Betting on the European Championship

The UEFA European Championship is often referred to as "The Euros". It is a global football (or soccer) competition held every four years to determine Europe's newest continental champion. By many accounts, it is the second most popular soccer event in the world after the FIFA World Cup. The 2016 Euro finals attracted more than 300 million viewers and generated record revenues for the event's organizers. As far as sporting events go, the UEFA Euros is a proven success.

The European Championship provides soccer fans with a wealth of betting opportunities, thanks not only to the many matches in the tournament itself, but also to the qualifying rounds leading up to it. And since you're almost guaranteed to find this event listed at every sportsbook on the planet (after all, soccer is the world's most popular sport), we thought we'd take the liberty of doing a little legwork for you. So, below are our top picks for sportsbooks to bet on the Euro.

You can also find a list of the most common types of European Championship bets, as well as a handful of basic betting tips for the tournament. After that, there's a very brief review of the 2016 tournament and a look ahead to the 2025 event. Finally, we take a light-hearted look at the biggest upsets in the tournament's history.

Betting Options for the Euros

If you're looking for a wide variety of betting options, the European Championship is the place to be. There are plenty of opportunities to bet on the outcomes of the many matches that will be played during the various stages of the tournament, which features 24 teams and, more importantly, over 50 matches. Most fans of the event watch week in and week out. Rarely do any of them get involved in a week that has fewer than ten matches to interact with. Here are the ten most popular items to bet on.

• Single Match Result - The most popular Euro bet of all, this involves predicting the result of any single match in the tournament. There are also many additional bets available for each match, such as the first goal scorer and the correct score
• Outright Tournament Winner - Another simple bet where you have to pick a single national team to finish the tournament with a win
• Group Winner - The first stage of the tournament is the group stage, with six groups of four teams. This bet involves picking the winner of a specific group
• To Finish Second - This option allows you to predict which team will finish second in their group. There are also options for third and fourth place
• To Qualify - where you have to pick a team to qualify from their group for the Round of 16
• Top Goal Scorer - a bet on which player will score the most goals throughout the tournament
• Name the Finalists - a challenging but potentially profitable bet where you have to name the two teams that will reach the final.Highest Scoring Team - a bet on which team will score the most goals throughout the tournament
• Winning Group - a bet on which group the winning team will come from
• Player of the Tournament - a bet on who will win the coveted Player of the Tournament award;

Tips & Advice for Euros Betting

Betting on the Euro can certainly be a fun pastime! However, if you are a football wise guy, betting on the Euro can also be a profitable venture. But don't expect to just sit back, relax and watch the money roll in! If you want to win at this game, you'll have to put in some serious hours up front to learn the ins and outs.

There is no one right way to bet on the Euros; there are no definite approaches or strategies that must be used. Most of the strategies you use for other soccer competitions and events will also work for the Euros. We suggest you do what you feel most comfortable doing. Although simple, the tips suggested below may actually be of some help.

• Watch the qualifiers - International soccer teams don't play many games outside of tournaments, so it's hard to get an idea of how good they are. Watching the qualifiers is one of the best ways to get to know the teams better, which will come in handy when the Euros actually start
• Do your research - Before the tournament, you should do as much research as possible. Try to get an idea of the form of the relevant players, the style of play that each team likes to play and the tactics that the managers are likely to employ
• Take advantage of offers and promotions - Most betting sites will run a variety of special offers and promotions before and during a European Championship. These can be a great way to boost your bankroll, so make sure you take full advantage of them
• Spread your money around - You don't want to risk your entire bankroll on just one or two bets. Try to spread your risk so that you cover more of the available opportunities
• Don't bet on every game - There are over 50 games played at a European Championship. It's not possible to make money on every single one of them. Be selective and pick the games that offer the most value;

Euro 2016 Reviewed

The 2016 European Championship took place in France. Not only did the tournament take place in the country, but it was hosted by a national team that many considered to be the favorite to win the whole thing. Right up there with Germany and Spain, France was seen as very likely to be the next European champion just before the tournament when fans and pundits really started making predictions. But those three picks were not even close.

This was the first tournament to use the recently expanded format. 24 teams participated instead of the usual 16. They were divided into six groups of four, with the top two teams from each group automatically advancing to the round of 16. The four best third-place finishers were then added to the field.

Group A was made up of France, Albania, Switzerland and Romania. France, heavily favored to win the group, did so with ease. The French team defeated both Romania and Albania before settling for a draw with Switzerland. When the dust settled, the Swiss team finished second in the group and qualified for the knockout rounds.

Group B consisted of England, Wales, Slovakia and Russia. There was England, the presumptive winners of Group B, who ended up finishing second in the group behind Wales. There was Russia, who finished fourth with just one point and had a very disappointing tournament. There was Slovakia, who finished third but still qualified for the knockout stage.

