Anticipation had been building for months on end, with the European championships fast approaching. The semi-finals and final were set to be held in Wembley stadium in London and England were heading in as the defending champions and very well supported with a number of punters using the latest coral promotion code offers. On top of that it was set to be a special tournament, that was being held across 12 different European cities. These being London, Munich, Rome, Baku, Saint Petersburg, Bucharest, Budapest, Amsterdam, Bilbao, Glasgow, Dublin and Copenhagen.
The tournament has now been moved to the same time in 2021, following the ever rising crises of the coronavirus pandemic. This will also give the major European league’s a greater chance of finishing their seasons, that have also been cut short due to this crises. The pandemic is not only leading to football being affected but endless events and competitions around the world. This includes the Olympic games that were also set to be held this summer in Tokyo, Japan. That has now also been moved to next year, which is another indication of the severity of the situation at present.
It is now a lengthy wait for sporting fans, as the majority of the world is also currently in lockdown. It will now be a very special tournament next year, with the 2020 edition also set to celebrate the 60th birthday of the competition.
Portugal will be heading in as the defending, following their memorable victory in France back in 2016. They progressed through as runners up from Group B and have now been drawn in Group F for the finals. This is set to be a fascinating group, as they are joined by both France and Germany. France of course are heading in as one of the favourites, off the back of their impressive 2018 World Cup title in Russia. They were also very impressive in qualification and are clearly the side to beat. Germany on the other hand are on abit of a recovery mission, following their poor display in Russia. However, they progressed through impressively and are always a major force. They alongside Spain, are the winning most sides in the history of the European championships, so they will be looking to improve on this next year.
Despite all these sides entering in top form, it is England who are the favourites. They will be hoping to progress through to the latter stages of the competition, with their national stadium hosting the matches. England are also aiming to win their first European championship title and second major title, following their 1966 World Cup victory on home soil.
