BY JACK RANDALL – FAN FUEL BLOGGER
If you think Spain’s reign will fall down the drain in Ukraine, then you have plenty of wagering upset options. Spain is favoured on the Euro 2012 odds menus of all major sportsbooks in Europe and Vegas. And for good reason.
They won Euro 2008 and followed that championship up with the 2010 World Cup (+275) and field the best lineup with world-class players such as Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez, G Iker Casillas, and FW Fernando Torres.
They are the favourites to win it all as Poland and Ukraine host the event starting June 8. But they must emerge from a tough Group C with Italy, Croatia, and Ireland.
“Fernando Torres was dynamite late in the season for Chelsea as they won the Champions League, but David Villa is out for the competition with an injury and that is a big loss,” said soccer correspondent Jason Green.
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Germany (+400, means a $100 wager pays a $400 profit) lost to Spain in the finals of the 2008 Euro and they have the second-best odds this time around. Many of their starters play for Champions League runnerup Bayern Munich, so the club knows how to play together.
FW Mario Gomez is the odds-on favorite to score the most goals in the Euro and the Germans boast a great midfield.
Holland (+650) has a great offence, which scored the most goals in the Euro qualifying led by star FW Robin Van Persie. The Dutch are fun and exciting to watch since they are such a high-scoring team, but they have issues on defence. They are also plagued by drawing a spot in a killer Group B.
England (+1000) still has good odds, but they still have a lot of issues as well. Several key players, including Frank Lampard, are out because of injury, their head coach recently quit, and star FW Wayne Rooney is suspended for the first two group matches.
The English still have a solid midfield, but they tend to struggle in big competitions once they make it out of the group stage, which they may have trouble doing in 2012 Euro.
France (+1000) comes into the Euro with a full head of steam since they are coming off a solid friendly win over Serbia and they have not lost in their last 20 matches.
Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema lead the squad and their first group match facing England will be THE key match of their group.
Italy (+1400) is a team led by a bunch of veterans, but the key may be the play of G Gianluigi Buffon. They are in a tough group along with Spain, Croatia, and Ireland.
Here are the odds to win the 2012 European Championships (courtesy of Will Hill via OddsShark.com)
Spain +275
Germany +400
Holland +650
England +1000
France +1000
Italy +1400
Portugal +2000
Russia +2000
Ukraine +5000
Poland +5000
Czech Republic +5000
Croatia +5000
Sweden +6600
Greece +6600
Republic of Ireland +8000
Denmark +10000
Fun Prop Bets:
The European Championships is the second biggest soccer tournament in the world after the World Cup and because of that there a ton of prop bets.
There are many team and player prop bets with some popular ones being which team will win each group, what player will score the most goals, and what will the pairing for the finals be.
There are also many fun prop bets that you find such betting on teams to be eliminated in a penalty shootout, highest scoring group, and lowest scoring team to just name a few.
First Round Schedule (with odds):
June 8 Poland (1.90) vs. Greece (4.33) Draw 3.25
June 8 Russia (2.20) vs. Czech Republic (3.40) Draw 3.20
June 9 Holland (1.57) vs. Denmark (6.00) Draw 3.75
June 9 Germany (1.90) vs. Portugal (4.00) Draw 3.40
June 10 Spain (1.80) vs. Italy (4.75) Draw 3.40
June 10 Ireland (3.75) vs. Croatia (2.10) Draw 3.10
June 11 France (2.50) vs. England (2.90) Draw 3.10
June 11 Ukraine (2.30) vs. Sweden (3.10) Draw 3.25
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