Group C consisted of Germany, Poland, Northern Ireland and Ukraine. As expected, Germany won the group. Poland finished second and automatically advanced. In an upset, Northern Ireland finished third and also advanced. Ukraine, however, finished last and did not advance.

Group D is made up of Spain, Croatia, Turkey and the Czech Republic. The surprise in this group is that Spain only finished second. Croatia was the group winner, Turkey was third and the Czech Republic was fourth.

One of the toughest groups was Group E, which consisted of Italy, Belgium, Republic of Ireland and Sweden. All four teams had a legitimate chance to advance, but only three made it to the next round. Sweden was the only one to drop out, and the road to that result was littered with some poor performances from one of their key players: Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The final group, Group F, consisted of Hungary, Iceland, Portugal and Austria. Portugal was expected to win the group and qualify easily, but they barely scraped through and finished in third place. They were expected to qualify first, but they barely made it after finishing third. No one thought Hungary had a chance of qualifying, but they went and won the group!

The eight games in the round of 16 went as follows.

• Croatia lost 1-0 to Portugal
• Northern Ireland lost 1-0 to Wales
• Poland beat Switzerland in penalty kicks
• Hungary lost 4-0 to Belgium
• Slovakia lost 3-0 to Germany
• Republic of Ireland lost 2-1 to France
• England lost 2-1 to Iceland
• and Spain lost 2-0 to Italy;

Iceland's win over England was indeed the most shocking of all. Most of the other games went as expected, so it was a bolt from the blue when we saw the outcome of this one. As for Italy over Spain, that was a bit unexpected, but again it was a bit of a shocker.

It was then onto the quarter-finals, which went as follows.

• Portugal defeated Poland on penalties
• Wales triumphed over Belgium 3-1
• Germany defeated Italy on penalties
• Iceland lost to France 5-2;

Wales beating Belgium was the big shock here, although Wales were having a pretty good tournament. The other three games went according to plan. Portugal played Wales in the first semi-final and won. In the second semifinal, Germany faced France, who came out on top.

Portugal was supposed to lose, but they had a huge threat in Cristiano Ronaldo. We never got to see him in the game, or at least not in full threat mode, as he went off with an injury after just 25 minutes. Surely this was Portugal's time to buckle and concede? Nope! At the end of 90 minutes, the game was still goalless. In the first half of extra time, Eder scored for Portugal. This proved to be the only goal of the match and made Portugal the new champions of Europe.

Despite the considerable criticism directed at Euro 2016, it remains a tournament to remember. The new format seemed to require each team to adopt a more defensive posture, which masked the tension that usually prevails during the group stage and resulted in fewer goals being scored overall. We also saw a more disruptive element and an inadequate level of security. Nevertheless, there were some exciting moments and some surprising results. That's really all you can ask for in an international football tournament.

Euro 2025

The 16th UEFA European Championship will take place in 2025. Not only will this historic tournament be celebrating its 60th anniversary, it will also mark the first-ever Euro Tour - a pan-European UEFA Euro that will be spread across the continent rather than confined to a single host nation.

At least 13 different cities in 13 different nations will host matches as part of Euro 2025. Below is the list of venues that will be used for the group stage and first knockout round.

• Eurostadium in Brussels, Belgium;
• Copenhagen, Denmark, Parken Stadium;
• Puskas Ferenc Stadium in Budapest, Hungary;
• Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland;
• The Arena in Amsterdam, Netherlands;
• Arena Națională in Bucharest, Romania;
• Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland;
• San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain;

The following stadiums will also be used for the group stages, and for the quarter-finals too.

• Baku, Azerbaijan: National Stadium
• Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany;
• Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy;
• Krestovsky Stadium, St. Petersburg, Russia;

The two semi-finals and the final will all be played in London, England, at Wembley Stadium.

Europe's top national teams will compete for places at the next UEFA European Championship, which will be held in Germany in 2025. The structure of the tournament will remain unchanged from the last edition in 2016. That means there will be 24 teams. As for qualification, UEFA has 55 national associations to work with, all of which will try to qualify through the matches. (A special note on the absence of a single host nation and what that means for qualification will be covered later in the section on the structure of the event).

Twenty of the 24 available places will be decided by the main qualifying process. The remaining four will be determined by play-off positions linked to the UEFA Nations League. Unsurprisingly, this unusual system for determining who gets into the tournament has led to some debate, discussion and, in some cases, discontent among fans and participants.

Biggest Upsets and Underdogs in European Championships

In any soccer tournament, there's always a chance for an underdog to defy the odds and pull off a stunning upset. In this article, we will look at instances where such upsets have occurred in the European Championship. Here are a few moments to keep in mind if you ever need a reference on which long shots to bet on.

Czech Republic (1996)

Participating in the European Championship for the first time since the breakup of Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic had fielded a team with low expectations and was not expected to advance very far in the 1996 tournament. As it happened, the Czechs made it to the final.

