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Brexit likely: Europe’s football tournament

In 1996, when English fans began singing about football “coming home”, they had endured “thirty years of hurt” without their team winning a trophy. Two decades on, the Three Lions have come no closer to ending the pain. Bookmakers’ odds suggest that they have a 10% chance of breaking that streak at the 2016 European Championships, which kicked off yesterday. Wales and Northern Ireland, who have also qualified, are both distant outsiders: a footballing Brexit, with all three crashing out early, is very possible. France, the hosts, are favourites (and beat Romania in Friday’s opening match). Victory for the home team would lift the mood of a country on edge about the threat of terrorist attacks during the tournament. Fans hope for a repeat of their triumph in 1998, when they thrashed Brazil in Paris to win the World Cup. Spain and Germany both have a good chance of stopping France—and extending England’s misery.

Jun 11th 2016
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