JASON MCATEER – EURO PICKS

Outright Winner

Well, there are plenty of strong teams going into the Euros. 

The Euros is normally survival of the fittest, and with all the games coming thick and fast, there’s going to be plenty of tired legs out there. So a team or squad that has depth, I think, will get to the final. 

Belgium still ranked No. 1 in the world – I don’t think you can look past them. They’ve got a favourable draw. They did really well in the qualifiers; they’ve got a man in form (Lukaku) scoring goals – which is great for a tournament. Bit of an ageing back four – or back three like Roberto Martínez likes to play – but I just can’t see past the likes of Kevin De Bruyne turning up for this tournament.

Belgium is going to be my pick for the winners.

A sneaky outside bet would be Italy – another great group. 

Qualified, won all 10 games, conceded very few goals. Very settled team. After missing out on the World Cup, they’ll want to put it right for their nation. Roberto Mancini is doing a fantastic job. Insigne – he’ll want to score goals at this tournament, so they’ve got a goalscorer. 

They (Italy) are my sneaky bet for an outsider.

Top Goalscorer

The top goalscorer for the tournament is going to be a tough one to call; there’s going to be tremendous talent on show. Obviously, Cristiano Ronaldo is there for Portugal, Robert Lewandowski is there for Poland.

I think for Lewandowski, it depends on how long they (Poland) can go in the tournament; the longer you go, the more games you get, and obviously, the more chances to score goals.

I think with England, all but one game could be held at Wembley, which will be a massive advantage for them. You can’t see past Harry Kane scoring a number of goals at this tournament. 

Romelu Lukaku is a man on fire. He’s had a great season in Serie A with Inter. Insigne with Italy will also get a lot of chances. 

I’m going to go with Harry Kane as top scorer.

EURO Finalists

The two finalists of the Euros is a difficult one to call. Because of all the permutations through the group stages, anyone can meet anyone at some point. 

Taking into account that the teams win their groups and it all goes smoothly, I’m going to say Belgium will face England in the final of the Euros. 

Group Winner Acca 

My predictions for group winners for an acca are:

England – Obviously, they have a home advantage by playing a lot of games at Wembley, and I think Harry Kane is going to finish as the top goal scorer. 

Italy – The Italians are the same; they’ve had great qualification form. They go into this (EURO 2020 (2021)) as outside favourites for me. Mancini has been doing a fantastic job, plus they play all their games in Rome. 

Belgium – I think Belgium are going to win the tournament. They’ve got loads of attacking talent. Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku are in great form. So I’m going to go with Belgium to win their group. 

In the group of death – Group F, which is France, Portugal, Germany and Hungary, I’m going to go for Hungary…Only joking! I’m going to go for France! 

Click here to check out Jason McAteer’s Special Bet – Italy, Belgium, England and France to win their group. 

England vs Scotland 

What a game! 

England vs Scotland, you can’t make a bigger game, can you? 

It’s being played at Wembley where you’d think that England would have home advantage – but let’s not forget 1996. 

We thought England would be firm favourites, and although they won the game, Scotland put up a tremendous fight. Unfortunately, Gary McAllister missed a penalty. It was a Gazza (Paul Gascoigne) moment; a Gazza game, wasn’t it? Fantastic goal from Gazza – England ran out 2-0 winners, but it was a lot closer than what the scoreline suggested. 

I think England won’t have it all their own way. Scott McTominay has had a fantastic season, so has John McGinn. Andy Robertson from Liverpool captaining the side. He’ll rally the troops and want to put a fine performance in. 

It’s a big game, the second one (in their group stage), who knows what’s going to happen in their first games. But, in saying all that, I think England will get through their first game (vs Croatia), and it will give them plenty of confidence. They’ll take that confidence into the Scotland game, and they run out – not easy winners – but they’ll win the game. 

Star of the tournament 

My star of the tournament….Wow, there’s plenty of talent on show, isn’t there? 

You look at England’s young players – Jack Grealish, Phil Foden – they’ve got so many. Harry Kane could be a star for England as well. 

Then you look at the Belgians. They’ve got fantastic talent – Youri Tielemans now comes into the team because of Axel Witsel’s injury; he could shine in this tournament. You’ve also got Romelu Lukaku and Kevin de Bruyne – so many names in that Belgium team. 

You’ve also got the World Cup winners – France. Can Paul Pogba light it up? Is it his tournament? Is Kylian Mbappé going to start, and is he going to get all the goals that everyone thinks he is? 

I’m going to go for…obviously, he’s talking about moving away from Spurs – where’s he going to go? We don’t know. But it’s a big tournament for Harry Kane. I’ve got him down as top goalscorer. I think he’s going to shine; I think he’s going to be the star of the tournament.