England Euro 2020 Squad Betting Odds: Certainties, contenders, outsiders

Max Liu
29 March 2021
4:00 min read

Jordan Pickford looks set to continue as England's number one

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Who will be in Gareth Southgate's 23-man England squad for Euro 2020 this summer? Max Liu discusses the latest odds...

"Borussia Dortmund starlet Jude Bellingham is 6/5 to be England's youngest tournament player since Wayne Rooney in 2004."

England are favourites to win this summer's rescheduled Euro 2020 but who is going to make the squad? By the time they play their opening match against Croatia on 13 June it will be three years since the World Cup in Russia where the Three Lions reached the semi-finals.

Three years is a long time in the life of an international football squad, as players come in and out of form, new figures emerge and the manager experiments with formations and tactics. Since 2018, the likes of Ashley Young and Danny Welbeck have gone while Mason Mount, Jadon Sancho and others have seized their chances.

But there is continuity too in Southgate's likely squad. Five of those who started England's World Cup semi-final against Croatia in 2018 started yesterday's win over Albania : Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Kyle Walker. You'd expect all of them to be in Gareth Southgate's squad this summer and possibly to start against Croatia if fit.

Goalkeepers

Southgate looks set to keep faith with Jordan Pickford as his first choice goalkeeper. Nick Pope, who has impressed for Burnley for a few seasons, appears to be the second choice. But the battle to be England's third keeper is less straightforward and could come down to how much football Dean Henderson - 1/12 to make the 23-man squad - gets to play for Manchester United between now and the end of the season. He's played six in a row but if Dave de Gea gets back in for the Red Devils, will Southgate still take Henderson? Aaron Ramsdale 9/2, Alex McCarthy 6/1 and Sam Johnstone 10/1 are the most likely contenders.

Defenders

Central defence looked set to be England's problem area until John Stones came roaring back into contention with a magnificent season for Manchester City. Stones is now 1/14 to be in the squad and is likely to play alongside Harry Maguire. If Southgate plays 3-4-3 then Kyle Walker could be third due to his experience, versatility and ability to bring the ball out of defence.

Southgate Stones England 1280.JPG

Trent Alexander-Arnold is the interesting one here. A year ago he was being credited with revolutionising full-back play but Southgate left the title winner out of the current squad after poor displays for Liverpool. At 3/10 the market is confident he'll make the 23. His team-mate Joe Gomez is 9/1 as he faces a race against time to recover from a knee-injury.

Midfielders

England had a lot of joy from set-pieces at the World Cup in 2018 and it is always useful to have a specialist in your tournament squad (think Paul Gascoigne in 1990, David Beckham in 1998, 2002 and '06). With that in mind, James Ward-Prowse is interesting at 7/4. Elsewhere, Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice and Jack Grealish are all considered to be shoo-ins at 1/9.

James Ward-Prowse England.jpg

Jesse Lingard 6/5 recently returned to the squad and, as a play whose energy off the bench can have impact, he might be an odds-against runner. Borussia Dortmund starlet Jude Bellingham is 6/5 to be England's youngest tournament player since Wayne Rooney in 2004. Dele Alli's problems have been well-documented but, although he's 15/2, you cannot write-off the Spurs man completely.

Forwards

England scored 37 goals across their eight qualifiers for Euro 2020 and, in spite of an indifferent autumn in the Nations League, attack remains their strength. Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling pick themselves, while Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are all odds-on to be in the squad.

Harry Kane England.jpg

At 5/2 Ollie Watkins, who scored on his debut against San Marino is the shortest price to join, or supplant, them. Tammy Abraham 10/3, Danny Ings and Mason Greenwood 4/1 will have to go some to force their way in to the manager's thoughts between now and the end of the season.