Czech Republic vs. Portugal Betting Preview

Certainly not a quarter-final clash most would have predicted after the first group matches at Euro 2012 and a great chance for this pair to make a name for themselves.

Having seen Russia thump Czech Republic 4-1 on opening night it would taken a giant leap of faith to envisage the Euro 96 runners-up lining up in the knockout stage. Two subsequent wins sees them doing just that however and now they face the Portuguese.

While Portugal’s 1-0 reversal at the hands of Germany was no surprise, their ability to bounce back with a pair of wins over Denmark and Netherlands raised a few eyebrows but they thoroughly deserve their place in the last eight and are genuine contenders to lift the trophy.

Portugal put up a much-improved team display to beat the Danes late on 3-2 but it was all about one man in their final Group C game and Cristiano Ronaldo proved just how devastating he can be on the international stage.

Countless star man performances for Manchester United and Real Madrid have come and gone throughout the seasons but CR7 finally produced when it mattered most for his country and he’s shot to the top of Player of the Tournament market as a result.

His brace saw Portugal finish runners-up in their section but they are overwhelming favourites to beat the group-winning Czechs and that is no surprise given their general superiority, never mind the presence of their captain.

At no bigger than 1.75 to win inside 90 minutes, I am happy to swerve Portugal, who are now third favourites to lift the trophy, but there is some value to be had in siding with Ronaldo who is 5.00 to open the scoring.

Clear jolly in every list, Ronaldo has had more shots on goal than any other player at the finals and if Portugal are to break the deadlock, they are certainly the more likely team to do so, then Cristiano is the obvious choice.

So dominant, Ronaldo shouldn’t be anything bigger than 4.00 to get his name on the scores sheet first.

1pt Back Cristiano Ronaldo First Goal Scorer (vs. Czech Republic) @ 4.80 (Stan James)