Euro 2024: Opta's surprise prediction and the round of 16 lineup
Only 16 teams remain in the battle for the Euro 2024 finals. After a two-day break, the second phase of the European Championship begins, and the best teams will face off in the Round of 16. Still in contention are Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, England, and Italy. The analytical firm's supercomputer, Opta, has already identified a new champion. Who will win Euro 2024? You might be surprised.
Euro 2024 has been underway for two weeks and the first phase of the tournament is now behind us. Fortunately, the Three Lions have advanced to the 1/16, yet after struggling in the group stage, winning 1-0 with Serbia, drawing 1-1 with Denmark, and 0-0 with Slovenia. The game with Slovakia is scheduled for 30th June, 5 pm.
The tournament continues earnestly, and the decisive battle for the European Championship title begins.
Who will win Euro 2024? Every fan has their predictions and favourites. The analysts at Opta have turned to artificial intelligence, using a computer to analyse each team's results and statistics. They then examined the tournament bracket and estimated which team was likely to win this year's championship. The result? A surprise.
Opta's supercomputer has backed... our representation, which may be quite surprising. According to the machine, the Three Lions have a 19.61 per cent chance of final victory at Euro 2024. This is especially surprising since England have really been playing poorly in the tournament. We are not impressing; that's a fact.
Moreover, there's a lot of talk that the team has had enough of coach Gareth Southgate.
Second on the list of contenders is Spain (17.20 per cent), followed by Germany (17.12 per cent), France (13.14 per cent), and Portugal (9.02 per cent). Importantly, the reigning European champions, Italy, are not among the main favourites. They have not been impressive at the Euro 2024 finals and, additionally, have to face England in the tournament bracket already in the quarter-finals.
Euro 2024: who will play in the Round of 16?
The knockout phase of the tournament will begin on Saturday in Dortmund and Berlin. First, Germany will face Denmark, and Italy will try to eliminate Switzerland. On Sunday, Spain will play the resurgent Georgia, while Sons of Albion will face Slovakia. Then Portugal will face Slovenia, France will face Belgium, Romania will play the Netherlands, and Austria will try to eliminate Turkey.
Euro 2024 Round of 16 pairs
- Switzerland - Italy
- Germany - Denmark
- Spain - Georgia
- France - Belgium
- Portugal - Slovenia
- Romania - Netherlands
- Austria - Turkey
- England - Slovakia
The title, won three years ago, is defended by Italy, who in the memorable final at Wembley drew with our team (1-1), only to defeat us in the penalty shootout 3-2. This year's final will be held on 14 July at the Berlin Olympiastadion. The first whistle will be at 8:00 PM.
