The Daily Acca: England to take first step in bringing it home

England to lay down a marker

Bet 1: Back England @ 6/10 - KO 14:00 BST

England have some unfinished business with Croatia, and I expect them to lay any old ghosts to rest at Wembley.

This is an aging Croatian team, and they really haven't been that great for a while now. Since football returned in September 2020, they have played 13 times, won only four and lost on seven occasions.

Gareth Southgate's men, meanwhile, have won their last six, and have some of the most exciting attacking talent in Europe. With home advantage to boot, this should be a dream start for the Three Lions.

Austria to bust a few coupons

Bet 2: Back North Macedonia Win or Draw @ 1/1 - KO 17:00 BST

Austria are the odds-on favourites to win their Group C opener, but they aren't playing well at present, and North Macedonia are riding the crest of a wave.

Igor Angelovski's side warmed up for the tournament with a 1-1 draw against Slovenia and a 4-0 thrashing of Kazakhstan, but it's their 2-1 win in Germany in World Cup Qualifying that stands out.

That result proves that they can rise to the occasion and compete on the biggest stage, and with the Austrians having failed to even score a goal in their last three outings, I think that backing North Macedonia to avoid defeat is the way to go.

No clean sheet for the Dutch

Bet 3: Back BTTS in Netherlands v Ukraine @ 6/5 - KO 20:00 BST

Ronald Koeman was really beginning to build something with Holland, but since his departure for Barcelona, Frank de Boer hasn't been able to quite carry on that success.

Results haven't been terrible, but the team appears to lack cohesion, and like Liverpool, they certainly miss the presence of Virgil van Dijk.

Ukraine head to Amsterdam having not lost any of their last six matches. They ended a run of four 1-1 draws by beating Northern Ireland 1-0 and Cyprus 4-0, and they are definitely capable of finding the net against this Dutch side.