SPORTS WAGERS
Portugal -½ -113 over Austria
This group F match features two teams coming off disappointing first matches. The group favorite Portugal, came out aggressively and dictated play for the first 45 minutes but were only able to build a one goal advantage. Iceland was able to equalize early in the 2nd half and then somehow was able to survive the onslaught. Portugal put an astounding 26 attempts toward goal to Iceland's four, dominated possession 72%-28%, had an 11-2 corner count in their favor, AND tossed 33 crosses into the box. Although this game ended in a draw, it may be the most unjust result so far in the tournament.
Austria kicked off their tournament in similar fashion, coming in as a significant favorite over Hungary. This game was very even throughout with neither team holding a significant advantage in any area except the final score. After Hungary broke through in the 62nd minute, Austria started pressing, playing very irresponsibly and receiving a red card immediately. From there, Hungary dictated play and cruised to a 2-0 win.
The Hungary result should not have been as shocking to everyone as it was. Austria's recent form has been anything but impressive going 2-4 in their past six, with only wins coming against Malta and Albania. Austria has a team that has a couple known commodities including one of the top Full backs/roaming midfielders in the world in David Alaba. Other than him and Leicester City's Fuchs, this Austrian team is not very deep, and talent wise cannot compete with the powers such as Portugal.
Portugal entered the tournament as significant favorites to win their group, and with the way this team has performed in the past major competitions, combined with their talent pedigree, anything but a deep run in the knockout stages would be a major disappointment. For the first time over the past few euros, Portugal has a fantastic supporting cast for the most talented player in Europe. After Ronaldo come the likes of Nani, Moutinho, Pereira, Caravalho and Pepe. All of these players play major roles in their domestic leagues, and it is only a matter of time before this talented group gel to make a major run at the title.
There is no disputing the talent discrepancy between these two squads. Given Portugal was able to manhandle an equally inferior opponent in Iceland, but could not produce the three points, there is no reason to believe they don't come out in this match with a chip on their shoulder, extra motivated to take the Austrians out of the tournament with a defeat. The price for a top power such as Portugal in this situation is extremely appealing and we're not about to pass it up.