Five nations with the strongest squads at the European Championship

Euros are one of the most anticipated footballing events in the world, which every football fan is eagerly waiting for. The 16th edition of the tournament is due to start later this year amid much fanfare. 

If we take a look at the  Euro 2020 betting odds, we can see that England and Belgium are the favourites for the tournament. Let’s take a look at five of the strongest squads, which are set to compete for the European crown:

England 

Led by 2018 World Cup Golden Boot winner, Harry Kane, England possess some of the finest talents in the game. The Poms start as the favourites for the 2020 Euros.

For the goalkeeping slot, they have plenty of options such as Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope and Dean Henderson. Pickford may get the nod given his experience.

The English are well stacked in the defence as evidenced by the fact that as many as four players are competing for the right-back slot. Trent Alexander-Arnold may take the competition by storm as he has changed the way we look at a defender with his magnificent attacking returns.

They also have the world’s most expensive defender, Harry Maguire in their ranks. Ben Chilwell, John Stones and Fikayo Tomori complete the backline.

In the midfield, they have Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, Harry Winks, James Maddison, who all are setting the Premier League alight. Jack Grealish, Mason Mount and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are also in the reckoning.

The English front-three is capable of giving sleepless nights to any defence. The triumvirate of Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Jadon Sancho are a force to reckon with and will certainly run rampant at the big stage.

France 

The World Champions are well stacked in all the departments on the pitch. Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris will once again guard the goal with Alphonse Areola also being an option.

In the defence they are led by four time Champions League winner, Raphael Varane. The Real Madrid man is aided by Benjamin Pavard, Lucas Hernandez, Benjamin Mendy and Clement Lenglet.

The defence is safe-guarded by arguably the best central defensive midfielder in the form of N’Golo Kante with Paul Pogba, Corentin Tolisso, Moussa Sissoko and Blaise Matuidi giving him able company.

They have some menacing forwards leading the line. Antoine Griezmann, who was the Golden Boot winner in the 2016 edition of the Euros and Olivier Giroud is a tremendous performer for Les Bleus. Whereas, Kylian Mbappe is a phenomenon and is surely one of the contenders for the player of the upcoming Euros.

Belgium 

This present squad is considered the golden generation of the Red Devils. Real Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois is one of the best in the business and will start between the sticks for the Belgians.

Tottenham pairing of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld have been like rocks for their national side. Along with the pair, a fit Vincent Kompany and Thomas Vermaelen are more than enough to keep any attack at bay.

Kevin de Bruyne is arguably the best midfielder on the planet and the onus will be on him to make them tick. Axel Witsel, Youri Tielemans and Yannick Carrasco will provide more than able support to De Bruyne in the middle of the park.

The attack is where Belgium has the edge over other sides. Eden Hazard is one of the best players on the planet and has already proved himself to be the difference maker. Romelu Lukaku and Dries Mertens are different from each other but are equally effective.

Portugal 

The defending champions have improved significantly after their narrow victory over hosts France in the final of the 2016 Euros. That was also Cristiano Ronaldo’s first international trophy and he will be hungry for more.

Wolves man Rui Patricio will once again start between the sticks for them. He will be behind an experienced back line of Pepe, Jose Fonte, Ruben Dias and Nelson Semedo. 

Raphael Guerreiro, Joao Cancelo and Ricardo Pereira will provide the much needed width to the Portuguese. They are very attacking in their approach and can be the X-factor.

The midfield is where the revolution has happened. The tremendous trio of Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes and Ruben Neves are set to announce their arrival on the international stage at the Euros. William Carvalho will be given the task to shield the defence.

CR7 is on 99 international goals and will lead the line for the Portugese. Atletico Madrid man Joao Felix is already a proven star and Diogo Jota may also turn out to be quite a handful.

Germany 

We can never keep out Germany from any favourite list. Die Mannschaft had an awful World Cup and they will definitely want to turn the tables in this competition.

They have plenty of options in the goalkeeping department and it will be a close call between Manuel Neuer and Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Arsenal’s Bernd Leno will be the third option.

Antonio Rudiger and Niklas Sule are set to be the centre-back pairing for the Germans. A highly rated Joshua Kimmich along with Jonas Hector will complete the back-line. Thilo Kehrer will deputize for Kimmich, if he features in midfield.

Toni Kroos will orchestrate the midfield once again. Julian Brandt and Leon Goretzka are two of the brightest stars in the game. Ilkay Gundogan will also provide his calming presence on the pitch.

Leroy Sane will definitely feature this time after his controversial omission from the 2018 World Cup squad. Timo Werner will lead the line for the Germans with able support of Serge Gnabry, who has taken the footballing world by storm.

Featured Image Courtesy: Euro Cup