Gareth Southgate had turned the national team around incredibly in the last 18 months, leading them to a World Cup semi-final and the final four of the Nations League. In fact, England’s turnaround has been so dramatic that they are now outright favourites to win an international tournament.
The bookmakers have priced up the tournament taking place in Portugal next summer and England are the 15/8 outright favourites to lift the trophy ahead of the hosts Portugal who are currently priced at 9/4 for to take home the very first edition of the Nations League.
The Netherlands, who scored a dramatic last-minute equaliser against Germany to seal their place in the final four, are priced up at 3/1 whilst the outsiders for glory are of course Switzerland who can be backed at the hefty price of 5/1.
That is despite beating Belgium 5-2 in the most extreme of circumstances, needing to win the game by two clear goals to seal qualification. Remarkably they came from two goals down to win the game and seal their place in the final four.
England will discover who they play when the draw is made on the 3rd December before playing their semi-final on the 5th or 6th June before the final on 9th June. With any luck, Gareth Southgate’s men will be in it and hopefully heading for glory in sunny Portugal.
Oh, how sweet it would be if England could gain revenge on Portugal for 2004 and 2006, in their own backyard.
