Best bets and predictions for Euro 2024: Round of 16

Best bets for Euro 2024:

Let’s take a look at the best Euro 2024 bets for the round of 16 starting on Saturday.

Switzerland vs Italy

Saturday, 12:00 noon am ET

Switzerland have been surprisingly good in this tournament so far, coming within minutes of beating Germany and winning Group A. In hindsight, that’s probably the best goal they’ve conceded, as it means they’re now in by far the easiest half of the schedule.

That match showed us how well the Swiss can defend. They were aggressive and well organised, keeping the tournament’s top scorers at bay for 92 minutes.

Apart from the opening match defeat to disappointing Hungary, they have struggled in attack. They mustered just four shots against the Germans and needed a miracle strike from Xherdan Shaqiri after a defensive howler to score against Scotland.

Italy exited even later to clinch their place in the last sixteen, needing a goal from Mattia Zaccagni with 98 minutes on the clock to earn a draw against Croatia.

They are also struggling in attack, and start the first two group matches with a striker who has only scored once in 19 international matches. Against Croatia, Mateo Retegui was given the opportunity to take charge and extended a poor run in which he has scored just once in his last 13 appearances for club and country.

This game screams Under, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it went all the way to penalties. These two teams were in the same 2021 World Cup qualifying group and drew 0-0 and 1-1. The Swiss have drawn six of their last ten matches with eight of them scoring under 2.5 goals, while six of Italy’s last eight have seen two goals or fewer.

Best bet for Euro 2024: Under 2.25 goals at -150.

Germany vs. Denmark

Saturday, 03:00 am hour ET

Germany showed some positive qualities in the winning Group A. They were exciting and ruthless as they beat Scotland 5-1 on the opening night, clinical and efficient in the 2-0 win over Hungary and then showed their resilience when going deep to snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat against the Swiss.

The draw also showed that Julian Nagelsmann has the means to make an impact from the bench. Niclas Füllkrug has played just 73 minutes as a substitute in this tournament so far, scoring two goals. The Germans have created more chances, taken more shots and scored more goals than any other nation after the group stage.

They face a Danish team who were the only team to automatically leave their group without winning a match. They only finished above number three Slovenia based on the yellow card countback.

Germany have far too much firepower for the Danes. Having won nine of their last 11 knockout games at major tournaments, they will be confident of making it 10 of 12 here in Dortmund. The atmosphere will be white-hot and the hosts will be challenged to win by at least two goals, which is what we need to cash in on this bet. We have the safety net of a full refund if they win by just one.

Best bet for Euro 2024: Germany -1 Handicap at +114.

England vs Slovakia

Sunday, 12:00 noon am ET

England have taken all sorts of blows after their first three outings. But they topped the group and are still the favorites on the futures market to win the whole thing at odds of +350.

One thing they certainly have right is their defence, Jordan Pickford has only been beaten once and it was an unstoppable strike from 30 yards. Games and tournaments are won from a solid base, while it is surely only a matter of time before a team with Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham clicking in the final third.

Gareth Southgate’s opponents in the last 16 are Slovakia, third in Group F. Lucky surprise winners on matchday one against a Belgian team who had numerous chances and had two goals disallowed via marginal VAR decisions. They were then beaten by Ukraine before drawing their final group game against Romania, a result that was favourites going into kick-off as it meant both teams went through.

The Three Lions have won five of their last six games against the Slovaks and will look to get the job done here again, keeping a clean sheet. Variations of England “win-to-nil” are England wins and Both teams score = none or England wins and less than 0.5 Slovak goals.

Best bet for Euro 2024: England to win by nil at +100.

Spain vs Georgia

Sunday, 3:00 PM ET

Spain are the only team to have won all three games so far. They still looked impressive when they made ten changes for the Albania game. Spain may have only scored five goals, but that defeat to Italy was one of the most one-sided 1-0 wins I have ever seen.

Luis de la Fuente has his team playing with more directness and energy than we’ve come to expect. They play with real width, which frees up their creative midfielders to make key passes, and the head coach knows tournament football well, having led Spain to Nations League glory last summer and overseen the national Under-19 and Under-21 sides as they won their respective European Championship titles.

