Euro 2024 Player Markets Preview, Prediction, Best Bets

The central focus of any tournament is, of course, which team will come on top, but it's fair to say that many times, it's the star players who capture our attention, imagination, and indeed our hearts. The betting markets involving these individual performers are often overlooked compared to team-based lines, but there's still plenty of value on the board when it comes to player-specific futures.

Let's dive into three of the major Euro 2024 player future markets, and talk about where the value might lie in each of them.

All odds via DraftKings Sportsbook and accurate as of 10pm ET on June 12, 2024

Euro 2024 Top Goalscorer Odds, Prediction, Best Bets

• Kylian Mbappé (+450)
• Harry Kane (+550)
• Cristiano Ronaldo (+1100)
• Romelu Lukaku (+1300)
• Kai Havertz (+2000)
• Jude Bellingham (+2000)
• Olivier Giroud (+2200)
• Antoine Griezmann (+2500)
• Alvaro Morata (+2500)
• Phil Foden (+2800)

There are three main qualifications to keep in mind for any player in this market. The first is that the player needs to be a good goalscorer, someone likely to convert their chances. Of the players in the above group, that immediately rules out both Lukaku and Morata, also putting Havertz's case on shaky ground.

The next is that the player must be central to his team's attack, someone likely to receive a high percentage of the squad's chances. With that in mind, let's discuss Foden and Griezmann, as talented as they may be, out of the field; both could very easily play in a lower-lying playmaking role. We'll also use this criterion to get rid of the legendary Ronaldo, who will play up top whenever he's on the pitch, but given Portugal's depth, could be benched just as he was at the World Cup.

The last is that the player should be on a good team; it's not impossible, but certainly tough, to win this award if there are players who have played two or three more games than you have, so you want a player on a team that should get deep in the tournament.

Similarly, in the interest of generating a volume of chances, you'd like them to be on an attack-first team. This is why we don't see any players from a very good Dutch team on the above list; the Oranje are set to win with defense and possession rather than by lighting up the scoreborard.

So, of the players listed above, that leaves us with two usual suspects- Mbappé and Kane- as well as Giroud and Havertz. Giroud might provide value at +2000, but it's simply tough to see him eclipsing Mbappé. Even after he put up a pretty prolific 2022 World Cup, the young French captain was the top scorer of that tournament.

Kane is the rightful #2 in this market, but his line isn't worth touching. France has plenty of good players, but none to challenge Mbappé specifically in the attack, while England is absolutely loaded with wingers, strikers, and general attacking talent.

Kane is definitely the centerpiece of the team's attack, but any given day could be Foden's, it could be Bellingham's, or the spoils could even go to someone like Ivan Toney or even Trent Alexander-Arnold, for that matter.

Mbappé is absolutely the correct prediction; he's the clear centerpiece of the best attack on a team that should skate at least to a semifinal, if not all the way to the end.

However, Havertz is an intriguing contender. He's not necessarily the clear-cut top choice for Germany, but neither is anybody else, and this is a player who won a UCL as Chelsea's frontman- we've seen him lead the charge in a tournament win. The German attack is a great one, and if Havertz can establish himself as a target up top, he could score quite a few goals.

Any long-shot bettors should consider turning their attention to a relative underdog squad with an efficient attack; Portugal. This team is less-inspired in the midfield than it is up top and mediocre in defense; goals will be needed if they're to accomplish anything. Ronaldo is theoretically going to be the top scorer, but it's shocking how quickly his disappointing World Cup has been forgotten.

Instead, take a look at a star-in-waiting for Portugal, AC Milan speedster Rafael Leão, who has +5000 odds right now. The versatile striker/winger was already named MVP of Serie A in his club's triumphant season, and could most certainly emerge in the clutch once more. Diogo Jota has the same odds, but he's rarely played big minutes for country, and Bruno Fernandes is at +5000 also, and has scored plenty for Portugal, although he's also often stepped into more of a playmaking role.

Prediction: Mbappé (+450)
Best Value: Havertz (+2000)
Long Shot: Leão (+5000)

Player of the Tournament Odds

• Kylian Mbappé (+600)
• Harry Kane (+1100)
• Phil Foden (+1200)
• Jude Bellingham (+1200)
• Cristiano Ronaldo (+1600)
• Toni Kroos (+1600)
• Bukayo Saka (+2000)
• Kevin De Bruyne (+2000)
• Antoine Griezmann (+2200)
• Rodri (+2500)
• Florian Wirtz (+2800)
• Bruno Fernandes (+2800)
• Jamal Musiala (+2800)
• Pedri (+3500)
• Kai Havertz (+3500)
• Declan Rice (+3500)

This market is a bit more open than top goalscorer for the simple reason that it is effectively open to more players. The top scorer of the tournament will all but surely be a striker or perhaps winger, while the best player could come from anywhere on the pitch.

The criteria is also up for interpretation; the winner of this award could be anyone the voters feel was particularly valuable to their team's tournament run. Speaking of that run, one stipulation is that the player does need to be on a team that went pretty far in the tournament; likely to the final, but certainly at least a semifinal, and winning the whole thing wouldn't hurt one bit.

As is the case with the top scorer market, you do want to find someone who will be central to their team's efforts. These general guidelines hone down the field of contenders quite a bit. As we discussed in the goalscorer market, the teams we expect to have a decent run are France, England, and the Netherlands, as well as Portugal and Germany to a lesser extent. So, let's talk about some of the best players from these squads.

It's interesting to see Mbappé's odds be so separated from the field, as compared to the top goalscorer market, in which he's the leader but not in a runaway capacity. Clearly, he has a lot of respect to his role with France, and his ability to contribute and be central to the team's efforts whether or not he's constantly scoring goals. If you think France wins the tournament, he's probably the right bet to make.

Then there's England, represented by the rest of the top four contenders by odds.

This is where we start seeing discrepancies from the goalscorer market. Foden is absolutely not going to lead the tournament in goals, but the versatile rising star could be viewed as a real driving force of team success even without scoring too much. The same can be said for Bellingham, to a lesser extent. However, if you believe in Kane, just bet on him in the goalscoring market; he's not going to win this award without securing that honor.

If you like a longshot, think about a player from one of the other three squads we've brought up. Virgil van Dijk isn't even in the selected field for which we've shown odds above- he has +6500 odds, but could very easily be the hero for the Dutch team as the captain. For Portugal, look past Ronaldo, who is past his prime and as we said, could be benched as he was in Qatar- Fernandes is a much better bet.

Germany is a bit of a tougher nut to crack. Their hallmark is team-oriented play, with no true star that stands above the rest. If you believe in this team to go deep into the tournament, it's probably best to simply bet on that- invest in team markets, rather than the ones we've discussed here.

Prediction: Mbappé (+650)
Best value: Bellingham (+1200)
Long shot: van Dijk (+6500)

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.