When these nations first saw their group draw, they probably thought, 'Well, this could have gone better'. The group consists of two footballing heavyweights in Spain and Italy, who have won this tournament a total of five times between them and are favourites for the Euro 2024 betting, Croatia, who constantly find themselves in the latter stages of summer football tournaments, and Albania, a team that would have been delighted to qualify but maybe less delighted when they saw the quality of their group.
Italy
We should start with the holders, Italy. Their qualifying campaign was brought into chaos when former manager Roberto Mancini decided to pack his bags and join the Saudi Arabian national team. His decision was probably made easier since performances plummeted drastically after they defied the bet on football to win the tournament in 2021. They eventually had to play against Ukraine in a one-off match to qualify, and they were fortunate not to concede late on.
It must be noted that Italy did not qualify for the last two big ones, so failure to qualify for this major football tournament would have been deemed catastrophic for a nation with such a proud footballing history. How will they fare this year? With Italy, you can never rule them out, as this is precisely what many did last time. Still, considering their form, you could back them to qualify from this group, but the football betting odds suggest that their winning the tournament is very unlikely.
Spain
As for Spain, they quickly qualified from their group, losing only one game to Scotland. Compared to previous generations, this team is not as talented, but they still have some players that can make them go far in this tournament. Their standout player is arguably Rodri. Every week, we see the vast difference he makes to a Manchester City team full of some of the best players in the world. They say that games are won in midfield, and you can't get many players better than Rodri to put that theory to the test.
Barcelona youngsters Gavi and Pedri are also believed to have unique talents, but it could be that this tournament will come a little early for them.
Croatia
With Croatia, we need to keep reminding ourselves that they only have a population of roughly four million. Therefore, their performances during major football tournaments over the past two decades have been extraordinary. They will go into this major football tournament relying on their star players, Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic. Still, it must be stressed that these players are coming towards the end despite having fantastic careers, so this is the tournament where they eventually stop defying the odds. Gvardiol, Manchester City's latest summer signing, will be in defence, and they still have some top talent spread across the European Leagues. Hence, it is not impossible for them to have yet another compelling tournament.
Albania
Lastly, Albania were delighted to have qualified for the tournament this year. They reached the group stages in 2016 but were far from favourites in their group. Poland finished in third place, while the Czech Republic finished in second behind them, showing how much of an achievement qualification was in the first place. We have no doubt Albania will put their life and soul into this tournament, but it will take an optimist to believe they will be able to qualify from this group.
Betsson Euro 2024 Group B Predictions
This group is tough to predict, but we will try our best. Firstly, we are backing Spain to finish in first place. They have been impressive in qualifying and have some young players coming through. Croatia and Italy will be battling it out for second place. By the smallest of margins, we back Croatia for this one, but we won't be surprised. Considering their ranking and squad depth, Albania are favourites to finish at the bottom of the group, but this doesn't mean they can't prove everyone wrong. We have also done Group A and Group C previews for those interested.
