Portugal v Czech Republic Euro 2012 betting kicks off the round of quarter finals and online bookmaker Ladbrokes has a great Money Back Special lined up for it already. Portugal commendably made their way through the group of death, while the Czech Republic also sprang a surprise by topping Group A. If Manchester United’s Portuguese winger Nani scores the first or last goal in the match, then online bookmaker Ladbrokes will refund any losing First Goalscorer bets placed on the match. So there is a great bit of coverage to look forward to, as you weigh up your options in the Portugal v Czech Republic Euro 2012 odds.
In the First Goalscorer market, Cristiano Ronaldo is trading as 3/1 favourite to open the scoring, while striker Helder Postiga is trading back at 6/1. Portugal do genuinely look as if they have a lot more to offer going forward than the Czech’s so taking a wager on a Portuguese player looks the best shot. So a great offer from Ladbrokes, which will pay out lost stake refunds on the market if Nani pops up and nets first or last in the game. Online bookmaker Ladbrokes offer a free £50 bet for new customers when signing up and registering with the special code FB50.
Portugal v Czech Republic Euro 2012 Odds at Ladbrokes
Portugal 4/5, Draw 9/4, Czech Republic 16/5
Portugal, inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo at last, made their way through to the quarter finals of Euro 2012 at the expense of the favoured Netherlands Holland did a lot in the group to shoot themselves in the foot, but Portugal did put in the more solid performances. In their opener against Germany, Portugal went with their defensive set up, trying to keep things as tight as possible and they managed to really suffocate the Germany threat well. It wasn’t until the 70th minute that the Portuguese defence was undone and when they opened up in search of an equaliser, they looked a pretty handy side as well. They couldn’t rescue a point in that match, and then Ronaldo almost cost his side a win against Denmark after missing a sitter. He was redeemed in the end though as Portugal squeezed out a 3-2 win over the Danes to keep themselves in contention, and then it was on to face Holland in the final group match. It was Portugal who put in a great work ethic and, to many people’s surprise, was the better of the two sides, and a brace from Ronaldo, finally finding the back of the net secured the win to put them through to the quarter finals.
Portugal are favourites to move ahead here, because they have shown a tremendous amount of team spirit Whether they would be as impressive without the threat of Cristiano Ronaldo in the side, we may not find out, but they have impressed against the odds. In Euro 2012 odds at Ladbrokes, Portugal have seen their odds dramatically reduced to a price of 7/1 to win outright. So they are going to be the ones with the greater attacking threat than the Czech Republic and we should see them dictate the pace of the game. Portugal have such a tremendous outlet in Cristiano Ronaldo who is explosive with his pace in carrying the ball forward. Granted, with a little help from his forwards, Portugal would be an even stronger side with potential to go all of the way. They should have too much in the tank for the Czechs anyway. The Czech Republic scraped their way through A, even through they won it. They were destroyed by Russia in their opening match, before responding with a nervy win against Greece following a strong start. They put their most comprehensive ninety minutes together in their final match against Poland, a 1-0 win seeing them through to the next stage. So could there be a surprise to come from the Czech’s.
Well, the Czech’s really haven’t looked all that threatening going forward. They don’t’ have a lot of quality to call upon, and they will probably struggle to keep their foot on the ball against Portugal, simply because of the work rate from Paulo Bento’s side. At the back they haven’t been anywhere near too convincing at all, and who open they were against the Russians should give the most cause for concern. That is because Portugal can hit very quickly and their back line is unlikely to stand up and match the pace of the Portuguese. They also have an injury concern to captain Tomas Rosicky, who was taken out of the game against Greece at half time, and missed the game against Poland. The two sides have met before in the European Championships, and the most recent encounter was at Euro 2008. Portugal ran out 3-1 winners on that occasion with Ronaldo netting in the game. They also met at Euro ’96 when the Czech’s ran out 1-0 winners, back when they were a better side than what they are now.
Portugal v Czech Republic Prediction: The consensus is that Portugal are going to progress through, and there is no reason to go against that. They have produced so much more the Czech’s have, and Portugal look a very strong side through the middle of the park, and just having Cristiano Ronaldo in the side to exploit any weakness is like having an extra player. Therefore a Portugal -1 Asian Handicap for 6/4 at Bet365 looks a decent way to start off the Euro 2012 quarter finals betting.
