We are down to four now and while the only two big guns that started the tournament remain and they have to take on each other in one of the semi finals, the bookmakers are backing the title to go one of those. We are talking about France and Germany of course are are joint 7/4 favourites to win Euro 2016 at the moment ahead of their semi final clash on Thursday. Before that though, either Portugal or Wales will make it through to the Final as they meet on Wednesday. So we are almost down to the wire now, who will stand up for their country?
Here we take a look at Euro 2016 Semi Finals Betting Odds & Predictions for the two matches.
Wales v Portugal
Quite where this semi final clash is going to head is a mystery. If you break the tournament down to a comparison of Gareth Bale And Cristiano Ronaldo then the Welshman wins hand down. The obvious hype in this one is a showdown between the two Real Madrid team mates but you have to look further than that. Cristiano Ronaldo for starters has done nothing all tournament really apart from his brace against Hungary in the group stage. He hasn’t looked all that sharp or interested to be honest. Gareth Bale has been seen rallying the Welsh side, trying his best to keep momentum high and keep the Dragons breathing fire. Ronaldo and Bale are 11/4 and 4/1 respectively in the first goalscorer market.
It is in the teams that you have to really look at. The team spirit from Wales is bang on point at the moment, they are fighting for each other and grinding and grinding for everything. But it’s been more to that because they have had the confidence and the belief to actually go out and win games as shown in their big wins over Russia and Belgium during the tournament. They will be without Aaron Ramsey, which is a huge loss for them, but that may just gel them together even more to fight for those extra margins in the game. Portugal, who are 23/20 to win this, have gotten progressively slower and more restricted in their play as they have gone through the tournament.
They haven’t looked terribly impressive at any point and could see off weaker opposition during the group stage to record a win. With Ronaldo not playing well, then why wouldn’t Wales believe that they can go even further? If it were against France or Germany that Wales were playing here, you would kind of expect it to be a last hurrah at the tournament, but against Portugal, they have a genuine chance of success. Running to the final of your debut in the competition, that would be remarkable. Expect a tight game because Portugal are unadventurous and tiring and shoot for Wales to win at a quote of 16/5. Why not?
France v Germany
The second semi final is likely to be as equally tight as well. Host nation France will be on a high after putting five past Iceland in the quarter finals, but their defence worryingly switched off to concede a couple of goals. You would never expect that to have happened to Germany. But France do have the upper hand in terms of having more to offer going forward in the game and that sends them into this clash as narrow favourites in the heavyweight duel. They have Antoine Griezmann heading up the chase for the Euro 2016 Golden Boot and Olivier Giroud just one behind him. They are both 11/2 quotes in the anytime goalscorer market.
So the goals are there, but the performances haven’t really been there during the tournament, as they had looked unable to get into top gear prior to their quarter final game against Iceland. But then again, winning without playing well could be seen as an asset. But can France land their first ever significant win over Germany in the finals of a major tournament? When the two met two years ago at the 2014 World Cup, it was Germany who edged through with a 1-0 victory and France, let’s not forget have not played a competitive match against anyone of note since then.
Germany have selection problems, particularly in the middle with Bastian Schweinsteiger doubt bull and having lost Sami Khedira. They are also missing defender Mats Hummels through suspension. Still, not backing Die Mannschaft in tournament football can often seem a bit foolhardy. They have had more shots and more shots on target in Euro 2106 than France have managed, have conceded just one goal (from the penalty spot) and have come through a much tougher route to this point than France have. That’s the grind and that is Germany and they look value to take it at 2/1.
Don’t forget that at online betting site Betfred, anytime goalscorer bets count in extra time as well. That’s right if you have placed a pre-match anytime goalscorer selection and he hasn’t netted in a 90 minute draw, the bet will stay active on him throughout the extra 30 minutes to be played. This applies to all remaining games at Euro 2016. Register an account with online betting site Betfred and pick up a £30 free bet as a welcome bonus from them!
