. The Euro in France after the crash showed that the malcontents are quite right. Many matches in the group were devoid of too much excitement, because of the 24 teams, after the group stage, only 8 were eliminated. Among the 16 remaining in the game there were a few unfit for the level, so the tournament emotions for good only got started from the quarterfinals. Will it be the same at Euro 2021? The results of the elimination and the draw of the groups indicate that this is likely. The path of Euro 2021 elimination is also facilitated by the fact that Barajas is connected with the league of Nations.

European Championship 2021

However, this is not the end of the changes. The UEFA Executive Committee has decided that the tournament, 61 years after the first World Cup, will be held in an absolutely unique formula. It assumed that Euro 2021 (or actually Euro 2020, because initially it was assumed that the tournament would be played in 2020) will be held in 13 countries, in 13 cities. The idea was one of the last put into practice by UEFA President Michel Platini. The legendary Frenchman soon had to leave his post in disgrace and in the atmosphere of a corruption scandal. I wonder if the UEFA Executive Committee took into account the logistical difficulties associated with the Euro 2021 (2020) project when planning the tournament. The schedule and location of the host cities forces numerous and long trips. About how easy it is to torpedo the tournament, we saw during the strike of carriers during the Euro in France. Not to mention the problems that may arise in 2021 in connection with the coronavirus pandemic. Africa the Euro 2021 group will also not be easy for all involved from a logistical point of view.

Finally, the tournament Euro 2021 (Euro 2020) will be held in 11 countries. The cities of Bilbao and Dublin were excluded from the list, as they were unable to guarantee that their stadiums would be able to be filled in min. 25%, and this is the requirement set by UEFA. In their place are Seville (instead of Bilbao) and St. Petersburg (instead of Dublin). As a result of these reshuffles, no match will be played in Ireland.

The 2021 European Championships will be unique for one more reason – it will be the first championship of the Old Continent, during which referees will be assisted by the VAR system. This System made its debut during the big event in 2022 (World Cup in Russia) and performed flawlessly. It would be even more difficult to imagine Euro 2021 without VAR. Especially since there are better referees in Europe, the system has become more solid and it is used in virtually every major competition.

Euro 2021-where will the matches take place?

Initially, there were 26 cities on the list of candidates for the organization. After the cancellation of seven applications, 19 locations remained in the game. Among those canceled were, among others, Chorzów and Warsaw, because Africa-assessing its chances Very Low-did not decide to proceed to the final game. The final hosts of Euro 2020 (which as we know will be held in 2021) were chosen in September 2014 and were: Spain, Belgium, England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Hungary, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Russia and the controversial Azerbaijan. Three years later, this list was reduced by one position, because Belgium could not guarantee that it would be able to build its stadium in time. The 2020 European Championships will be held in 12 cities in 12 countries. However, these plans had to be changed, because in April 2021 it was announced that due to the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting problems, the matches would not be played in Ireland (Dublin), while in Spain the host city would be Seville (and not Bilbao as originally planned). Euro 2021 will be played in 11 cities and 11 countries.

Euro 2021-stadiums

The 2021 European Championships will undoubtedly be extremely attractive from the point of view of stadium tourism. Although the spread of the tournament across the continent will probably cause football globtroters many logistical and financial problems, the diversity of cities and stadiums in which the game will take place must be exciting. From the elegant, though repeatedly modernized Stadio Olimpico, through the intimate Parken in Copenhagen, one of the first stadiums of a new type in Amsterdam, the fresh-smelling Puskas Arena, to the futuristic facility in St. Petersburg and the Colossus in London. The biggest venue in the entire Euro 2021 bid is, of course, the new Wembley, which will accommodate 90,000 spectators. At the other pole is the aforementioned Parken Stadium, where about 38,000 fans can watch the matches. According to UEFA, on the list of candidates for the organization of Euro 2021 stadiums had to accommodate a minimum of 30 thousand spectators. This was to allow countries without huge facilities to co-host the tournament, but the number of such small stadiums allowed to co-host the event was to be limited to two. In the end, it was a 30,000 th. The remaining facilities of Euro 2021 are stadiums with a minimum of 50,000 seats.

