The first European Championships semi-final takes place on Wednesday as Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal start as favorites against underdogs Wales, featuring Gareth Bale. But which side will progress to the finals?
It has been billed as the battle of two of the world's best players, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo. Bale will once again pull on his red Welsh shirt with pride, while Cristiano Ronaldo will be desperate to filfill his personal mission of becoming the all-time European Championships top scorer. But the game will be far more than a battle of two egos.
Wales have enjoyed an amazing journey to the semifinals. Starting out in England's group, their defeat to Roy Hodgson's side is the only game which they haven't won.
With Gareth Bale scoring three goals in five games, the Welsh Dragons have burned everyone else they have played. They slayed Slovakia 2-1 before routing Russia and topping Group B. In the knockout stage, they beat Northern Ireland 1-0 before coming up against many people's pre-tournament picks, Belgium.
After going a goal down, Wales took the quarter-final by storm, triumphing with plenty to spare. Check out the highlights of a great game right here:
Portugal have advanced to the sem-final in a very unorthodox fasion, not having won a single game in five within regulation time. After tying Iceland, Hungary and Austria at the group stage, Portugal faced a nightmare second round game with Croatia in the knockout stage.
However, a late Ricardo Quaresma strike sent them through against the odds. In the quarter-final, Portugal trailed to an early Robert Lewandowski strike against Poland. They got level when Renato Sanches struck via a deflection and the game went all the way to penalties:
Going into the semifinal, Wales will be missing Aaron Ramsey and Ben Davies after they picked up two needless bookings against Belgium.
Ramsey will be a big miss, but Bale and co. will still provide a huge threat to Portugal. Wales are a real team and their togetherness is their main strength. Portugal, by contrast, are a squad packed with talented individuals. But they lack a cohesion and we can see Wales surprising them (and the bookies) yet again.
Wales are a great bet at +275 to win in 90 minutes, and we also like the +250 on offer via Bovada for them to be the tournaments highest scorers, as Germany may look to frustrate France in the other semi.
Wales only have one less goal than the hosts and have scored goals consistently across the tournament. If Portugal win, it will likely be in extra time, and that bet is +600.
Should Cristiano Ronaldo open the scoring and Wales come back to win 2-1, then you'll be winning big as the odds are an incredible +10000.
It's obviously an outside bet, but Wales have the capability to spring such a surprise. Cristiano Ronaldo is an outstanding +900 to score between the 21st minute and half-time, and we like that as a covering bet on our other picks.
Category : News
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