The European Championship -- also known as Euro 2024 -- will start on Friday, June 14th.

Let's get prepped for the action by diving into Group A.

All betting odds come from the Euro 2024 odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Euro 2024 Group A

(FIFA ranking in parenthesis)

• Germany (16th)
• Switzerland (19th)
• Hungary (26th)
• Scotland (39th)

Euro 2024 Outright Winner Odds

• Germany: +430
• Switzerland: +8000
• Hungary: +12000
• Scotland: +12000

Odds to Win Group A

• Germany: -280
• Switzerland: +400
• Hungary: +1000
• Scotland : +1200

Odds to Advance Out of Group A

• Germany: -6000
• Switzerland: -280
• Hungary: +130
• Scotland: +100

Odds to Reach the Quarterfinals

• Germany: -250
• Switzerland: +240
• Hungary: +300
• Scotland: +500

Group A Schedule

• Matchday 1
  • Germany vs. Scotland, June 14th, 3 p.m. EST
  • Hungary vs. Switzerland, June 15th, 9:00 a.m. EST
• Matchday 2
  • Germany vs Hungary, June 19th, 12 p.m. EST
  • Scotland vs. Switzerland, June 19th, 3:00 p.m. EST
• Matchday 3
  • Germany vs. Switzerland, June 23rd, 3 p.m. EST
  • Hungary vs Scotland, June 23rd, 3 p.m. EST

Group A Team-by-Team Outlook

Germany

Germany is the host nation, and they'll want to bounce back after poor showings at recent tournaments. They got knocked out in the group stage of each of the past two World Cups and lost in the Round of 16 in the last European Championships.

There is a history of the hosts over-performing in major tournaments, and that's perhaps why Germany has the third-best odds to win the competition. In 2006, they hosted the World Cup, and a young team got third place unexpectedly.

It's always tricky for the hosts of tournaments because they don't play the qualifying matches and go a long stretch without playing a competitive game. Germany's last match that wasn't a friendly was in the 2022 World Cup. This is part of the reason why they've slipped to 16th in the FIFA rankings.

Their form hasn't been great since that World Cup. In 2023, they won just 3 of their 11 friendlies. They bounced back a bit under new manager Julian Nagelsmann in 2024, going unbeaten in four games, including wins over France and the Netherlands.

Germany definitely has talented players, especially in midfield. Old pros like Toni Kroos and Ilkay Gundogan and young stars playing on the wing in Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala make up a group that will be difficult for any team to topple.

A weakness for this squad could potentially be the lack of a reliable goal-scorer. They likely won't use a true striker and will look for the midfield to do the scoring. This has worked in the past -- specifically when Spain won the Euros in 2012. However, they also had an even better midfield than Germany does.

Switzerland

Consistently qualifying for tournaments but never truly contending has been Switzerland's MO over the last 15 years. They have made all but one of the major tournaments since co-hosting Euro 2008. Their best run was in Euro 2020, which resulted in a penalty shootout loss to Spain.

Their performance in qualifying wasn't terribly impressive. They finished second in a group where they were probably the best team and only won 4 of their 10 games.

The squad depth is not littered with superstars playing for top clubs. Their strength is at center back with Manuel Akanji and Fabian Schar both being experienced center backs who are fairly steady in their game.

The Swiss do have a few holes in their squad. Their forwards do not inspire much confidence. Breel Embolo has the most goals among their forwards with just 13 in 63 games for his country. Embolo suffered a torn ACL this past season and only appeared in five games for AS Monaco. Zeki Amdouni led the team in qualifying with six goals and could be key to the team's ability to score.

It seems like this Switzerland team has a good chance of getting out of the group, but isn't a strong contender to make the latter stages of the tournament.

Hungary

In Euro 2020, Hungary was drawn in the "group of death", facing France, Germany and Portugal. They picked up credible draws against France and Germany but lost to Portugal and weren't able to make it out of this group.

Their group this time features teams that will be difficult to beat in their own right, but it's nowhere near as tough as that one. Since that tournament, their form has really improved.

Before losing on June 4th to Ireland, Hungary had gone 14 games unbeaten. That doesn't include back-to-back away wins against England and Germany in 2022 -- the win over England being a stunning 4-0 result.

Hungary's best player is their captain, Dominik Szoboszlai. He is just 23 years old, but has already played 41 times for his country. He's scored 12 goals in those games and is a midfielder that can do a bit of everything.

Szoboszlai and center back Willi Orban are really the only players playing at a top club for Hungary. The lack of elite talent will probably prevent them from going really deep in this tournament.

Manager Marco Rossi has been in charge of Hungary since 2018 -- a long time for an international manager who's team hasn't had a ton of success. Whatever he's been doing has been working in qualifying and should be enough to at least get Hungary out of their group.

Scotland

The Scots qualified for their second straight European Championship, and it's the first time they've ever been involved in consecutive competitions.

Their qualifying campaign went as smoothly as they could have hoped. They won their first five matches, including a 2-0 win over Spain.

Scoring goals was a major problem for Scotland in the last edition of this tournament. They scored just once in three matches before exiting in the group stage at Euro 2020. Their main goal scorer in qualifying was surprisingly Scott McTominay, who would push up from midfield to score. This was much needed because -- as is a theme with this group -- Scotland's forward group doesn't have much firepower.

Unfortunately for Scotland, two of their best players basically play in the same position. Those two players are Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney. This requires Tierney to play as a center back in a back three rather than his traditional left back or left-wing back.

If they are going to make it out of their group, they'll need some big performances from John McGinn. He's coming off an excellent season for Aston Villa and is capable of contributing at both ends of the pitch.

It will be tough, but +100 odds suggest that Scotland definitely have a chance of getting out of the group this time around.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.