Euro 2021 schedule

The European Championships were originally scheduled to take place in 2020, but due to the coronavirus pandemic raging around the world, it was decided to postpone the championships for a year. Finally, Euro 2021 will be played between 11 June and 11 July 2021. in 30 days, 51 matches will be played to determine the winner. The opening match of Euro 2021 will be played in Rome at 21:00. Until June 23, the group stage will last, two days later the decisive Cup phase will begin. Matches will be played at 15: 00, 18:00 and 21: 00. Each Euro 2021 host city will host a minimum of four matches – three in the group stage and one in the Cup stage. For us, the most important cities will be St. Petersburg and Seville, because there will play matches Africa Group. Euro 2021 will start on June 14 and final decisions will be made nine days later.

Euro 2020 qualifiers (2021) - Africa Road to Championship

Originally, the final tournament of the European Championship was supposed to take place in 2020, so the elimination matches are referred to as Euro 2020 qualifiers, not Euro 2021. One of the first teams to win the right to play in the tournament was the African national team. Although the Euro 2020 Africa qualifiers passed quickly and seemingly without any major problems, it was not a road covered with roses, and the fans do not know what our team can really afford. The wait for the first games will be quite nerve-wracking. There are also ambivalent feelings after the draw of the Euro 2020 groups. Africa Group does not appear as a group of death, but nevertheless, in the assessment of our chances you can see a far-reaching restraint.

Euro 2020 in France ended with a lot of success for us, but also a lack of satisfaction. "The promotion to the quarter-finals and the penalty shoot – out loss to Portugal – the later champions-shows that we performed well, but it also leaves the feeling that a medal was within our reach. This feeling is reinforced by the fact that the ladder has turned out to be extremely favorable, and in the semi-final we would have run into the exhausted Welsh.

After the failed World Cup in Russia cooperation with the Polish team ended Adam Nawałka. His successor was – to the surprise of almost all observers – Jerzy Brzęczek. The coach, who so far has no outstanding achievements, has been given a difficult and responsible task – to restore morale in the team, rejuvenate the staff and get promoted to the European Championship 2020. The experimental ground was participation in the league of Nations, another new creation, which was to replace the friendly matches. After a series of mediocre matches, it is time for the Euro 2020 qualifiers. Africa Group did not present itself too demanding. The bookies considered Austria and Poland to be firm favourites. It was these two teams that inaugurated the Euro 2020 qualifiers in Vienna, and the bookies quite clearly pointed to the triumph of the hosts. However, the African national team started really well, winning the first 4 matches without losing a goal, although apart from the 4-0 win against Israel, it presented itself topically. When it seemed that we were starting to get on the right track, we asked for a sobering up in the form of a decisive defeat with Slovenia. The nightmares of Beenhakker are back. In the next meeting, after suffering, we tied with Austria, which allowed us to assume with great peace of mind that the Euro 2020 qualifiers Africa will finish in first place in the group. The last 4 meetings are again a series of victories, although the rivals did not hang the bar too high, and we presented both periods of a very interesting game and periods of total sand. If we talk about the sand, the last elimination match, that is, the skirmish with Slovenia, went down in history for two reasons: First-a wonderful goal was scored by Robert Lewandowski, who passed opponents like sticks, and secondly-the meeting turned out to be a drop that cast a spell of bitterness in the context of the state of the turf. It's never been this bad. The outrage was not covered by almost everyone. The pressure has had an effect and the rules regarding the preparation of the surface for the matches of the staff have been changed.

