Welcome A new championship is about to begin and PreMatches will cover each and every game. The Euro2008 will take place in Austria and Switzerland from the 7th of June and the final is played on Ernst Happel stadium in Vienna on the 29th of June. Bets will be posted as the championship progresses so stay tuned. The tournament picks: Czech Republic to progress 1.86 @ Betfair They have a strong team as always and won their qualification group ahead of Germany. My feeling is that they will fight with Portugal for the group winning position in group A. I can't see Switzerland or Turkey progress ahead of them. (failed to qualify - bet lost) Croatia to progress 1.56 @ Betfair One of the strongest outsiders of this championship. They won their qualification group easily in front of Russia and England and have a fairly easy group alongside Germany. I don't think Austria or Poland will put a stop to Croatia. (qualified - bet won) Italy to progress 1.51 @ Betfair One of the group of death here with Italy fighting France, Holland and possibly Romania. Italy won their group ahead of France and despite having a hard group I think Italy will go through. It's honestly hard to see the championship continue without them. (qualified - bet won) Austria last in group B - 1.83 @ Betfair Clearly the weakest team in the Euro2008 and I doubt they will be able to win a match. They will lose to Germany and Croatia and I hope Poland can finish them off as well. I hope I'm not underestimating them but they are after all ranked as 92nd by FIFA(!), behind teams like New Zealand and just ahead of Gabon. (3rd in group - bet lost) Top team goalscorer of Portugal - Ronaldo 2.10 @ Centrebet He's been amazing for Manchester United this season and he has to succeed for Portugal to go far. The odds for the top goalscorer seems fair with Gomes chasing behind him. Ronaldo scored an insane 31 goals in the Premier League! (draw between 7 players - bet voided) Top team goalscorer of Spain - Torres 2.38 @ BetFred Another player with a good season in England. He scored 21 goals for Liverpool in his opening season and there has to be at least a 50/50 shot of him being Spain's lead goalscorer. Group stage match picks: Saturday June 7, 2008 Switzerland 18 : 00 Czech Republic The Swizz team will be no pushovers even though many may think so. I already have a bet on the Czech Republic to quality for the second round but I'm not really convinced that they might start with a win here. The loosing team is most likely out and 37% of the opening matches in the past 3 championships have ended with a draw, BUT 10 of the 18 teams drawing has been eliminated. 10 of the 14 last opening matches in the euro championships have gone under and that is my choice here as well. Two nervous teams that can't really lose so that's the obvious choice even though the odds is somewhat low. I'm taking the under 2.5 for 1.65 @ BetSense (0-1 bet won) Saturday June 7, 2008 Portugal 20 : 45 Turkey Guess the big question is whether Ronaldo will be the great player of this tournament or not. He's been fantastic this season and I'm sure he'll do his outmost for his country as well. Turkey snatched the final spot in Norway's group and they really didn't play well. I'm somewhat surprised that the bookmakers have them ranked behind Switzerland but I doubt they'll have a great championship. Scolari and his Portugal won 2-0 over Georgia in their final test while Turkey lost to Uruguay and won over Finland. Portugal needs a win here to get the championship going and I have a feeling Ronaldo will score. I'm taking the homewin for 1.77 @ Digibet (2-0 bet won) Sunday June 8, 2008 Austria 18 : 00 Croatia With the long term bet on both teams it's pretty obvious who I'm going with here. Croatia won their group with style and is a dog you might have to pay attention to in this championship. Eduardo is injured but hopefully Olic, Petric & Klasnic will do the job. Austria is the worst team in this group and although they might have had a small boost trashing lowly Malta 5-1 in their final test, I doubt they'll stand a chance here. The odds on Croatia is surprisingly fruity I must say. I'm taking the awaywin for 2.00 @ Betsense (0-1 bet won) Sunday June 8, 2008 Germany 20 : 45 Poland I really fancy Germany this summer and they rarely go many championships without winning. They are a solid team in every possible way and should be a title candidate. Poland is a dog that will hopefully end up third in this group. I'm not saying that they are a bad team but they had an easy qualification group and have poor results coming into the