Top-5 Fun Facts About European Championship 2020

The UEFA Euro Group stage is about to start this June. To pass time, read some fun and interesting facts about European Championship 2020. We bet that they will heighten your interest in the upcoming football matches even if you are not a football fan!

The 2020 UEFA Euro will hold its first matches in a while in a couple of days. The first Group stage game between Turkey and Italy is scheduled for June 11. Online sportsbooks in Portugal are in the full flow of making predictions about the winners. Meanwhile, we will heighten your interest in the upcoming matches by listing five interesting facts about European Championship 2020. Let’s go!

This year’s Group of Death: which teams will fight to the bitter end? 

No big football tournament can go without a so-called “group of death”. This is a football term that denotes a group with all or the majority of stronger teams than other groups have. At the UEFA Euro 2020, Group F is such a group as it consists of Germany, France, Portugal, and Hungary. Three of these teams are among the best in Europe with Hungary being an underdog. Also, Portugal national team is the reigning champion defending their title in 2021.

There are countries that have qualified for Euro 2020 for the first time ever

While most countries from the group of death qualify for European Championship every four years, some countries celebrate their entry like a victory. Thus, Euro 2020 welcomes two new teams that have qualified for the very first time: Finland and North Macedonia.

This year, Finland made their first-ever entry for the UEFA Euro. Previously, the team tried to qualify every four years but never succeeded. In 2020, Finland finally reached the Group stage as soon as they secured the second spot in their qualifying group. Now you can even bet on Finlands to win at FanTeam Sportsbook.

North Macedonia has also reached the Group stage after many unsuccessful attempts. It has never played at European Championship as an independent country. Before the 1990s, players from North Macedonia had been a part of the Yugoslavia national team.

Most unexpected cities to host UEFA Euro 2020 matches

Interesting facts about European Championship 2020 touch upon its venues too. Traditionally, UEFA Euro is held in one or two countries but this year, matches are played throughout Europe. Why?

The answer is simple. Euro 2020 celebrates the 60th anniversary of the tournament. Therefore, UEFA decided to organize the championship at multiple locations. There are both predictable and unexpected choices about host cities. The full list of Euro 2020 stadiums is here:

• Glasgow — Hampden Park
• Seville — Olympic Stadium
• Budapest — Ferenc Puskas Stadium
• Bucharest — National Stadium
• Amsterdam — Johan Cruyff Arena
• Copenhagen — Parken
• Baku — National Stadium
• Munich — Allianz Arena
• Rome — Olympic Stadium
• London — Wembley Stadium
• St. Petersburg — Kretowski Stadium

Facts about European Championship 2020: welcoming VAR

For the first time in history, UEFA Euro will use the VAR system. Video Assistant Referee was first introduced after the last European Championship but was used in domestic leagues. Also, football fans have seen VAR at FIFA’s World Cup 2018. Although many people are skeptical concerning this technology, it keeps making history. 

The main question is who will win? 

Finally, the main question that bothers millions of football fans: which country will win the 2020 European Championship? Numerous predictions have been made concerning the potential winner, so let’s take a look at the odds at online gambling sites in Portugal.

Following the bookies, France has the highest winning chances this year. With 5.50 odds, The Blues are predicted to win their third UEFA Euro title and tie Germany and Spain. Their squad is strong enough: Mbappe, Pogba, Griezmann, and Karim Benzema who had recently returned to the national team.

Apart from France, England, Germany, and Spain have quite optimistic winning chances. Interestingly, the reigning champions aka Portugal are only sixth at the bookies. Follow Euro 2020 matches this summer with the final taking place on July 11.

You can discover more about FanTeam Sportsbook here.