Outside of the clear favourites, there are a few dark horses that could do very well at Euro 2020 this summer. oddschecker take a look at these teams and their chances of going all the way.
Euro 2020: Who are the dark horses this summer?
Portugal
You might think that this Portugal side are clear contenders to win, however we have listed them as a dark horse because of the stiff competition which they will face.
They are in a tremendously difficult group - up against France, Hungary and Germany. If they are to try and repeat their successes of 2016 then they will really need to put in some impressive performances.
Portugal have match winners all over the park; Bruno Fernandes will look to announce himself on the big stage and the line will be led by none other than Cristiano Ronaldo.
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Portugal will be a force to be reckoned with that’s for sure. In defence they have a Player of the Year candidate in Ruben Dias. He will control their back-line and if he can replicate his form for Manchester City then Portugal will be very difficult to penetrate.
Fernando Santos’ men have a great mix of both experience and youth. Having already won the tournament in 2016, they will be looking to go back-to-back for the first time since Spain in 2008 and 2012. If Ronaldo can find form and Dias and co can keep the goals out then it would be hard to look past them. If you fancy Portugal they can be back at a modest price of 9/1.
Czech Republic
A team which could be true dark horses are the Czech Republic, and if we delve deeper into their team and the group it becomes clearer as to why.
Group D could give them opportunities to advance: England will likely win the group comfortably. Outside of that Croatia are nowhere near the level which got them to the World Cup Final, while Scotland have some talented players but lack experience on the biggest of stages such as this.
The Czechs are making their seventh successive appearance at the European Championships; only Germany and France can better this stat.
They are also set piece specialists, having scored 7 goals in qualifiers from set-plays. If they can get out of the group and be tight defensively in the knockout stages, then their set piece prowess could make the difference.
They have a young striker, Adam Hlozek, who has registered 15 goals and 7 assists in 19 matches this season. If he can overcome his pre-tournament injury, then the Czechs could make a shock charge for the trophy. Could they do a Greece? It’s certainly not out of the question. Czech Republic are best priced at 150/1 to win the competition.
Turkey
Turkey are an odd commodity when it comes to international football. Believe it or not they have reached the semi-finals on two occasions in major tournaments.
More recently though they were eliminated at the group stage in Euro 2016. This time around they boast a youthful squad with the youngest average age at the tournament (25).
The irony in this is that their star man up front is 35-year-old Burak Yilmaz. In Ligue 1 this season he has amassed 16 goals and 5 assists, which is impressive for a man who could have already retired.
In midfield they have creativity in the form of Hakan Calhanoglu. The Milan midfielder created the most chances in Serie A this term with a league high of 98. He also registered 9 assists - if he can get the Turkey team ticking and create plenty of chances for Yilmaz then they could do well.
During qualifying they conceded just 3 goals in 10 games and this was the joint-best record alongside Belgium. Defence wins titles, and Turkey certainly have a solid defence.
Their manager Senol Gunes guided the side to a 3rd placed finish at the 2002 World Cup, and with him being back at the helm could they do the unthinkable this time around? If you fancy their chances Turkey can be backed at 66/1.
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