Euro2008. Blaszczykowski will not play. Germany won 1-0 in 2006 and a similar result on Sunday wouldn't surprise me. I'm taking the homewin for 1.57 @ Ladbrokes (2-0 bet won) Monday June 9, 2008 Romania 18 : 00 France Romania is ranked as the bottom team in this group but it will be very close. Hard to see who the group winner will be but I doubt it will be the east europeans. They've beaten Russia (3-0) and Montenegro (4-0) in their last friendlies and that's important for confidence. France is strong as always and haven't conceeded a single goals in the past 4 friendlies. A very solid defensive team should put this game under. I'm taking the under 2.5 for 1.71 @ Pinnacle (0-0 bet won) Monday June 9, 2008 Netherlands 20 : 45 Italy The biggest clash so far and most likely the worst game to predict. The Netherlands only scored 15 goals in the qualification (12 matches) and only conceeded 5. They are weakened on front with Robben/Babel out and considering that van Persie is not in great shape, they could be in trouble. Friendlies results are good though so I'm not sure what to believe about them yet. Italy is one of my absolute favorites, have to admit that. Pirlo, Buffon, Gattuso, Buffon, Toni, Del Piero etc, an amazing team. Nesta is gone and with Cannavaros injured they could be in some defensive trouble. Tricky game but a loss here could spell disaster for both teams. I'm taking the under 2.5 for 1.71 @ Pinnacle (3-0 bet lost) Tuesday June 10, 2008 Spain 18 : 00 Russia A replay of Euro2004 where they also meat in the opening match, Spain won 1-0 but both teams were eliminated in the group stage. Spain is the clear favorite in this group, but also for the championship. However, Spain hasn't won a title for ages and Aragones will have a rough time in this group. They have beaten Peru and USA with a goal in their friendlis but Torres, Garcia & Villa have struggled with minor injuries. It's been a great year for sports in Russia but they are heavily reduced by the injury of Zenit striker Pogrebnyak. Coach Hiddink also has to do without suspended Arshavin. My gut feeling is that Russia will defend for a point like Romania did successfully against France today. I'm taking the under 2.5 for 1.65 @ Betsson (4-1 bet lost) Tuesday June 10, 2008 Greece 20 : 45 Sweden Greece is the defending champions but almost didn't make it past the group stage. They did good in our qualification group, much thanks to their brilliant coach Otto Rehhagel. Katsouranis has struggled with injuries but the squad now looks pretty much fit for fight. Sweden has 6 of their last 6 under 2.5 but some injuries and problems within the squad has me wondering about their capabilities. Ljungberg isn't a 100% but will most likely play, Elmander will most likely sit this one out. Sweden has drawn 6 of their 9 group stage matches in their 3 recent championships and a draw seems pretty logical here as well. I'm taking the draw for 3.20 @ SBG Global (0-2 bet lost) Wednesday June 11, 2008 Czech Republic 18 : 00 Portugal The Czech win over Switzerland was pretty lucky and they were worse than I thought. However, they got the 3 points they needed and are in a good position considering that they have Turkey in their last match and Portugal will most likely beat Switzerland. Portugal impressed me in their win against Turkey and it showed that they have more to them than Ronaldo. I don't think Portugal will lose this one and I've consider X2, but the payout is to low. I'm taking the under 2.5 for 1.60 @ BetSense (1-3 bet lost) Wednesday June 11, 2008 Switzerland 20 : 45 Turkey The losing team is out so this is a very important game for both teams. Switzerland lost 1-0 in the opening game but most importantly, the captain and main goalscorer Frei was injured and is ruled out for this game. Turkey lost 2-0 to Portugal but that's not a shame but as I wrote, Turkey is not a great team. Fatih Terim has promised a more offensive team this time. Both teams desperately needs the points and the team that scores first will defend the lead with their lives. I'm taking the under 2.5 for 1.68 @ Pinnacle (1-2 bet lost) Thursday June 12, 2008 Croatia 18 : 00 Germany From a nice winning streak to a losing one, not good and I hate the red letters. Croatia won their opening match against Austria but were heavily defending and the 3 points were not deserved. Not sure what happened to them but they looked tired. Germany looked good against Poland and the machine won 2-0, fairly deserved. I believe in at least a couple of goals here, lets hope for Podolski & Klasnic. I'm taking the over 1.5 for 1.46 @ Betfair (2-1 bet won) Thursday June 12, 2008 Austria 20 : 45 Poland Both teams lost the opening match but Austria deserved at least a point, possibly all 3. Poland played a good match but Germany was to strong. A loss here for any of the teams and they are knocked out. I find it kind of tricky to come up with a play here as I can see both teams attacking and defending. Linz & Pogatetz might not play so it could open up for Kienast as the Austrian forward. For Poland the captain Zurawski is out for the championship and Lewandowski might not play. Two scared teams but I'm hoping one scores and the other team is forced to attack as well. I'm taking the over 1.5 for 1.53 @ Centrebet (1-1 bet won) Friday June 13, 2008 Italy 18 : 00 Romania Italy lost 3-0 in their opening match and everything but a homewin is a total disaster for Donadoni & co. Feeling kind of risky to be backing Italy at this stage, but it seems that every team that played bad in their first match gets their revenge and I guess Italy won't be anything different. Romania defended to a point in their opening against France and had 0 shots on goal. They got what they wanted so don't think they are stressed about that. Romania needs 3 points as well and a loss won't do them any good. This should open up this game. Can't picture this game as a goal orgy, but again if Romania takes the lead Italy might score 2 etc. 2.70 from Expekt on over 2.5 seems sweet. I'm taking Italy to win for 1.75 @ Betfair (1-1 bet lost) Friday June 13, 2008 Netherlands 20 : 45 France Could be a good game if the Netherlands keeps it up, or it could be really boring if France keeps it up. The Netherlands impressed us all and I've heard plenty of guys taking them as Euro2008 winners. Van Bronckhorst was impressive and Robben is on his way back. Could be tricky against a French side that seems to only focus as lot on their defensive side. France hasn't scored a playing goal in 3 matches and Domenech has to change the side if they want to qualify for the next round. Very tricky game to bet (I'd pass if I could!) but I'm sticking with the team that is in form. I'm taking the Netherlands + the draw for 1.46 @ 10Bet (4-1 bet won) Saturday June 14, 2008 Sweden 18 : 00 Spain Sweden was ranked as the worst team in this group but got a great start with a 2-0 win over a useless and defensive Greek team. Sweden wasn't great but a little Zlatan magic made sure they grabbed 3 points. Wilhelmsson is out for the rest of the championship while Alexandersson might be back in action. Spain was super in their 4-1 win over Russia and Villa scored a hattrick. Russia had defensive problems but Spain got off to an excellent start. 11 of 14 games so far has gone over 1.5 and every second round games. I'm taking over 1.5 for 1.50 @ Betfair (1-2 bet won) Saturday June 14, 2008 Greece 20 : 45 Russia Greece was just awful in their first game and it was probably the worst performance so far in this Euro championship. Losing 2-0 against Sweden was not a good start. Russia lost 4-1 to Spain and that was a fair results after the David villa show. They've got defensive problems but have to go forward here. Both teams will have a problem with a draw and both are out with a loss. Could be an entertaining match. I'm taking over 1.5 for 1.55 @ Betsafe (0-1 bet lost) Sunday June 15, 2008 Turkey 20 : 45 Czech Republic I already have a bet on the Czech Republic to quality for the next round and are obviously hoping for a win here. The teams are equal before the important and final match in the qualifying round and a draw will conclude with a penalty shoot out. Turkey coach Terims has several injury worries and the latest out is Metin. Brückners seems to be having few problems and should be the natural favorite here. The teams should be careful and we might have a draw situation well into the second period. I'm taking first goal after 27 minutes for 1.95 @ Betfred (33 mins bet won) Sunday June 15, 2008 Switzerland 20 : 45 Portugal The Swizz team is out while Portugal has already qualified for the second round. Derdiyok is the last man injured but they will most likely play a good game as one of the hosting nations. Portugal can take it easy and Scolari might field some second rated players that needs some minutes on the pitch. Don't think they'll lose to Switzerland but I'm not fully convinced that they'll bother risking anything for the win. I'm taking Portugal + the draw for 1.36 @ 888sport (2-0 bet lost) Monday June 16, 2008 Poland 20 : 45 Croatia Poland is lost in the group b with one point and have to win today to stand any chance of