THERE ARE NOW just four teams left at the European Championships, with the first semi-final due to take place in Lyon tomorrow.
France and Germany are the current joint favourites at 9/5, and the two teams meet in Marseille on Thursday evening.
The French have scored more goals than anyone else in the tournament and the team’s latest performance – an emphatic 5-2 defeat of Iceland – suggested they were really starting to come into form following a slow start to the competition.
Germany, meanwhile, beat one of the other highly fancied teams, Italy, in the quarter-finals last Saturday on penalties. Joachim Löw’s side’s experience of winning the 2014 World Cup — beating Didier Deschamps’ France outfit on their way to glory — has many people convinced that they are the best placed of the quartet to succeed.
Meanwhile, Portugal (7/2) have developed a knack for succeeding in unspectacular circumstances. They have yet to triumph over the course of 90 minutes in this tournament, drawing all three of their group matches, as well as defeating Croatia after extra-time and Poland on penalties.
In Cristiano Ronaldo, they have the best player in the competition, while in tandem with promising youngsters such as Renato Sanches and Joao Mario, and a solid backline, they represent a formidable threat to any side in the competition.
Finally, Wales (8/1) remain very much the underdogs of the teams left in contention, particularly with key players Ben Davies and Aaron Ramsey set to miss their semi-final showdown with Portugal through suspension.
However, Chris Coleman’s side proved against Belgium that through spirit, organisation and discipline, they can convincingly overcome more individually talented sides than them.
Wales triumphing would still be a shock, of course, but arguably no more so than Greece in ’04 or Denmark in ’92.
With all that in mind, who do you now think will win the Euros?
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