France Euros Odds: Les Bleus slip to 5/1 after failing to win their group

World Cup runners-up France are out to 5/1 to win the Euros after finishing second in Group D, which now means a tougher task awaits in the knockout stages.

Euro 2024 Winner Odds

(Odds will display when the market is available)

Poland draw could prove costly

A 1-1 draw in their final group clash with Poland, who had already been knocked out of the tournament, was a big setback for Didier Deschamps’ men.

Although Kylian Mbappe returned from a broken nose to start the game, and scored from the penalty spot, the French then gifted Poland a route back into the match.

After taking their foot off the gas, Dayo Upamecano was penalised for a trip on Karol Swiderski and, at the second time of asking, Robert Lewandowski beat Mike Maignan from the spot.

Tuesday’s scoreline meant that France qualified in second-place and now drop into what looks like the toughest half of the draw - which will also include Germany, Spain and Portugal.

The two-time European champions will face the second-placed team in Group E – who could be any of the four nations in that group, Belgium, Romania, Slovakia or Ukraine.

If France were to progress past the last-16, they would be likely to face Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the quarter-finals.

Deschamps concedes attacking improvement needed

Speaking after the draw in Dortmund, coach Deschamps admitted that France need to sharpen up in front of goal.

Les Bleus only scored twice in the group stage, with one of those an own goal and the other coming from the penalty spot.

It was originally put down to the absence of superstar Mbappe, who missed the draw with the Netherlands after breaking his nose against Austria.

But even the return of the new Real Madrid signing - who is 6/1 to be the tournament’s top goalscorer - could not inspire France against Poland and Deschamps concedes they need to improve from an attacking perspective.

The French coach said: “We need to score more goals, we need to be more clinical, and I am looking for that. We can improve but that's it.”

He added: “Sometimes we weren't accurate enough. We gave everything we had until the very end. But I am positive, I am always positive. It is a new competition starting for us.

Deschamps insisted before the Poland game that Mbappe wasn’t impacted by wearing a mask, but the striker is likely to have to wear that for the rest of the tournament, which is far from ideal.

Some would argue this has been an issue since the turn of the year, with France having failed to score in three of their last seven internationals.