Plagued by injuries and inconsistent play in recent matches Germany faces an uphill battle in their quest to claim their first European championship since 1996, but enter the tournament next week trailing only France at +350 odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Die Mannschaft came up short on a rain-soaked pitch last weekend in Augsburg, suffering a stunning 3-1 loss to Slovakia, dropping them to 2-0-4 in their past six games ahead of Saturday’s Germany vs. Hungary matchup at Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen, the club’s final pre-tournament fixture.
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Germany will once again be looking to Thomas Muller to spark the offence. Muller scored 28 goals for Bayern Munich in 43 Bundesliga and Champions League matches this season, adding nine markers in nine Euro qualification matches.
However, the defending World Cup champions have been ravaged by injuries, including captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, who has been out of action since March, and midfielder Marco Reus, who was left off the squad due to injury after also being sidelined during the 2014 World Cup.
Tournament hosts France remain atop the Euro 2016 odds as the +300 favourites to claim their first European championship since 2000.
Les Bleus have won three straight this year, topping the Netherlands, Russia and Cameroon, but have been a disappointment on the big stage in recent years, failing to claim a major international tournament title since winning the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup on home turf, and have amassed just three total wins in their past three Euro appearances.
Two-time defending European champions Spain closely follow the favourites with +550 odds of accomplishing a first-ever Euro three-peat.
The Spaniards enter the Euro unbeaten in their past 11 games and have been dominant in international competition in recent years, winning the 2010 World Cup and reaching the final at the 2013 Confederations Cup. However, they failed to advance past the group stage at the 2014 World Cup.
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo joins Muller as +700 co-favourites to lead the tournament in goals scored. Ronaldo is coming off another standout season with Real Madrid, scoring 35 goals in 36 La Liga matches, and powered his club to its second Champions League title in three years with 16 goals in 12 UCL contests.
Frenchman Antoine Griezmann, who faced Ronaldo in the Champions League with Atletico Madrid, sports +800 odds of claiming top goal scorer honours, followed by England’s Harry Kane, who sits alongside Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku at +1200, while Poland’s Robert Lewandowski rounds out the front of the pack at +1600.
