The squads are set, the bags are packed and Gareth Southgate’s men are ready to head to Euro 2024 in Germany and try to bring “it home”.
The next month will reveal if the Three Lions will bring it home, but we decided to ask fans in the country about their expectations from Southgate’s men, as well as the overall tournament. Along with expectations, we also quizzed them on their perceptions of different players and teams.
Four in ten English fans think “it’s coming home”
| Who will win Euro 2024? | |
| England | 40% |
| France | 19% |
| Germany | 12% |
| Spain | 8% |
| Portugal | 5% |
| Italy | 5% |
| Belgium | 2% |
| Scotland | 1% |
| Netherlands | 1% |
| Croatia | 1% |
| Turkey | 1% |
| Poland | 1% |
| Austria | 1% |
| Denmark | 1% |
| Ukraine | 1% |
| Hungary | 0% |
| Switzerland | 0% |
| Romania | 0% |
| Georgia | 0% |
| Slovakia | 0% |
| Czechia | 0% |
| Albania | 0% |
| Slovenia | 0% |
| Serbia | 0% |
Despite never having won the Euros, English fans are fairly confident that their nation will finally end a trophy drought that has lasted 58 years. England lost out to Italy in a heartbreaking penalty shootout at Euro 2020, but 40 percent of the respondents believe that they’ll overcome that final hump this time out.
The level of optimism around the Three Lions is approximately the same across age groups, though it’s slightly higher amongst fans aged between 35 to 54. bet365 too have England as favourites to win it all, with Southgate’s side marked as 3/1 favourites.
The second-most favoured nation by English fans is the one across the channel – France. Les Bleus recently came second at the FIFA World Cup and boast an exceptionally deep squad that includes a certain Kylian Mbappe. These factors, however, aren’t enough in English fans’ eyes as only 19 percent of the respondents believe that the French will lay claim to their third Euro title.
Hosts Germany are the third favourites as per the respondents, with 12 percent choosing the three-time champions to make it four.
Should Gareth Southgate be able to bring home a first major tournament trophy since 1966, many a football fan’s dreams will come true. Whether it’s a successful campaign for England or not, bet365 are offering a free chance at celebrating in style by winning £1,000,000 in the ‘Euro Finals Group Stage Predictor’ game.
Hey Jude! You’re gonna be a star!
| Who will be the biggest star at Euro 2024? | |
| Jude Bellingham | 20% |
| Kylian Mbappé | 16% |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 11% |
| Harry Kane | 11% |
| Kevin De Bruyne | 4% |
| Bruno Fernandes | 2% |
| Kobbie Mainoo | 2% |
| Jamal Musiala | 2% |
| Florian Wirtz | 1% |
| Francisco Conceicao | 1% |
| Frenkie de Jong | 1% |
| Toni Kroos | 1% |
| Arthur Vermeeren | 1% |
| Joao Felix | 1% |
| Rodri | 1% |
| Alex Baena | 1% |
| Maximilian Beier | 1% |
| Arda Guler | 0% |
| Lamiane Yamal | 0% |
| Warren Zaïre-Emery | 0% |
| Leo Sauer | 0% |
| Other (please specify): | 1% |
| I do not know | 18% |
When it comes to predicting who the biggest star of the tournament will be, English fans have gone with Jude Bellingham over his soon to be Real Madrid teammate, Kylian Mbappe.
A fifth of the respondents picked Jude Bellingham to be the biggest star of Euro 2024 while four in 25 picked Mbappe.
Interestingly, English fans are torn between Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane. The former is coming to what could be his last tournament for Portugal, and the latter arrives on the back of a prolific yet trophyless season for German giants Bayern Munich. 11 percent of survey respondents, however, have picked either Ronaldo or Kane to be the biggest stars of the tournament.