What a great opponent to watch Georgia have been. The 74th-ranked team in the world were expected to finish bottom of their group in their first major international tournament, but they have overachieved with their effective, exciting counter-attacking style. In Georges Mikautadze, they have the competition’s current top scorer.

I’m not apologizing for ending the fairytale though. I’m here to cash in winning tickets. Over 2.75 goals is a huge move here at -112.

These two countries shared the same qualifying group. Spain won by hitting the net 25 times in their eight matches, scoring an average of 3.75 goals per match. Georgia actually finished fourth and had to qualify through the back door, but their games were exactly the same on average.

A big contribution to these totals came when the two nations met. Spain won both encounters, a 3-1 victory on home soil overshadowed by an incredible 7-1 win in Georgia. Just three goals here will earn us a win by half a stake, but four or more will earn us the ticket in full.

Best bet for Euro 2024: Over 2.75 goals at -112.

France vs Belgium

Monday, 12:00 noon hour ET

It was a shock to see France fail to win their group for the first time since Euro 2012. They do go into the knockout stages undefeated and had Poland not taken two penalties they would have finished top of Group D.

Kylian Mbappé also scored his first European Championship goal and proved he can still score with his protective mask on. He can extend his scoring here against a Belgian defense consisting of 37-year-old Jan Vertonghen and Wout Faes, who always looks like he has a flaw in him. The French captain’s speed can exploit those weaknesses.

In a similar vein to Gareth Southgate for England, there is dissatisfaction with the football that Didier Deschamps is getting his star team to play. However, let us not forget that Les Bleus have reached the final of three of the last four major tournaments under him. They look highly valuable at -110 to win this one.

Domenico Tedesco’s team were booed by their own fans after the 0-0 draw against Ukraine, which secured their place in the knockout stages as runners-up in Group E. In addition to another frustrating performance, those fans also knew that this was a round of 16 meant with the French, and that the end of their tournament was near.

Apart from the occasional flash of brilliance from Kevin De Bruyne, there was little to get excited about for the Red Devils supporters. There were high expectations for Jeremy Doku, but his final ball often left much to be desired, while the hapless but goalless Romelu Lukaku cut an increasingly frustrated figure.

France’s strong defense has not conceded a single goal from open play in more than 7.5 hours and can stop the failing Belgian attack. Expect them to do just enough to make it to the last eight again.

Best bet Euro 2024: France Moneyline at -110.

Portugal vs Slovenia

Monday, 3:00 PM ET

Portugal secured their place in the last 16 as quickly as possible after winning their first two games. Don’t read too much into the defeat to the diminutive Georgians, as their work is already done as guaranteed group winners and Roberto Martinez has released the majority of his starting line-up.

With their stars returning fresh for this match, it gives them an even greater advantage over Slovenia, who have qualified for the knockout stages of the European Championship for the first time. One star who did start against Georgia was Cristiano Ronaldo, who went in vain to find what would have been a goal in a sixth consecutive European Championship. He at least has the consolation of providing a seventh all-time assist in the tournament when setting up Bruno Fernandes’ goal in Turkey’s 3-0 defeat.

It will be interesting to see if he starts again here, but the fact that this is a question underlines the incredible depth Martinez has in his squad. Diogo Jota, Goncalo Ramos and Joao Felix are all waiting in the wings, but offer great bench options if confidence in the 39-year-old captain remains.

Along with Denmark, Slovenia are one of only two teams in the last 16 yet to win this year’s tournament. While the Portuguese advanced to the knockout stages, they had to play their hearts out before being confirmed as the fourth and final best of the third places. In fact, they finished with fewer points than Ukraine, who were eliminated after finishing bottom of Group E.

Only five teams have conceded more shots on target than Matjaž Kek’s men, which is a recipe for disaster against a Portugal with goals all over the team. Top scorers in qualifying and the meanest defence, a win by two or more goals is the way to go for a team priced as high as -278 on the Money Line. With this bet, we’ll only lose half our stake if Portugal win by just one goal.

Best bet for Euro 2024: Portugal -1.25 Handicap at -102.