Having been victorious during the opening round of fixtures, Portugal will have had high hopes of making the semi-finals, but those hopes were severely dented last time out as they were defeated by the ever-impressive Spain. With just one fixture remaining, and with Spain likely to win again, Rui Jorge’s men are left needing a win, probably to secure second place, which may or may not be enough to progress to the semi-finals. Macedonia also require a win if they’re to grace the semi-finals with their presence, although, even if they were to take three points here, progression from the…
On Friday night, Spain’s talented young squad will bid to make it three wins in a row as they take on a Serbian side who’ve been pretty poor at these finals so far. Given the way in which the Spanish have gone about their business at this tournament, it would take a brave punter to back against them securing a hat-trick of groups wins. Serbia and Spain come into this final group game in contrasting form; on the one hand you’ve got the Spanish who’ve been very impressive in swaggering their way to two wins, scoring eight goals in the…
As things stand, Group A is the tightest in the competition with all four teams still in with something of a chance of going through. Both Slovakia and Sweden come into this game knowing that a win could see them progress in first place, although their fate will depend on the outcome of the other final match between England and Poland. Having won one and lost one, Slovakia have so far been a bit up and down at this tournament; they were deserved winners against Poland as they showcased both great forward energy and character, but lost, and deservedly so,…
As the only team in Group A to win their opening fixture, Russia currently have the upper hand but, with Portugal and Mexico to play, they’ve still got plenty of work to do to qualify, let alone finish top. Portugal may well have picked up just a point on match-day one but considering that came against Mexico, the team who were always likely to provide their stiffest test, it was by no means a bad start. Russia beat a poor New Zealand side first time up so that result doesn’t exactly tell us much, although the fact that they did…
After cruising to a commanding victory over Czech Republic during the first round of fixtures, Germany’s bid to finish top of Group C is still nicely on course while Denmark, who lost their opener against other semi-final hopefuls Italy, are already looking down and out after just one game. At the start of the tournament, Germany were many people’s favourites to go all the way and their performance on Sunday afternoon suggested that they’ve certainly come to Poland to win. Having got the better of their opponents last time out in what was probably third gear at most, it’s very…
Despite coming into the tournament in patchy form, the Italians did what they do best when it comes to tournament football on match-day one as they ground out a solid victory over Denmark in disciplined fashion. In contrast, Czech Republic were poor in their loss to Germany and are all already looking in trouble as far as progressing from the group goes. Italy’s U21’s were well-drilled, organised and extremely professional in their win over Denmark and are expected to put together a similar performance here against a Czech side who failed to cope with the Germans on match-day one. The…
With the first round of fixtures now done and dusted, it’s safe to say that both Serbia and Macedonia are well and truly on the back foot in Group B. With Portugal and Spain winning first up, it’s looks as though this pair are destined for an early exit. Even though they face an uphill struggle, both will be keen to atone for their first match disappointments and, considering their opponents here also lost, both will fancy their chances. Of the two, although it was Macedonia who came off worse numerically, it was Serbia who disappointed the most on match-day…
Sunday’s Group B opener at the Confederations Cup see world Champions Germany take on likely whipping boys Australia in Sochi. Given their current standings in the world of International football, it would be no surprise at all to see the Australians on the wrong end of a damning score-line here as it looks for all to see that there’s only winner. Germany are known far and wide as an international footballing powerhouse and, despite perhaps not taking their strongest squad to Russia, are fancied to prove too hot to handle for Australia on Sunday afternoon. There are two bets that…
Having retained their Copa America title in the summer of 2016, Chile will be looking to win silverware for the third year in a row in Russia this month, and their quest begins against African opposition in Cameroon on Sunday evening. In facing the Cameroonians first up, it would appear as though Alexis Sánchez and co. have an excellent chance to start things on the right foot. In recent times, Cameroon are a team who’ve struggled to impose themselves on matches against both South American and European teams and, having been easily beaten by Columbia in a friendly less than a…
On Sunday evening, Germany, who last won this competition back in 2009 when the likes of Manuel Neuer, Mesut Özil and Sami Khedira were all key figures at under-21 level, kick-off their tournament against the Czech Republic. On paper, this may look like something of a banker for the Germans; however, the Czech’s have previously thrived at youth level and, after a promising qualification campaign, will be confident of making their presence felt in Poland this summer. The Germans are unsurprisingly the favourites ahead of this match but the Czech’s really shouldn’t be underestimated; Vítězslav Lavička’s men come into this tournament in…
Given their star-studded squad, it’s unsurprising to see Spain approach their opening fixture against Macedonia at long odds-on; however, despite Spain’s strength in depth, Macedonia come into this tournament with an impressive recent record and could make this a tougher test for the Spanish than the odds suggest. With the quality at Albert Celades’ disposal, it would be a big disappointment if this young Spain side weren’t capable of winning this match but, at the prices, there is little value to be had from backing them to do so. Instead, the bet that stands out is ‘Marco Asensio to Score and…
Ahead of this Group B opener, it is the Portuguese who’re heavy favourites, and, given both their impressive qualification campaign and recent form, this is hard to argue with. However, Serbia, who’ve recently upset the odds at youth level by winning the under-20 World Cup back in 2015, will be keen to prove (once again) that they’re no back number and they too come here off the back of a strong qualification campaign. From a betting point of view, goals are the way to play this one with ‘Over 2.5 Goals & Both Teams to Score’ appealing as the stand…
In being placed in Group A, England look to have a solid chance of progressing to the semi-finals and will be particularly pleased that they’ve avoided all of Germany, Spain, Italy and Portugal. Aidy Boothroyd’s men come into this competition in decent form and really ought to fancy their chances against a Sweden side who, despite winning the last renewal of this tournament, come here in patchy form. What is particularly eye-catching about this under-21 England side is the number of goals that they’ve been scoring prior to this tournament. With this in mind, coupled with the fact that Sweden…
As the under-20 World Cup is now a thing of the past, it’s time for Europe’s best under-21 teams to come together in Poland for the 2017 renewal of the under-21 Euros. Having seen their younger compatriots lift the aforementioned World Cup less than a week ago, England’s under-21 side will be hoping to follow up with victory in Poland, although, with the strength in depth possessed by some of the other nations, they might just struggle to do so. Having said that, at 10/1, there will be plenty of punters who’re fancying the English to take this tournament. Big…
Having acquitted themselves well at the Euros last summer, Northern Ireland are showing people that their upturn in fortunes might not be short lived as they continue to go well in World Cup Qualifying. Michael O’Neill’s men currently sit 2nd in Group C behind world champions Germany and will be in confident mood ahead of their trip to Azerbaijan. With seven points of their own during this campaign, Azerbaijan have also surprised a few people, although we probably shouldn’t read too much into this form as three of those points came courtesy of a win against San Marino. When this…
Slovakia travel to face Lithuania on Friday night as they try to cement their position inside the top two in Group F; however, despite the disparity between these two in the FIFA rankings, this fixture might just be a lot closer than the market suggests. Since their relatively respectable showing at the Euros last summer, Slovakia have been on something of a downward slope. Despite sitting 2nd in Group F, their performances have left plenty to be desired, particularly away from home. On the other side of the coin, Lithuania who’re ranked 83 places below Slovakia according to FIFA, have…
After five matches of this World Cup qualification campaign, just three points separate France and Sweden at the top of Group A. With just the group winners guaranteed a place in Russia next year, top spot is the priority and so this is something of a crunch match; if the Swede’s come out on top, the race is neck-and-neck with four to play but if France get the job done, they’re likely to be home and dry. In terms of the way this pair have gone about things during these qualifiers, there probably isn’t too much between them and thus…