Ahead of the Euro 2024 round of 16, Opta has revealed its “supercomputer’s” predictions for the rest of the competition. Disappointing in the group stage, Les Bleus have fallen significantly in the hierarchy of favourites and find themselves behind England, Spain and Germany.
The French team disappointed Opta’s “supercomputer”. The prediction tool developed by the company specializing in sports statistics had bet on the Blues finishing first in Group D of Euro 2024. But after a narrow victory against Austria (1-0) and two draws against the Netherlands (0-0) and Poland (1-1), Didier Deschamps’ players finished in second place. Enough to tip them into the toughest part of the tournament, while also chipping away at their status as favorites.
Before the start of the competition, Opta gave the French a 19.1% chance of being crowned on July 14 in Berlin. On the eve of the round of 16, the vice-world champions are now credited with a 13.4% chance. That is a drop of 5.7%, the most significant among the sixteen teams still in the running. The Blues still remain among the main contenders for the final victory, behind England (20%) – who will benefit from a less competitive table – Spain (17.2%) and Germany (15.8%). Portugal (8.3%), the Netherlands (6.7%) and Italy (4.9%) come quite far after the leading quartet.
The Blues are the clear favourites against the Belgians
In detail, Kylian Mbappé’s teammates have a 67.9% chance of beating Belgium in the round of 16, on Monday July 1 in Düsseldorf (6 p.m.). A match that promises to be particularly electric against the vengeful Red Devils. The French would then have a 43% chance of reaching the last four by eliminating Portugal or Slovenia and a 21.6% chance of reaching the final by potentially beating Spain or Germany.
According to Opta, nothing is lost for the Blues in this Euro, despite their sluggish start across the Rhine. At a time when their horizon has darkened in the realm of stats, it is now up to them to find clarity on the ground.
