“We have just fallen short.”
It is perhaps the one quote from Gareth Southgate’s press conference after the Euro 2024 final heartbreak against Spain that would define his entire eight-year reign as England boss.
As Mikel Oyarzabal’s late effort secured a record fourth European Championship title for Spain, England were left reeling as Southgate’s Three Lions rued a second consecutive final loss.
And for bet365 – a Stoke-on-Trent based operator – the heartache of watching England lose was twinned with the pain of heavy payouts upon some of the final results.
While England went into the tournament as favourites with bet365 noting that 17.7% of the outright bets before the beginning went on Southgate’s men, Spain gathered momentum in the tournament and attracted plenty of attention.
“We saw movement in the outright markets throughout, but by the time the Quarter finals came around, we had seen Spain move to 2/1 favourites after being at 9/1,” explains Steve Freeth of bet365. “By the time Spain had qualified for the final of the tournament, they’d moved from 9/1 into 8/13 to win. Yamine Lamal had also taken the plaudits, as the winger’s showing against France saw his odds tumble for both the Young Player award (1/4) as well as the Player of the tournament (7/4).”
The operator openly admits that it was “made to pay” by its initial pricing of Spain before the tournament, and that it had taken “substantial hits” on some of the player-based accolades. Rodri had won player of the tournament at a 33/1 shot, while bet365’s worst tournament result was from the performances of teenage starlet Lamine Yamal, who won the young player of the tournament at 18-1 while notching the most assists at a 40-1 shot.
However, other results had dragged bet365 out of trouble.
Freeth outlines: “We’d taken 17.7% of the Outright bets on pre-tournament favourites England before a ball was kicked, with 9/1 Spain languishing down at 8.9%. bet365 customers were only impressed with one team on the run to Berlin, as Luis de la Fuente’s side would go off 4/6 favourites.
“England’s run to the final was charmed and, while four out of six Super Boosts on their games won, it was the nature of the performances that got us out of trouble. It would take until the semi-final stage before we were really hit in a game involving the Three Lions. The Extra Time, Extra Chance total ended at over £8m, with three of the four quarter-final ties not being settled in normal time.”
Bet365 rolled out a number of products and offers for its customers during the tournament, including the aforementioned Extra Time, Extra Chance, Super Boost and Soccer Substitute Guarantee.
This array of offers helped bet365 engage players throughout the tournament across its global portfolio of markets. But one moment in particular relating to substitutes stood out at the semi-final stage, a moment that England fans will not forget any time soon.
“The semi-final markets screamed that both games would be tight and low scoring but we had entertaining matches with early goals and both Super Boosts of Messrs Mbappe (2/5 – Evs) and Kane (1/2 – Evs) having a Shot on Target landing. The early injury to Memphis Depay cost us £2.8m in bet credits thanks to our Soccer Substitute Guarantee.
“We had also offered Ollie Watkins to Score Any Time/Palmer to Score or Assist at 60/1 which is exactly what happened, much to the joy of the nation to set up the final against Spain.”
Even though England made it to the final and held out until the last five minutes, the overarching story of the tournament was the underwhelming performances from the Three Lions which almost saw them crash out at the Round of 16 stage.
After a lacklustre group stage, England were trailing Slovakia until Jude Bellingham’s stunning overhead kick – the team’s first shot on target – ensured the tie went to extra time before Harry Kane notched the winner.
England’s poor displays but ability to get through in magic moments ultimately benefited bet365, but the operator also noted some other interesting moments from the betting insights.
“One of the key markets of interest throughout the tournament saw the ‘England Next Manager’ market gather momentum after a lacklustre draw against Denmark. Even with Gareth Southgate still in charge, Graham Potter was receiving backing as he stood as favourite to become the next England manager at that time.
“Before England’s game against Netherlands, fans were only just confident enough in England’s Full Time Result chances; 38% of bets were with England, with 33% siding with the Netherlands and 29% ending in a draw.”
Ultimately, though, England once again fell at the final hurdle as Spain took the trophy back to Madrid. And while bet365 certainly didn’t have the perfect tournament from a trading perspective, the operator engaged millions of players throughout the summer.
The match between bet365’s trading team and players may have been a score draw, but the operator is taking the victory as it witnessed the early successes of some of its new offers including the Super Boosts feature.
Freeth concludes: “It was a positive start for the success of our Super Boosts, as we paid out seven times across the first ten days of the tournament. The most expensive in that time was Harry Kane’s Shot on Target against Denmark (2/5 – evens) as we continued to offer one on each matchday.”
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