Euro 2004: Other
Steffan Jones, readaBet.com
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2002-09-02
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Best of the Rest |
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Italy will be looking to make amends for their early World Cup exit with a convincing win in Azerbaijan. The Azzurri were incensed over the summer with a number of refereeing decisions and felt they were the victims of a FIFA backed conspiracy. However this could not disguise a number of disappointing performances and they recently were embarrassed at home by Slovenia. Azerbaijan is probably not the easiest of places for footballing aristocrats to travel although the bookmakers have still understandably made them 1/7 on to win. The host meanwhile are real outsiders at 20/1 and a draw is available at 11/2.
Spain felt equally hard done by over the summer, and many people felt they missed out on their best chance of success in a World Cup to date. The team possesses some awesome talent and finally have appeared to come together as a unit rather than a talented bunch of individuals. Their opponents Greece are never an easy side to play against (as England found out lat year) however probably lack the class to cause an upset (10/3). Spain are 11/10 and look a good value for the win, the draw is 9/4.
Unsurprisingly France are 1/4 favourites to beat Cyprus who are 10/1 to cause a massive shock. However the result is not as foregone a conclusion as one would have predicted three months ago. The French team lost their aura of invincibility with three abject performances in the World Cup that saw them lose each game and fail to score a single goal. The once strong team spirit now appears now appears in ruin. Much of the criticism has been directed at the captaincy of Marcel Desailly for not possessing the necessary leadership qualities of the job, Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet are alleged to be two of his biggest critics. France’s recent 1-1 draw has done little to restore much faith in the once almighty ‘Les Blues.’
Norway and Denmark are both on offer at 13/8 to take three points from this massive Scandinavian clash in what will be an intriguing group battle for automatic qualification. The match carries not just importance of qualification but also regional pride and bragging rights. Norway have the upper hand in recent years winning the last three encounters, the last meeting coming in March earlier this year. Although it is Demark who are currently in the ascendancy. They are a well organised and decent team who are better than the 3-0 loss against England in the World Cup would suggest. The Danes recently roundly beat Scotland 1-0 and it could easily have been four or five. Norway have suffered some decline in recent years and endured a miserable 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign. The outcome is not certain but it is fair to say that this looks likely to be a low scoring affair.
Germany surprised many people with their performance at this year’s World Cup, everyone had written off their chances and yet they still somehow managed to make it, albeit somewhat fortuitously, to the final. The team may not be blessed with players as talented as in years before but coach Rudi Voller appears to have engendered a strong team spirit and maintained the German knack for winning matches that really count. This one should be no different and Germany are 1/4 to win while their Lithuanian hosts are 10/1 to record a shock result. The draw is available at 9/2. |
| Betting Verdict |
2.5pts Norway/Denmark to draw at 11/5 (Paddy Power)
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I shall take Norway and Denmark to open their qualifying campaign with a draw (11/10). Neither side will want to start with a defeat and with this being a “local derby”, a point apiece looks the most likely outcome. |
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