Before the tournament started, Group F looked to be the weakest group in the competition. A fact reflected by the odds of a team in this group winning Euro 2016 at 11/1. Many will say, “But Portugal and therefore Ronaldo are in this group so it’s the strongest”, but Ronaldo aside, the rest of the Portuguese team is average, and the other teams aren’t too brilliant either. With that being said, this game could be one of the best in the group stages with both sides in desperate need of a win.
Portugal’s performance in their first game against Iceland was typical of a team that relied on one man. Although Nani scored the goal, priced at 51/20 to score again against Austria, Ronaldo was the man that they relied on. As the game wore on, his frustration started to show, and culminated is his now infamous stroppy speech after the game. Comparisons can be drawn from the 2014 World Cup, where Ronaldo came into the tournament having won the Champions League, but looked unfit. He didn’t look particularly fit again on Tuesday, and you wonder where Portugal would be without him. He’s still the favourite to score though at 11/10 and for Portugal to do well, he must fire. He has the offensive power in the team, but defensively there are issues. The defence for the Icelandic goal was on a par with some of Aston Villa’s last season and they can’t afford to defend like that again. A Portuguese clean sheet is tipped at 21/20, but the Austrians will be tasting blood when they go forward.
Austria were tipped as dark horses by many (including myself) before the tournament, but were exceptionally disappointing in their defeat to Hungary. They can still win the group though, although the odds are now longer at 13/1. They’re in survival mode and anything but a win against Portugal could send them home, having left very little impact on the tournament. They’re priced at 13/5 to keep a clean sheet against Portugal; however they’ve never kept one in the European Championships. Bayern’s David Alaba is their star player and he’s backed at 12/1 to score first, whilst they’re going to have to score goals if their defensive record stays as it is. You can get them to score over 2 goals at 4/1.
Match Prediction
With both sides needing to win this game, there’s likely to be some entertainment. Austria conceded twice against Hungary, and with qualifying for the knockout stage potentially coming down to goal difference, they’ll want to get it as close as possible to a positive balance. Portugal will also have to score goals, and you can get over 4 goals scored in the game at 8/1. As for a match prediction, this could come down to a moment of individual brilliance, which Portugal have. Get a Portugal 3-2 win at 33/1.