progressing. If they win they could pass Austria and Germany but it depends on the result in that game. Croatia really stepped in their last match and beat Germany. They have nothing to play for and will be group winners. Slaven Bilic will most likely bench the 5 players with a yellow card. Poland has to step forward and try to get the early lead. I'm taking Poland at halftime for 3.10 @ Centrebet (0-0 bet lost) Monday June 16, 2008 Austria 20 : 45 Germany Austria need to win while Germany can manage with the draw. Both teams are eliminated if they lose so this will be a good game. Austria got some injury problems and coach Hickersberger will field a weaker team than before. Germany got a few players out as well, Schweinsteiger with the red card and Jansen is injured. Lahm & Podolski picked up a couple of knocks but should play. The awaywin used to pay 1.50 but are now reduced to max 1.36 and that seems to low. I don't think Austria will score more than 1 and Germany more than 2, so I'm forcing a bet on the under. I'm taking under 3.5 for 1.42 @ Centrebet (0-1 bet won) Tuesday June 17, 2008 France 20 : 45 Italy Both teams with just a point against Romania after two matches played. Both need to win desperately but it might not be enough if Romania does their job. Les Bleus are normally strong defensive but the Dutch really took advantage of them. They have been awful on the other half of the pitch. Italy also lost to Holland but got a point against Romania where they could have had 3 or 0 as well. Tricky to make a call on this game but I'm landing on under based on France inability to score. This is a gut feeling though. I'm taking Italy to win for 2.52 @ 10Bet (0-2 bet won) Tuesday June 17, 2008 Netherlands 20 : 45 Romania Only one option for Romania, do or die. They will most likely have to win this game. One other option is to draw if the other game in this group ends with a draw as well, but that's risky. Van Basten will rest a few players since they are already qualified but motivated players like Huntelaar should take this opportunity. Ooijer and de Jong have yellow cards and will most likely be rested. Romania coach Ciprian Marica will have to do without Radoi and Goian. The Netherlands have been superb in front of the goal so far and with Romania needing to win, this could open up this game. They will have to risk it all if The Netherlands takes the lead. I'm taking over 2.5 for 2.14 @ Betfair (2-0 bet lost) Wednesday June 18, 2008 Russia 20 : 45 Sweden Guus Hiddink and his Russia should have pounded Greece with several goals but they are also really weak defensively. Arshavin is back so that might help a bit. Sweden needs a draw to qualify and they key to doing that is having Ibrahimovic on the pitch. They seem to be rubbish without him. Alexandersson might be back. This game looks 50/50 to me and I can't see the under being that huge of a favorite as well. I'm taking over 1.5 for 1.50 @ Betfair (2-0 bet won) Wednesday June 18, 2008 Greece 20 : 45 Spain Greece was better against Russia but still have huge problems. The weakest team in this championship but they might be able to save some honor by beating Spain today. Greece is eliminated and Spain qualified so no real motivation for either of the teams. I expect Spain to field a team with the reserve players but as the Netherlands proved yesterday, they might be as bad after all. Not expecting a goal orgy here. I'm taking under 2.5 for 1.87 @ Wauwbet (1-2 bet lost) Thursday June 19, 2008 Portugal 20 : 45 Germany First quarterfinal and the championship enters a whole new stage. I'm with the bookmakers here giving Portugal the slight edge. They have been good so far while Germany started off well against Poland but quickly dropped off versus Croatia and Austria. Scolari rested a lot of players against Switzerland and has no injury or card problems. For Germany, Schweinsteiger is back while Frings & Podolski are struggling with injuries. One interesting fact, since the euro championship was expanded in 1996 to 16 teams with 4 groups there has been 21 "playoff" games. Only 5 have gone over 2.5. I'm taking under 2.5 for 1.60 @ BetSense (2-3 bet lost) Friday June 20, 2008 Croatia 20 : 45 Turkey Croatia won all their matches in the group stage, even without 9 of their best players in the last match. Striker Budan and defender Knezevic are both injured. They have a strong team though so shouldn't matter. I'm amazed to see Turkey through but their jurney should stop here. Besides beeing a weaker team than Croatia they have several injuries making it tricky for coach Terim. Keeper