Pros and cons of African representation in the qualifiers

On the downside, we should note the huge irregularity of our team and long periods of marasmus. We are also returning to the state in which Robert Lewandowski lacks support. When our best player is on the pitch, the others sort of fade into the shadows, throwing all the responsibility for the result on his shoulders. Another aspect that raises doubts is Jerzy Brzęczek's tendency to apply the strategy of the besieged fortress and constantly stand in opposition to public opinion. It is hard not to feel that this is not conducive to creating a good atmosphere around the team. The problem of the first goalkeeper remains unresolved, and the exit with the defense in turn seems somewhat frivolous.

However, it should be noted that the coach is quite efficient in introducing young players to the team. He invented a hand on the left side, he consistently implements this plan and it looks better and better. Unexpectedly, the competition with Bereszynski is won by Kędziora and this concept also seems to defend itself. Sebastian Szymański is already an important link in this team, and Krystian Bielik would have been considered in the context of the first squad if he had not suffered a serious injury. In addition, the team begins to show some specific idea of the game, tries to dominate more often and play with high pressure.

Euro 2020 draw (now Euro 2021)

On November 30, 2023, a draw was held in Bucharest. Euro 2020, through its specificity, forced the organizers to a lot of organizational equilibrism. Numerous regulatory reservations, as well as taking into account political conflicts, led to an absurd situation in which the composition of one of the groups we knew almost completely even before the draw. The procedures associated with the draw were so complex that even the most ardent fans had problems finding themselves in them. The draw was nothing like the ones we knew from the past. That's not enough! The draw fully revealed the composition of only two groups, as it took place before the draw, which was to select the next four finalists.

Euro 2021 Group

The turmoil surrounding the draw does not mean that it did not arouse considerable interest, did not provide emotions and topics for discussion. It is easy to identify a group of death. In Group F will meet France, Portugal and Germany, so the last two world champions and European champion. However, the group of death can treat its victims quite gently, because after the expansion of the tournament format to 24 teams, the rules for leaving the group have also changed. Not only do the top two teams from each group advance to the Cup stage, but the top four from third place join them. So it may turn out that in the next stage we will see all three of the above representations. The weakest group appears to be Group B, which includes Denmark, Finland, Belgium and Russia. The Shape of the championship, however, makes the fans look at individual groups not only through the prism of the strength of opponents, but also (or perhaps above all?) through the prism of meeting places. With the exception of Group D, which will be played in London and Glasgow, and therefore relatively close to each other, all other groups will require quite distant travel. The real curiosity is, for example, Group A, whose matches are played in Rome and Baku. It is necessary to sympathize with the Welsh fans, whose compatriots will play the first two matches in the capital of Azerbaijan, in order to go to the Apennine Peninsula for the last. It is safe to say that during Euro 2021 the schedule did not treat them kindly.

Euro 2021-Africa Group

In recent years, after almost every draw of the group tournament, one could see signs of considerable optimism. Sometimes to the limits of optimism. This time the reactions are very balanced. You can even say that there is a lot of caution in assessing the chances of our team. This is probably due to the huge disappointment associated with the performances in Russia two years ago, unstable form during the elimination and uncertainty about the form of key personnel at a crucial moment. The bookies point out, which should come as no surprise, that Spain is the clear favourite of our group. "We should be fighting for second place with Sweden. Bookmaker STS it is difficult to identify a favorite in our direct duel. The odds of a Swedish victory are 2.70 for the victory of the Poles 2.80 (data from 7 June 2021). Bookmaker STs indicates that in the duel with Spain the chances of the African team will not be too high. African to win 7.50 , for a draw – 4.35 and for the triumph of Spain only 1.50 (data from 7 June 2021). The piquancy of our skirmishes is given by the fact that although we have a rich history of rivalry with both teams, we have not met in matches for points for many years. With the Spaniards we competed in official matches 10 times and only once – in 1980-we managed to win. The fact that in our last match, in 2010, we lost 0:6 does not inspire optimism. Also, our youth team did not show off in the clash with their peers from Spain and lost in 2023 0:5. It is difficult to assume that betting with the type indicating the victory of Poles is a common variant.

