PORTUGAL v AUSTRIA
Saturday 18th June 2016 – Kickoff: 2100hrs
Football – Europe – Euro 2016 Betting Tips
In the second Group F match tonight, Portugal take on Austria with all to play for in the second round of group games with seemingly three teams now playing for the remaining two qualifying spots in the group following Hungary’s 2-0 win over Austria.
Portugal huffed and puffed their way to a point against a stubborn Iceland outfit who held them to a 1-1 draw, and again we see how frail Portugal are when it comes to major tournaments; along with Belgium, Portugal have been the biggest disappointment in terms of tournament play for a few years now, and not even Cristiano Ronaldo can seem to kick them into gear.
And on the subject of Ronaldo, he has never been as prolific for his country as we know he has been with his club sides. Okay, he scored 5 goals during qualification for Portugal but he’s regularly been played as the lone striker, and his goalscoring has pretty much dried up when it comes to the major tournaments.
Austria face a tough task now of emerging from this difficult Group F having suffered what was an unexpected 2-0 defeat to Hungary in their group opener a few days ago. They head into tonight’s encounter against Portugal having lost their last two matches 2-0 (to Netherlands in a friendly, and of course Hungary).
With just two wins from their last six matches overall, which were wins gained against minnows Albania and Malta (both at home), but having lost to Switzerland, Turkey, the Dutch and Hungary, their confidence may have taken a bit of a dent in recent times.
But they shouldn’t be overawed by Portugal this evening, and if they can close down quickly and remain solid at the back, I do wonder if Portugal are capable of breaking down a resolute defence with a moment of brilliance.
I think this will be a low-scoring encounter.
Pick: Under 2.5 goals @ 1.66 Unibet