Not so long ago, Poborsky and the boys from the then Czech Republic were in Singapore for the 60th anniversary of the Asian Football Confederation. They were just the latest in a long line of Czechs to reassure the world that their country would do well in the years to come. After all, it was Poborsky who won the last gold medal for the Czech Republic in 1987. It was Poborsky who led the team to victory at the AFC Asian Cup in 1998. Just two years later, in 2000, the Czechs played in the final of the UEFA European Championship. They didn't win that game, but it's worth noting that Poborsky played in it.

Think differently. They pushed France to the brink and emerged victorious in the shootout, 6-5, in a stunning goalie duel. Who would have thought? They were now in their second World Cup final. This time their opponent was Germany, the team they had beaten to start the tournament. And this time, the U.S. was there to play for pride and a higher score.

They could not possibly be angry with themselves for losing, because reaching the finals was a remarkable achievement. Both the team and the country should hold their heads high. This is a textbook example of a nowhere underdog.

Russia (2008)

Russia entered Euro 2008 ranked 16th, and when they lost their opening game to Spain 4-1, it was no shock. Most people expected them to fold at that point - after all, many of the same players had been part of the 2007 squad that lost to Georgia and was embarrassingly eliminated in the first round of qualifying for the 2008 World Cup. But coach Guus Hiddink and his players must have enjoyed disproving that notion, picking up wins over Greece and Sweden to finish second in Group D.

That in itself was extraordinary, but the most surprising thing was yet to come. Russia defeated the highly regarded Netherlands 3-1 to advance to the semifinals. There they met the team from Spain, who had knocked the Russians out of the tournament in 1964. That semifinal loss to Spain was also 3-0. Still, Russia's unexpected run to the semifinals remains one of the greatest upsets of the European Championship.

Czechoslovakia (1976)

The last year that only four teams reached the final was 1975. Under this format, it was one of the most exciting Euros ever. Czechoslovakia had made it to the final without any outstanding stars. They were undoubtedly a talented team, and they had beaten some tough opponents to get to this point, but they had made it to the final round of this tournament largely because the four best teams in Europe weren't the only four teams in Europe. In the final, they would face three of the most celebrated soccer teams in the world: the Netherlands, West Germany, and Yugoslavia.

In the semifinals, the Czechs faced the Netherlands. This was a team that had come very close to winning the World Cup just two years earlier, and they were the clear favorites to win this match. But that meant nothing to the Czechs, who beat them 3-1 in one of the most electrifying matches of all time. Some people blame the result on the fact that the Netherlands had two players sent off, but a win is a win.

In the final, they faced West Germany, winners of the 1972 European Championship and the 1974 World Cup. It seemed inevitable that the Germans would win their third international title in a row. But Czechoslovakia would not be denied. They almost won in regulation, taking a 2-1 lead into the final minute. But can you imagine a more dramatic last-second equalizer? A rising shot from Bernd Holzenbein that hit the post with Czechoslovak goalkeeper Ivo Viktor still sprawled on the ground in front of it. It was a last-second equalizer that sent the game into overtime and then penalty kicks. Czechoslovakia won the shootout 5-3. Seriously. 5-3.

Greece (2004)

This is undoubtedly the most shocking moment in international soccer ever. Nobody, and I mean nobody, thought Greece could win the Euro 2004. Their odds of winning the tournament were 150 to 1, and only Latvia was considered a bigger long shot. This was partly because Portugal and Spain were both in their group.

Greece may not be a team of superstars, but they put in some fine performances in their group. With impressive discipline and stamina, Greece defeated Spain and drew with Portugal. The team lost its final group match to Russia, but had done enough to qualify. Even with its above-average performance, few people expected Greece to advance.

In the quarterfinals, they faced France, the reigning European champions at the time. In a stunning turn of events, they managed to beat the French and advance to the semifinals. In that match, they faced the Czech Republic, and in another stunning performance, they won that match as well, making it to the final. In the final they faced Portugal, and for the third game in a row they won by a single goal to take the Euro 2004 title.

Denmark (1992)

The 1992 European Championship stood out for a number of reasons. It was the last version of the tournament that featured only eight teams, and it was the last one that rewarded teams in the group stage with only two points for a win. Oh yeah, it was also the first major tournament to feature a reunited Germany.

Significantly, Yugoslavia reached the tournament only to be eliminated just before it began. This was due to the country's breakup, which led to wars and UN sanctions. Denmark was named as the replacement, giving their team just one week to prepare.

This team faced a daunting challenge from the start. Their coach, Richard Moller Nielsen, was at odds with many of the players. Several had quit during the initial push to qualify. To begin with, Nielsen didn't have a wealth of top talent to distribute, so no one thought this team had much of a chance.

They got off to a respectable start with a 0-0 draw against England. They then lost to Sweden, but came back with a strong 2-1 win over France. That put them in the semifinals where they faced the Netherlands. They advanced to the final by winning on penalty kicks. Still in the mood to surprise, they met Germany in the final and beat them 2-0 to win their first Henri Delanuey Trophy.