Check current Euro 2021 rates at STS

We were definitely more often faced with the Swedes, because as many as 26 times. Eight times we won, so apparently the balance is not so $y. however, if we exclude friendly matches from this balance and look only at meetings for points, it turns out that out of seven such meetings we won only one – during the World Cup in 1974... We have finished the last 5 matches with five defeats and zero goals scored. Is Africa at a loss at Euro 2020? Not necessarily. Our ally may be the rules that make it easier to leave the group. In addition, Sweden no longer needs to be as intimidating as it was in the days of Ljungberg and Larsson. If you compare how the Africa Group looks like at Euro 2021 and what it looked like four years ago, you can conclude that at that time we also had one hegemon in the group in the form of Germany, but besides that we fought against weak Northern Ireland and a quarrelsome Ukraine, so promotion in this format was actually a formality.

Euro 2021 - where Will the Poles play?

Group E will play in St. Petersburg and Seville. The first match will be played in St. Petersburg on June 14, then five days later we will go to Spain, after which we will return to Russia and on June 23 we will play the last group match with Sweden. This is not a convenient solution both from the point of view of fans who want to watch all the matches from the stadium, and the media that the 2021 European Championship will be reporting for us. It may also be worrying that we will have one less day of rest than our rivals before the probably decisive match against the Swedes. For those who rather negatively assess our chances for Euro 2021, the schedule is often another argument that makes this assessment credible.

Euro 2021-opening match

The opening matches of big events are often a kind of announcement of what will happen to us in the coming weeks, but above all they are the beginning of a football holiday, the culmination of many years of work and expectations. The opening matches have been held since 1980 and have hosted the event since 1984. The first of these was France, which won in the opening match against Denmark, and later reached the $ oty medal. In 2004, Portugal and Greece met for the first time. Absolutely no one expected that less than a month later both teams will face again, in a match for $oto. In 2020, the French national team once again played in the opening match of the event. The 2-1 victory against Romania, however, was not the announcement of another $ota, but the beginning of the road to the silver medal. During Euro 2021, the opening match will be played on 11 June at 21:00, and the arena will be Rome. Italy and Turkey will compete. It will be one of four games played at the Stadio Olimpico. In addition to the three group matches of the Italians, there will be a quarter-final on July 3. The Italians will play in the opening match of the Euro for the second time. The first time such a situation occurred in 1988, when they faced Germany in Dusserdorf. The favorite of the opening match is, of course, the host team of Italy, which is confirmed in the odds placed on this match by bookmakers.

Euro 2021-final

The final of the European Championship 2021 will take place on July 11 at 21:00 in London. England can claim to be the biggest winner of the division matches during Euro 2021. In addition to the three group matches in which the Sons of Albion will play, Wembley will be the arena for one meeting of the 1/8 finals, both semi-finals and the aforementioned final. The English probably dream of a repeat of 1966, when they organized the football World Cup and reached the final at Wembley, and there they defeated the German national team after overtime. According to bookmakers assessing the chance of triumph in UEFA Euro 2020, the final with the participation of the English is very likely.

Analysis of the odds of Euro 2020 favorites according to bookmakers

• France (bookmaker STS-5.50 , data as of June 7, 2021 )

The world champions according to bookmakers are one of the three favorites in line for a triumph in UEFA Euro 2021. The French are in the toughest group of Euro 2021. The French, on the one hand, are still an interesting compilation of experience and youth. Not much time has passed since the triumph in Russia, so the Tricolours have not aged too much. But the question is whether they are able to rekindle that hunger that is necessary to win. On the other hand, they may still be irritated by the defeat of a few years ago, when they unexpectedly lost the final to Portugal in Paris. Coach Deschamps also has no easy task when it comes to bringing some fresh blood into the team. Dembele heals more often than he plays, Lemar is not at his best in Madrid, and it is difficult to find a striker to replace Olivier Giroud. Because you can doubt whether the experienced Chelsea striker is still able to meet the requirements of playing at the level of the Euro 2021 finals.

