Euro 2012 Odds Favor Defending Champion Spain
Spain is the defending Euro champions as well as the reigning World Cup champions so it's small wonder they have the best odds to win it this year.
However, Germany, Holland, England, France, and Italy are in the mix, but can some other team shock the soccer world and win it like Greece when they won in 2004?
Spain 3.50
Germany 4.00
Holland 7.50
England 10.00
France 11.00
Italy 15.00
Portugal 21.00
Russia 21.00
Ukraine 41.00
Poland 51.00
Czech Republic 51.00
Croatia 51.00
Sweden 67.00
Greece 67.00
Republic of Ireland 101.00
Denmark 101.00
Spain (3.50) is loaded and while they are in a very tough group with Italy, Croatia, and Ireland and they lost David Villa to an injury they still have the best odds.
MF’s lead Spain’s midfield, which is the best on the world and G Iker Casillas anchors a solid defense. FW Fernando Torres was awesome for Chelsea at the end of the season and his offense will be key in this tournament, as he will get his scoring chances.
Germany (4.00) has many of their starters playing for Bayern Munich and because of this the Germans play a stellar team game. They do not have a big weakness and the star of the offense is FW Mario Gomez, who has the best betting futures odds to score the most goals in the tournament.
Germany lost to Spain 1-0 in the 2008 Euro final and there is a good chance they will have an opportunity to get their revenge against the Spanish.
Holland (7.50) is in the Group of Death with Spain, Portugal, and Denmark and their main weakness has to be their suspect defense. However, their offense is dynamic to say the least with strikers Robin Van Persie, Dirk Kuyt, and MF Wesley Sneijder.
In qualifying for the 2012 European Championships they only lost one match, which was their last one that was meaningless, and they scored most goals.
England (10.00) with the 4th best odds? Kind of a shock, as even though they have a solid MF and several world-class players their manager stepped down right before the competition.
Also, Wayne Rooney will sit out the first 2 group matches because of a suspension, and they have a few key players that are not in the tournament because of injury mainly Frank Lampard.
France (11.00) faces England in their first group match and while England does not come into the Euro in top form the same cannot be said about the French, who have not lost in their last 20 matches.
FW Karim Benzema and MF Franck Ribéry lead a solid attacking offense and their defense, which features Patrice Evra, played well in the Euro qualifying.
Italy (15.00) is a team full of seasoned veterans and their solid D has Gianluigi Buffon, who has his best season in his last few leading Juventus to the Italy Serie A title.
MF Thiago Motta and FW Mario Balotelli are key to the offense, but the central defense is a little bit of an issue and they play in Spain’s group, which is a killer one.
Portugal (5.50) does have star FW Cristiano Ronaldo, but the team tends to have lapses on defense and that is not good with Germany and Holland in their group.
Group Odds For the 2012 European Championships
Group A - Group A Preview
Russia 2.55
Poland 3.65
Czech Republic 5.00
Greece 5.75
Group B - Group B Preview
Germany 2.20
Netherlands 2.85
Portugal 5.50
Denmark 19.00
Group C - Group C Preview
Spain 1.54
Italy 4.30
Croatia 9.30
Ireland 20.00
Group D - Group D Preview
England 2.70
France 2.70
Ukraine 5.90
Sweden 7.60
Prop Bets
The Euro is a big competition and there are many prop bets you can make for it. There are typical prop bets like player of the tournament, team to win each group, player to score the most goals, and match up for the finals, but there are also many fun ones out there.
An example of a fun prop bet would be wagering on a team to be eliminated from the Euro in a penalty shootout and the lowest scoring team from each group. Check out legitimate sportsbooks such as William Hill and Bet365 and you see the many prop bets that are available.
First Round 2012 Euro Match Schedule and Betting Odds
June 8th Poland (1.90) vs. Greece (4.33) Draw 3.25
June 8th Russia (2.20) vs. Czech Republic (3.40 Draw 3.20
June 9th Holland (1.57) vs. Denmark (6.00) Draw 3.75
June 9th Germany (1.90) vs. Portugal (4.00) Draw 3.40
June 10th Spain (1.80) vs. Italy (4.75) Draw 3.40
June 10th Ireland (3.75) vs. Croatia (2.10) Draw 3.10
June 11th France (2.50) vs. England (2.90) Draw 3.10
June 11th Ukraine (2.30) vs. Sweden (3.10) Draw 3.25
