Euro 2024 Odds: France second favourites after squad announcement
Will Jackson 
France remain a steady second favourite in the Euro 2024 betting odds after Didier Deschamps announced his squad last night.
N’Golo Kante was the headline inclusion for Deschamps despite not representing his country since the summer of 2022 and moving to Saudi Arabia last year, while exciting teenage midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery has also been included.
With a vast array of talent and experience available to them, it unsurprisingly makes Deschamps’ side one of the frontrunners at Euro 2024 with odds of 3/1 to win the whole thing, with only England at shorter odds.
Euro 2024 Odds - Outright Winner
- England - 10/3
- France - 4/1
- Germany - 11/2
- Portugal - 8/1
- Spain - 9/1
- Netherlands - 14/1
- Italy - 16/1
France Euro 2024 Squad
Here are the 25 players named by Deschamps in his squad, which is due to begin their tournament on June 17 against Austria.
Goalkeepers
- Alphonse Areola
- Mike Maignan
- Brice Samba
It is a relatively inexperienced - at least in international football - that France will be taking to Euro 2024, with just 22 caps between them. Hugo Lloris retired from international football after the Qatar World Cup and since then, Maignan has been the man who has jumped to the front of the queue.
The AC Milan goalkeeper has had issues with injury towards the end of the season but is expected to be fully fit in time to travel, and it could be a big summer for him with a move to Bayern Munich on the cards should he do well in Germany. Samba is likely to edge ahead of Areola as the number two having been capped more recently, but West Ham’s Areola has enjoyed a relatively decent season in the Premier League so will be full of confidence.
Defenders
- Jonathan Clauss
- Ibrahima Konate
- William Saliba
- Jules Kounde
- Theo Hernandez
- Ferland Mendy
- Benjamin Pavard
- Dayo Upamecano
Raphael Varane is another experienced name missing from the France squad after he too recently retired, but there is no shortage on quality replacements at the back with Saliba announcing himself as a top class defender in the past two seasons.
Again there may be a concern over a lack of experience at the back - aside from Pavard no one else has more than 26 caps - and teams may fancy getting at a backline that features either Kounde, Upamecano or Konate, but all three are very talented players and at prime points in their career to make a telling contribution.
The exact makeup of their final XI is up in the air, but it is expected that they will line up with Hernandez on the left, Saliba and Konate in the middle and Kounde on the right with three of the four playing some part in the 2022 World Cup Final.
Midfield
- N’Golo Kante
- Eduardo Camavinga
- Adrien Rabiot
- Antoine Griezmann
- Aurelien Tchouameni
- Warren Zaire-Emery
- Youssouf Fofana
This is where Deschamps sprung his major surprise, with Kante recalled to the squad after a couple of years out. There is no doubting Kante’s abilities, but it was clear that he had been struggling with injuries and regular game time for a while towards the end of his time in England, and a move to Saudi Arabia is unlikely to have provided him with the necessary match intensity to test those issues.
However it remains a very talented collection of players, and do not be surprised to see Zaire-Emery make an impact at this year’s tournament despite being just 18 years old and with two caps to his name. He has looked a real star of the future for PSG at times this season and while he may not start for France, is a very exciting option off the bench.
Camavinga and Tchouameni will go into the tournament on the back of another successful season for Real Madrid while Rabiot is a favourite of Deschamps’ and offers balance in the middle, while Griezmann - while listed as a midfielder - will contribute further forward and has a licence to roam wherever he pleases.
Forwards
- Kylian Mbappe
- Bradley Barcola
- Ousmane Dembele
- Kingsley Coman
- Marcus Thuram
- Randal Kolo Muani
- Olivier Giroud
We have some more familiar faces in the French attack, with the vast array of talent available to Deschamps one of the key reasons why they are sure to be there or thereabouts when it comes to the crunch time of the tournament.
Mbappe will of course lead the way as captain of his country and arguably the best player in the world. There will be a lot of pressure on him having announced his intention to leave PSG this summer, but he showed with his hat-trick in the World Cup Final that he is more than capable of handling that and he will be the player in which this side is built around.
Giroud has been a mightily effective presence for Deschamps’ teams over the year, but could this be one tournament too far? In Thuram and Kolo Muani he has players pushing him hard, while Barcola has also forced his way into the reckoning after his first year with PSG. But we have seen so many times that France have been able to move on from Giroud, so can he do it again at 37?
More Euro 2024 Odds and Betting Offers
Content on this site will contain reference to products or services from one or more of our advertisers or partners. We may receive compensation when you view ads or click on links to those products or services.
