EURO 2020 PREDICTIONS: Wayne Rooney Backs FRANCE, Mourinho praises Italy to be Winner

Wayne Rooney believes England are capable of making a major impact at Euro 2020 but has backed France to win the tournament. Mourinho praises Roberto Mancini and expects Italy to reach the semi-finals.

EURO 2020 PREDICTIONS: Wayne Rooney Backs FRANCE to be Winner

Ex-England star Rooney has made his prediction for EURO 2020.

Now, ahead of the 16th edition of the Euros, The former England captain has made his prediction for who will be crowned champions. The Three Lions and France are widely regarded as the two outstanding favourites, while Portugal and Germany (who are in the 'group of death' along with Les Blues) are also in strong contention.

Although many believe home advantage will help England earn their first European title, Rooney is backing France to win the Henri Delaunay Trophy.

'England are among a group of four teams that stand above the rest in terms of prospects at Euro 2020. Portugal and Belgium are in there too, but my clear favourites are France", Rooney wrote in The Times.

Why?

France get their campaign underway when they Germany on June 15, with further games to follow against Hungary and Portugal.

'Kylian Mbappe, N’Golo Kante, Karim Benzema, Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba, Raphael Varane, Hugo Lloris: you look at their quality, experience and track record as world champions and realise that if their players turn up, they will win the tournament, no problem.', Ex-England star Rooney explained.

Despite having so many talented players, Rooney believes that there is great unity in the France squad, which will be a key asset as the tournament progresses.

Rooney reserved special praise for N'Golo Kante, with the midfielder going into the tournament off the back of a superb performance for Chelsea in their Champions League final success against Manchester City.

MOURINHO PREDICTION FOR ITALY AT EURO 2020

José Mourinho praises Roberto Mancini and expects Italy to reach the semi-finals at Euro 2020. “I think they will be always in the final four”, he said.

The new Roma coach wrote a team-by-team guide ahead of Euro 2020 for The Sun, suggesting he expects big things from the Azzurri in the tournament that begins next week.

“I will be looking for my Roma players Leonardo Spinazzola, Bryan Cristante and Lorenzo Pellegrini — of course, I’m going to be focusing on them,” the Special One wrote.

“But Italy is a team with a good mixture of good experienced players, guys that know how to win. They’re going to be strong.

“Roberto Mancini is a very experienced manager – he spent 20 years coaching in the best leagues in the best countries.

“So he’s more than ready and he’s showing already in the qualification phase how good he is. The team have improved a lot under him.

“Italy have talented players, but they have a very good tactical knowledge. They’re able to play in different ways.

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