Euro 2020 Group A odds: Wales have battle on hands
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The delayed European Championship gets under way on Friday as 24 teams begin their quest to lift the Henri Delaunay trophy and we’re taking a look at all six groups.
England are the 5/1 second favourites to win the tournament for the first time, with Scotland and Wales regarded as long shots.
Wales have been drawn against Italy, Turkey and Switzerland, so let’s take a look at their opponents and the Euro 2020 Group A odds.
Wales
Coach: Rob Page
Key player: Gareth Bale
Wales were the surprise package five years ago when they finished top of a group containing England and then beat Belgium in the quarter-finals only to lose to eventual champions Portugal in the last four but can they go on a similar run this time?
Page has taken over coaching duties in the wake of Ryan Giggs’ court case and he will undoubtedly rely on the likes of Bale and Aaron Ramsey to produce moments of magic.
Wales recently qualified for Nations League Group A by finishing top of their group and they beat Czech Republic in World Cup qualifying having lost 3-1 in Belgium, so they could prove competitive against Turkey and Switzerland.
Italy
Coach: Roberto Mancini
Key player: Nicolo Barella
Italy were one of only two nations to finish top of their group with a 100% record and have not conceded in their last eight matches, having not lost a competitive game in almost three years, a run of 26 games.
#MadeInItaly 🇮🇹
🔝 Having been rated as the player of the week on four occasions, @Lor_Insigne has won the Made in Italy 'award' for the 2020/21 #SerieA season! #VivoAzzurrohttps://t.co/fD0IVi6zqQ
— Italy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@azzurri) May 24, 2021
The Azzurri were also the joint top scorers in qualifying with 37 goals, although England reached the same mark playing two games fewer.
Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne were the top-scoring Italians in Serie A with 20 and 19 goals respectively, with the former also on target in a couple of World Cup qualifiers, but they bagged just three goals each in qualifying as the goals were shared throughout a team that should go far.
Turkey
Coach: Senol Gunes
Key player: Burak Yilmaz
Turkey took four points off world champions France to finish runners-up in the group and impressive recent wins against Netherlands and Norway have raised expectations they could do well at the tournament.
Cenk Tosun, who ended the season on loan at Besiktas, was Turkey’s top scorer in qualifying with five goals but he is out after undergoing a major knee operation so veteran Burak Yilmaz, now with French champions Lille, will lead the line despite scoring just once in the group phase.
The 35-year-old forward scored an incredible hat-trick in the 4-2 win against the Dutch and having proved a success in France, his confidence will be high.
Switzerland
Coach: Vladimir Petkovic
Key player: Manuel Akanji
The Swiss are a team devoid of stars but they lost just one of their four Nations League games against Spain and Germany last year, so they will once again prove a tough nut to crack.
Switzerland finished one point clear of Denmark at the top of their qualifying group and won just once in 2020, albeit against tough teams.
The omitted Cedric Itten was their top scorer in qualifying with three goals so although they will be difficult to beat, it’s hard to see where their goals are going to come from with Xherdan Shaqiri having spent most of the season on the bench at Liverpool.
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
