Player of the Lukaku tournament, best bet for France and Belgium to lift the trophy

EURO 2020 is well advanced and we have reached the commercial part of the competition.

There were no major casualties in the group stages, all of the heavy hitters advanced to the knockout stages.

There are tons of betting opportunities to be had this summer – and SunSport is here to help you find the best.

Tournament winners

With all the big guns intact, expect the rest of the tournament to grab you by the throat and keep you glued to the couch.

It is difficult to separate the top five in the market, with France, England, Germany, Italy and Spain in the lead.

And that’s even before arriving in Belgium.

We’re not going to deter you with a patriotic punt on England (11/2), with the Three Lions – for the most part – playing at home throughout.

This could prove to be a huge advantage as Wembley is such a stronghold for the Southgate side, with just two losses since 2014.

Germany are next at Home of Football and if the Three Lions can negotiate this clash they are on the right side of the draw to have a real race to the final.

But we think this young English side is too early to end all these years of suffering – and therefore our pick for the overall winner is the reigning world champion. France (7/2).

The overall depth of their squad is phenomenal, with a backbone of world-class players all peaking at the right time.

They are there to be shot as world champions, but Didier Deschamps has a lot of talent at his disposal and also has the advantage of bringing Karim Benzema back from the cold.

While they are skilled in the group stages, they are safe as group winners and know how to activate it when they need to.

Ante-post they were a terrific 5/1 price tag, mostly due to the presence of Germany and Portugal in a tricky group.

Their price has now entered 7/2 after dominating the group – then don’t miss a thing before it shortens again.

Best striker

Harry kane was rightly the leading outpost in this market.

The 2018 World Cup winner Golden Boot has been the Premier League‘s top scorer this season with 23 goals.

In international competition, a tie in the scorers standings is determined by the number of assists a player has.

But he failed to shoot in any of the opening three matches, going blank against Scotland, Croatia and the Czech Republic.

If you are looking for a longer value, the veteran back from France Benzema is a formidable bet.

Returning to the international stage for the first time in five years, the Madrid striker has finished second behind Messi in the La Liga scorers’ table this season.

France will certainly go far and Benzema will line up alongside Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann.

Valued at 20/1 before hitting a brace against Portugal, the forward is still a wonderful 12/1 to top the scorers standings.

He is on penalty duty and with referees delighted to whistle, he could be the dormant choice in the market.

Tournament player

Is this tournament finally the time for Belgium to realize its potential?

Defeated semi-finalists of the World Cup three years ago, the Red Devils have in their ranks the market leader of the player of the tournament.

Value is the name of the game and Belgium have made it through the group stages after facing Russia, Denmark and Finland with minimal fuss.

And they will continue to look to former Man Utd and Chelsea forwards Romelu Lukaku to continue delivering the goals.

The 28-year-old forward has been a revelation for Inter Milan since arriving in Italy, scoring more than 60 times in two seasons.

Originally available at a whopping 20/1, he’s a real value bet in this market having smashed three goals in the group stage (now 9/1).

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The highest rated team

There is attacking talent all over the pitch to Belgium and we are more than happy that you played on them to be the top rated team at 5/1.

But we’ll take our side France still here.

Their attack options are phenomenal and 8/1 on them, it seems a long time to be the top scorers – especially since we are supporting them to get to the final and win the trophy.

Deschamps’ men plundered 25 goals in 10 qualifying games, slacking off in the final laps.

With Giroud, Benzema, Coman, Lemar, Ben Yedder, Griezmann and Mbappe all vying for places, there are goals galore in this team.

After browsing through the groups, expect them to activate the magic now that the tournament is well under way – and grab that prize before it’s gone.

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