Euro 2020

Euro 2020 is less than a week away and WhichBookie footy tipster Matt Le Tissier is back to share his thoughts on Southgate’s England squad, predictions for the tournaments opening match between Turkey and Italy as well as his preferred England starting XI.

Euro 2020 Opening Match

Turkey v Italy (20:00 Friday)

If you check my prediction chart from last week, I tipped Turkey to do well as an outsider. I’ve also tipped Italy to win the group. I think this match might end in a draw but instead of backing that, I prefer an Under 2.5 Goals bet as I think this could end 1-1, or if it’s going to go either way, 1-0. Usually, the first game of a tournament is a bit tight and a bit cagey with neither side wanting to get off to a bad start. Turkey have been pretty solid defensively and with it being the first game, I don’t think either team will go all-out straight away and I think a draw would suit both teams in this group.

Turkey v Italy
Under 2.5 Goals	3/4		Visit
Draw	3/1		Visit

England Squad

It wasn’t a big surprise to see White and Godfrey as the two defenders who were left out and Ollie Watkins would have also expected to miss the cut given the forward players in front of him. Then there’s Jesse Lingard who had a fantastic run at West Ham but went quite a few games without scoring and went off the ball a bit which again, means that it wasn’t a huge surprise to see him miss out. I was disappointed that Ward-Prowse wasn’t named in the squad but there’s a chance that he may get called up now that Alexander-Arnold is out. Southgate’s probably looking at Ben White or Godfrey but I think there are enough defenders already and Ward-Prowse can give something a little different in the forward areas so he may be a better option. He’s played right-back as well and has marked Zaha out of games when Southampton have played Palace a couple of times. He also gives you something no other midfielder can give you with his free kicks. Fingers crossed he gets himself in the squad.

England Group Games

I see the Croatia match ending in a draw and I think it will be our toughest game in the group. For me, they’re the two best teams in the group and when you get that situation, both teams may settle for a draw. If it gets to 80 minutes, I’m not sure you’d see either side pushing for a winning goal.

Against Czech Republic, I think we’ll have more than enough to take all three points from the match and that would leave us probably needing just a point from the Scotland game to qualify. Obviously, I fancy our chances of taking all three points from them and I think 7 points from the group games would be a decent outcome. I can see Croatia getting the same number of points and so it could come down to goal difference.

England Group Games
England v Croatia	Draw @ 27/10		Visit
England v Scotland	England @ 4/11		Visit
England v Czech Republic	England @ 4/9		Visit

Scotland & Wales

I’m not overly confident about Scotland & Wales’ chances and it would be a shock if they progressed given both are in tough groups. I’ve tipped both Turkey and Italy to go through from Group A and Switzerland aren’t a bad team either so Wales have their work cut out. I think that they could finish bottom of the group sadly. I don’t want that to happen as I’d love all the British teams to do well but looking at their opposition, I think they might struggle to get themselves off the bottom yet alone qualify.

Scotland possibly have a better chance of getting out of the group than Wales. They could get a win against Czech Republic and try and hold out for a point against either Croatia or England which might be enough to finish third and claim one of the four extra places in the next round. Fingers crossed for them.

Best Young Player of the Tournament

From an England perspective, Phil Foden could be the stand-out player but Mason Mount has had a great season and could be in contention. Looking at the other teams, Kai Havertz will be full of confidence after scoring the winning goal in the Champions League final which won’t do him any harm. Then you have Joao Felix who may not have found his best form yet at Madrid but he has so much potential and if he’s comfortable in the Portugal team, he’s a player that has the ability to stand out in a tournament like this. There are plenty of contenders for this market but I’m with the bookies on this one and I think Phil Foden is a wonderful footballer who is going to have a terrific career and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he did win the Best Young Player of the Tournament as long as Gareth plays him in every game.

Best Young Player of the Tournament
Phil Foden	5/1		Visit