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Ronaldo? Too much hype, not enough end product?
| Who is the most overrated player heading into Euro 2024 | |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 20% |
| Harry Kane | 12% |
| Kylian Mbappé | 6% |
| Bruno Fernandes | 6% |
| Jude Bellingham | 4% |
| Joao Felix | 4% |
| Frenkie de Jong | 3% |
| Kevin De Bruyne | 3% |
| Jamal Musiala | 2% |
| Toni Kroos | 2% |
| Florian Wirtz | 2% |
| Francisco Conceicao | 2% |
| Jarrad Branthwaite | 2% |
| Kobbie Mainoo | 2% |
| Rodri | 2% |
| Alex Baena | 1% |
| Arthur Vermeeren | 1% |
| Lamiane Yamal | 1% |
| Arda Guler | 1% |
| Leo Sauer | 1% |
| Maximilian Beier | 1% |
| Warren Zaïre-Emery | 1% |
| Other (please specify): | 0% |
| I do not know | 24% |
One thing that Cristiano Ronaldo guarantees, apart from goals, is polarised opinions. This is evident in our survey where the Portuguese was picked by one in five respondents as the most overrated player heading into the tournament.
Harry Kane is also high up in the list with one in eight fans terming him the most overrated player. Following the English talisman are Mbappe and Bruno Fernandes with six percent of respondents voting for either as the most overrated player heading into the tournament.
That being said, a majority of the respondents couldn’t point to a specific player as the most overrated. 24 percent of the respondents opted to answer, “I don’t know.”
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Euro 96 still the most iconic for English fans
| What do you think has been the most iconic moment of any previous Euros? | |
| England’s Semi-Final Heartbreak (1996) | 15% |
| Paul Gascoigne’s Goal (1996) | 11% |
| Marco van Basten’s Volley (1988) | 6% |
| Cristiano Ronaldo’s Emotional Rollercoaster (2016) | 6% |
| Italy’s Penalty Shootout Win (2021) | 6% |
| Greece’s Shock Victory (2004) | 6% |
| Iceland’s Fairytale Run (2016) | 4% |
| Denmark’s Triumph (1992) | 4% |
| Platini’s Hat-Trick (1984) | 3% |
| Panenka’s Penalty (1976) | 3% |
| France’s Golden Goal (2000) | 3% |
| Spain’s 4-0 Win in the Final (2012) | 3% |
| Spain’s Dominance (2008-2012) | 2% |
| Germany’s Semi-Final Win (1996) | 2% |
| Italy Winning On A Coin Toss (1968) | 2% |
| Germany’s Comeback (1972) | 2% |
| Mario Balotelli’s Brace Against Germany (2012) | 1% |
| The USSR’s First Win (1960) | 1% |
| Fernando Torres’ Decisive Goal (2008) | 1% |
| Eder’s Winning Goal (2016) | 1% |
| Arshavin Destroys the Dutch (2008) | 0% |
| Other (please specify): | 1% |
Blame it on Baddiel, Skinner and Lightning Seeds for coming out with “Three Lions” that year, or the fact that England hosted the tournament, or even Terry Venables leading the hosts to a semi-final. The fact remains that Euro 96 still evokes iconic moments in the minds of English fans and that is evident by their responses.
One in every six respondents chose England’s semi-final heartbreak against Germany in 1996 as the most iconic Euro moment. It was Southgate who missed the decisive penalty that broke English hearts. Despite it being a negative memory, English fans have still termed it as the most iconic Euro moment in their view.
The second most popular choice was from the same tournament, and it had to be Paul Gascoigne’s fantastic strike against Scotland. 11 percent of respondents picked Gazza’s wondrous goal, where he flicked the ball over Colin Hendry before rifling it past Andy Goram.
Interestingly, while the semi-final heartbreak saw similar response rates from different age groups, Gazza’s goal was picked as the most iconic predominantly by people over the age of 35.
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Research Methodology
Bet365 commissioned Research Without Barriers (https://www.researchwithoutbarriers.com/) to conduct a survey of a total of 2,008 football fans residing in the United Kingdom.
The survey was conducted between 31 May 2024 and 2 June 2024 and is subject to the standards of the ICC/ESOMAR World Research Guidelines.
