Euro 2024: Early Betting Trends Worth Tracking

We are now into the second round of group games of Euro 2024 where teams know what they have to do to make the elimination stage.

France and England remain the favourites on the UK betting sites after opening their accounts with 1-0 wins over Austria and Serbia respectively.

We've already had a major shock with Belgium, ranked third in FIFA's latest rankings, losing to Slovakia who are 48th in the world.

Many trends have been set in Germany, including goals scored from outside the box (12), and we'll take a look at some of these in more detail.

Outfield Shirt Numbers Scoring Goals

At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, countries were allowed to take a 26-man squad to the Middle East.

Incredibly, in the 64 matches played, players wearing shirt numbers two to 26 all found the back of the net. 

The set was complete when Randal Kolo Muani scored France's second goal in a 2-0 win over Morocco to book their place in the final, where they lost to Argentina in a penalty shootout.

So what are the chances of the same thing happening again in this year's Euros in Germany, where there will be 13 fewer games played?

Well, the tournament is off to a flying start with 19 different shirt numbers finding their way onto the scoresheet. 

Number 10 leads the way with five goals after Jamal Musiala scored his second goal of the tournament in Germany's 2-0 win over Hungary.

The only shirt numbers yet to produce a goal as the tournament continues are three, five, six, 12, 15 and 24. 

Will the set be complete before the end of the tournament in Berlin on Sunday, July 14?

First-Half Goals Aplenty In Germany

Goals have been flying in from all over the place at Euro 2024. Over 2.5 total goals was a winning bet in each of the tournament's first five games.

After the first 15 matches, over 2.5 total goals had been a winning bet nine times. 

A more popular bet has been a goal to be scored in the first half, which happened in all but one of the opening 15 matches.

The tournament almost got through the opening round of group fixtures with at least one first-half goal scored in every game. Of the 34 goals netted, 57.1% have been scored before the interval. 

Clearly Portugal and the Czech Republic didn't get the memo, as they played out the first goalless 45 minutes in the 12th game of Euro 2024, before Portugal came from a goal down to win 2-1. 

We will watch on with great interest to see if this trend continues.

Who'll Be First To Score Multiple Goals?

This European Championship is perhaps the one with the most exciting attacking talent on display.

The usual suspects of Harry Kane, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe are back to showcase their finishing ability, and they are joined by a new generation of prolific strikers.

Kane and Mbappe were joint favourites on football betting sites to win the Golden Boot, but the England captain leads the market after Mbappe broke his nose against Austria. 

However, after 15 matches in Germany, no player has managed to score more than one goal in a game.

It's only a matter of time before someone finds the net twice. 

Romelu Lukaku thought he had done just that, but his two goals were ruled out following VAR checks in Belgium's shock 1-0 loss to Slovakia.

Musiala is the tournament's leading scorer with two goals after scoring the opener in Germany's 2-0 win over Hungary. 

Could Musiala end up winning the Golden Boot award?

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