Euro 2024, the second-biggest international tournament in soccer, gets underway on Friday with a match between Germany and Scotland.

From there, we’re looking at a couple of weeks with multiple games (and even more when Copa America starts on Thursday) for the rest of June. 

It’s a great time to be a soccer fan and bettor. 

Let’s see if we can get off on the right foot with a few punts for this weekend’s matches: 

There will be heaps of pressure on Germany in this tournament.

Not only is it the host and one of the favorites to lift the trophy, but Die Mannschaft are also coming off a terrible performance at World Cup 2022 and will be expected to make amends at Euro 2024.

The weight of those expectations could create a bit of a nervy atmosphere in Munich. 

And while the odds (-390 favorite to win the match) tell us Germany should be able to cruise to victory, the circumstances of this contest bring me to a different conclusion. 

Scotland’s approach will be to make itself hard to beat.

It knows it won’t be able to put the ball on the carpet and out-skill the Germans, but the longer it can frustrate the hosts, the better chance Die Mannschaft gets tight and allows Scotland the opportunity to get something out of this contest. 

Scotland may not be capable of playing the Germans off the park, but it certainly is built to be able to keep this thing tight and hang around.

A committed, defensively adept side, I think the Tartan Army can hold Germany scoreless through the first 45 minutes and create a very interesting second half in this tilt. 

Recommendation: First-Half Under 0.5 goals (+230, DraftKings) 

Croatia has been one of the most successful tournament teams of this generation.

Led by Luka Modric, the Croatians were runners-up at World Cup 2018, made it to the knockout stage of Euro 2020 and then found themselves in the semifinals of World Cup 2022.

This is an industrious side with enough skill to punish you if they’re able to hang around. 

Unfortunately, the core of this team is well past its prime and has drawn a very difficult opponent to open Euro 2024. 

Though Croatia’s best players are in their final days as international footballers, Spain has an incredible amount of young, dynamic playmakers who should be able to boss the middle of the pitch and control this game enough to justify the odds-on price. 

The market is giving Croatia too much credit for past performances.

Take advantage of a good price on Spain on Saturday morning. 

Recommendation: Spain -110 (FanDuel) 

You could argue the only team under more pressure than Germany at this tournament is England.

Mired in a 58-year trophy drought, the English come into Euro 2024 as the consensus favorites and anything short of lifting the trophy will be looked at as a failure. 

That’s a ton of baggage for a team to carry into the first match of an international tournament and Serbia is the exact type of team that can punish you if you’re not on your game. 

A physical, chaotic side, the Serbs have a very strong spine led by talismanic striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.

A beast in the air, Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic give Serbia more than enough attacking punch to punish England for any mistake it makes. 

The biggest question mark for England is the center of its defense and that plays right into Serbia’s hands. 

The Three Lions are on upset watch on Sunday. 

Recommendation: Serbia +650 (DraftKings)