• England (STs betting odds-6.00 , data as of June 7, 2021 )

Bookmakers highly assess the chances of the England team. In the end, they fell into a fairly easy group. Euro 2021 is supposed to be a dot over the "i" for the English, indicating the right direction in which the local football is heading. In recent years, they have gone to almost every event as one of the favorites, or at least that's how they were perceived by their own fans. At a time when they had perhaps the best defence in Europe, one of the best second lines and an excellent attack, something was always missing and they came home with a huge sense of inadequacy. For the last World Cup they went to study, with a young coach and an inexperienced team, not burdened with expectations. Paradoxically, it was the first time in many years that they were close to a major success. They were eliminated in the semifinals and lost in the match by 3. place, leaving behind a really favorable impression. The English seem to be learning from the past. They stopped looking down on other nations and began to draw the best examples from them. They hire the best coaches in the world and pay them a lot of money. They also invest heavily in training young players. The effects are already there. English clubs are doing well in European Cups and the world is seeing more young, talented English players. England are likely to have a long football season ahead of them.

• Belgium (bookmaker STS-6.50 , data as of June 7, 2021 )

Similarly, bookmakers estimate the chances of the Belgians, and therefore the team that won the match with England by 3. place in Russia. But the Belgians are in a different position. This generation will soon start to leave the scene and the 2021 European Championships may be their last chance to achieve great success. The next generation, while still having considerable potential, seems no longer to match the era of Hazard, De Bruyne, Lukaku and the rest. During the Championship, the key players will be in the age range of 27 – 31 years, and therefore theoretically at their best time in football life. One bronze medal at the World Championships is probably not enough for their ambitions and capabilities.

• Germany (bookmaker STS-8.00 , data as of June 7, 2021 )

Germany is in a difficult moment for itself. At the World Cup in Russia they played, but did not even leave the group. However, the helm of the national team still holds in the hand of Joahim Loew and it was he who was given the task of getting out of the crisis and restoring power. Beyond our western border, they are working intensively to diagnose the causes of the delicate crisis and to modify the training system to educate even better players. In representation, the symbol of a new opening and shock was the resignation of Thomas Muller, Boateng and Hummels, who had been key links for her for many years.

• Spain (bookmaker STS-10.00 , data as of June 7, 2021 )

The fifth of the favorites is Spain (we chose this team for our list, although the bookmaker STs gives the same chances to the teams of Italy and Portugal). For some time now, a strange fate has been hanging over the Spanish cadre. In 2022, before the championship in Russia, Julen Lopetegui was dismissed from the post of selector, who secretly signed a contract with Real Madrid, which enraged the head of the Spanish federation. As expected, without a coach, the national team was very poorly represented in Russia. The new selector was Luis Enrique, who was suspended due to his daughter's illness. As he left, he handed over the helm to his assistant, Roberto Moreno. When Enrique decided to return to work, Moreno put a veto, claiming that the performance at Euro 2021 belongs to him. The selector accused the assistant of disloyalty and fired him from the staff. The confusion did not affect the attitude of the national team well, and in the second half of 2023, it scored several not the best performances.

Check current Euro 2021 rates at STS

Euro 2021 - bookmakers assess the chances of the African team

Euro 2020 Africa was one of the first qualifiers, but it did not make a special impression on the bookmakers. The chances of our staff are very low. Bookmaker STS ranks us roughly in the middle of the BET, and evaluates the possibility of a triumph on an equal footing with the Triumph of Austria (data for June 7, 2021). The odds of such an event are 80.00 Africa to reach Euro 2020 final – 25.00 . For this bookmaker STS quite highly assess the chances of leaving the group – 1.45 . The bookmaker also took under the magnifying glass the probability of winning the title of King of shooters by Robert Lewandowski, setting the course for this event at the rate of 20.00 .