Demirel and midfielder Aurelio are out with cards. Midfielders Belözoglu and Metin, as well as defender Güngör are injured. Cetin, Asik & Zan might not play. I'm taking the homewin for 1.95 @ BetSense (0-0 bet lost) Saturday June 21, 2008 Netherlands 20 : 45 Russia Sorry for the late posting today, I have a sick 1 year old. Really looking forward to this game as we have two attacking teams with a dutch coach on both benches. Seemes to be no players out so this is much a guessing game. Hiddink has improved Russia through the championship and Arshavins return means a lot to them. Netherlands should be the strongest team but many strange things have happened so far. I'm taking over 2.5 for 2.02 @ BetFair (1-1 bet lost) Sunday June 22, 2008 Spain 20 : 45 Italy Thanks all that emailed regarding my son, I really appreciate all the kind words! Sorry for the really late posting today. With a bit of luck and a final 2-0 victory against France, Italy managed to survive the Group of Death at the Euros and advance as runner-up to Holland. They now face Spain for a place in the semi-finals, which would be their second in eight years. Spain, on the other hand, is notoriously unlucky when it comes to making performance at the European Championship: the last time they made it to the last four was in 1984, and the one and only time they made it to the top was 44 years ago, when they hosted EURO 1964. Spanish striker David Villa tops the current goal scorer list with 4 goals, 3 of them coming as a hat-trick against Russia. My gut feeling says Italy and my brain says Spain. I'm taking the draw for 3.20 @ 188Bet (0-0 bet won) Wednesday June 25, 2008 Germany 20 : 45 Turkey They've done it three times and nobody seemed to have learnt the lesson (including me!) - Turkey fought back twice in the groups, with amazing comebacks against Switzerland and the Czech Republic but the Croatians failed to see the Turkish threat in the quarter-finals and became yet another victim to Fatih Terim's amazing team. The sensationally hit back from Semih Senturk in the final moments of the extra time seemed to be too much for Slaven Bilic's boys, who managed to miss three times during the penalty shootout. Turkey seems unstoppable but the semis will bring them face to face with their biggest adversary so far - Germany. With coach Joachim Low off the bench but with Schweinsteiger, Klose and Ballack in great shape the Mannschaft secured their semi-final place with a 3-2 win against Portugal. I'm taking Germany to win for 1.45 @ Expekt (3-2 bet won) Thursday June 26, 2008 Spain 20 : 45 Russia Russia and Spain are already at the second date at EURO 2008 but there's definitely no love lost between the two sides. Luis Aragones's boys trashed the Russians in the group games with an outstanding 4-1 win, three goals coming as a hat-trick from David Villa. But this dismal debut only motivated the Russians to improve their game, and the winner mentality introduced by coach Guus Hiddink culminated with a spectacular extra-time victory in the quarter-finals against his native Netherlands. Iker Casillas was the one man army for his team against Italy in the quarters, as his saved penalties from Daniele de Rossi and Antonio di Natale took the Spanish Armada in the semi-finals. I'm taking the draw for 3.50 @ Betfair (3-0 bet lost) Sunday June 29, 2008 Germany 20 : 45 Spain First, thanks for all your emails through this championship. I've enjoyed every one of them and I hope you've enjoyed my betting previews and suggested bets :) Germany won the first Semi Final game 3-2 against a desperately unlucky Turkish side to book their place in the Euro 2008 Final. Philipp Lahm's winner was the third time a player has scored in injury time at Euro 2008 to win the match. The Germans now face Spain, who beat Russia 3-0 after a convincing second half display. Russia's coach Guus Hiddink has now lost three semi-finals in major tournaments, previously with Holland and South Korea in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups. Germany and Spain were pre-tournament favourites and second favourites respectively, and play in Vienna on Sunday 29th June, 19:45 BST. Germany is in the final for a record sixth time, and the first time since they won the tournament in 1996. Spain has reached their third European Championship final, winning the tournament in 1964, then losing to France in the 1984 final. Spain are now favourites to lift the trophy with odds of around 1.65 with the Germans being priced at around 2.40. To me this game is 50/50. I'm taking Germany to win the Euro2008 for 2.54 @ Betfair