EURO 2020 (now 2021)

[snappit]

What a night tonight. Favourites France are out in a shock result against Switzerland. France went 1-0 down, late in the game went 3-1 up, then two late goals, with one in the last minute, from Switzerland took the game to extra time. No more goals and we go to the dreaded penalty shootout. The Swiss scored all their five and France missed the last one. This followed a cracking game earlier where Spain beat Croatia 5-3. This means both the finalists in the 2018 World Cup are out of the European Championships.

Now for the big one on Tuesday, England V Germany. Obviously I will be willing on England but cannot be confident. Germany played well in their last game and these England v Germany games are always electric.

Latest betting:

Spain 4/1
Italy 9/2
England 5/1
Germany 15/2
Belgium 15/2
Denmark 10/1
Switzerland 28/1
Czech Republic 28/1
Sweden 50/1
Ukraine 80/1

[CheckMark]

6/29/2021 EURO Picks

ENG v GER o2.5 Goals
SWE v UKR u2.5 Goals

[snappit]

Oh Yes! 2-0 England. England beat Germany in the knockout stages of a tournament for the first time since England won the World Cup in 1966. It's taken 55 years to do it and the country is going mad. England now through to the quarter-finals where we will play either Sweden or Ukraine. We haven't conceded a goal in all four matches at this tournament. Still a long way to go and a lot of hard work to do but we can have real hope now.

[snappit]

Ukraine beat Sweden.

Quarter-final draw.

Switzerland V Spain
Belgium v Italy
Czech Republic v Denmark
England v Ukraine

Latest odds to win tournament.

England 2/1
Spain 3/1
Italy 4/1
Belgium 7/1
Denmark 10/1
Switzerland 25/1
Czech Republic 25/1
Ukraine 33/1

[Redboard]

Everybody's wise-guy pick, Belgium, will be up against it on Friday, even with a completely healthy squad. But without De Bruyne and Hazard their chances go from slim to none. Lukaku didn’t do much on Sunday and looked out of shape, slow and old (although he's only 28).

I thought De Bruyne’s injury was a cheap shot, that should have no place in the game. Palhinha came from behind and swung his leg around him, he did get the ball but that’s still no excuse because his foot kept hooking around De Bruyne’s ankle(which resulted in a bruise, not a tear).

It seems like these international contests (Euro, World Cup, Olympics, etc.) are more violent than regular season games. These international contests frequently turn into targeting the other team's best players. Portugal knew damn well that without De Bruyne, Belgium's chances plummeted.

https://www.si.com/soccer/2021/06/28...portugal-italy

[CheckMark]

I know I went 0-2 for my first 2 picks in EURO (I never handicap soccer anyways ) but I will try my luck again on Friday and Saturday's games

Friday, July 2nd
Switzerland vs Spain Under 2.5
Belgium vs Italy Under 2.5

Saturday, July 3rd
Czech Republic vs Denmark Under 2.5
Ukraine vs England Over 2.5

See what happens! Good luck all!

[snappit]

I still wouldn't discount Belgium. It will be harder for them if they have to go without Hazard and de Bruyne. They still have a good squad and a solid defense which will be hard for Italy to break down. Their big problem is the side of the draw they are in. They first have to overcome a decent Italian team and then face the possibility of a good Spanish team. Their game against Italy will be fascinating with their contrasting styles.

England have a much easier draw and I will be very disappointed if they don't make the final now. Although anything can happen as we saw when they struggled against Scotland. The main thing I am worried about is their game against Ukraine will be in Rome, and because of covid travel restrictions there will be very few England supporters in the crowd. They have had the advantage of playing all their matches so far at Wembley. Despite the stadium only being half full against Germany with 45,000 watching, again due to covid restrictions, there was a fantastic atmosphere which really spurred them on. This has to be England's best chance of winning a major tournament since 1966. They have a deep squad and this is shown by the fact that they can have players with the quality of Foden, Grealish and Sancho on the bench. Harry Kane has had a lacklustre tournament so far but scoring on Tuesday would have raised his confidence. Manager Gareth Southgate has taken a lot of criticism from certain quarters over his team selection but he has got it spot on each time, including his substitutions.

[Redboard]

Originally Posted by snappit

Ukraine beat Sweden.

Quarter-final draw.

Switzerland V Spain
Belgium v Italy
Czech Republic v Denmark
England v Ukraine

Latest odds to win tournament.

England 2/1
Spain 3/1
Italy 4/1
Belgium 7/1
Denmark 10/1
Switzerland 25/1
Czech Republic 25/1
Ukraine 33/1

At full strength, Belgium would be a nice overlay, value play .

But Italy is, IMO , the horse to beat.

[CheckMark]

Originally Posted by CheckMark

Friday, July 2nd
Switzerland vs Spain Under 2.5

Winner!

[PhantomOnTour]

Despite all their talent and fire power, Belgium looks outclassed by the Italians, much like they did vs France at World Cup ‘18.

I expect Italy to put them on full lock down in the 2nd half

[PhantomOnTour]

Originally Posted by PhantomOnTour

Despite all their talent and fire power, Belgium looks outclassed by the Italians, much like they did vs France at World Cup ‘18.

I expect Italy to put them on full lock down in the 2nd half

As expected...Belgium lacks that certain je ne sais quois that teams like Italy possess

[snappit]

Semi-final line up.

Italy v Spain

England v Denmark

Absolutely buzzing after a superb England performance this evening. Ukraine weren't great but England did everything they needed to and put in a superb performance. The first time I can remember watching England was in the 1970 World Cup and I think the present squad is the best I have seen. Two of our best players Grealish and Foden didn't even get on tonight. The manager Gareth Southgate has been heavily criticised in some places for team selection but, again, is getting every decision right. Just a couple of dodgy moments tonight but we dominated most of the game. I don't want to get too confident because Denmark will be a different proposition than Ukraine. Whatever happens on Wednesday the guys have done fantastic, and to reach the semi-finals in both the last World Cup and this tournament is special. Best of all we haven't concede a goal yet. The first time a team hasn't concede a goal in their first 5 games at European Championship.

latest Tournament Odds

England 11/8
Italy 9/4
Spain 11/4
Denmark 9/1

[CheckMark]

Originally Posted by CheckMark

I know I went 0-2 for my first 2 picks in EURO (I never handicap soccer anyways ) but I will try my luck again on Friday and Saturday's games

Friday, July 2nd
Switzerland vs Spain Under 2.5 Winner!
Belgium vs Italy Under 2.5 Loser

Saturday, July 3rd
Czech Republic vs Denmark Under 2.5 Loser
Ukraine vs England Over 2.5 Easy Winner!

See what happens! Good luck all!

2-2 on the Totals

[CheckMark]

Predictions for next weeks EURO games

Tuesday, July 6th, 2021
Italy vs Spain Over 2.5

Wednesday, July 7th, 2021
England vs Denmark Over 2.5

Good luck!

[snappit]

We've now discovered an instant cure for a broken leg. Just score a goal.

Twitter