Czech Republic vs. Portugal Tips and Predictions

Euro 2012 Quarterfinals: Czech Republic vs. Portugal PredictionsThe 1st Euro 2012 quarter-final match is going to be played on Thursday (June 21st). The Czech Republic won Group A and they’ll be playing Portugal who finished in 2nd place in Group B. Portugal are favoured to win the match, but the Czech have been very resilient throughout their 3 group stage matches and it wouldn’t shock too many punters if the Czech advanced.

Czech Republic Tournament Recap (2-0-1)

Czech Republic opened Euro 2012 with their worst loss in history (4-1 loss vs. Russia). If you hadn’t ruled out the Czech Republic before the group stage started you definitely did after the thrashing they took. The Czech bounced back with a 2-1 win over the Greeks and a 1-0 win over Poland. The Czech won Group A (6 Points) and scored 4 goals while conceding 5 goals in 3 matches.

Portugal Tournament Recap (2-0-1)

Portugal weren’t expected to be an easy target in Group B, but they definitely performed better than I thought. Portugal lost in their opening match 1-0 against Germany, but they bounced back to win their next two games just like the Czech. Portugal beat the Danes 3-2 and then beat the Dutch 2-1 thanks to the foot of Ronaldo (2 goals).

Czech Republic vs. Portugal Match Odds

• Czech Republic: 5.50 Best Odds at BetVictor
• Portugal: 1.80 Best Odds at Paddy Power
• Draw: 3.60 Best Odds at Bet365

Czech Republic vs. Portugal Betting Tips

• Portugal to win at 1.80 (Paddy Power)

These two teams finished with similar stat lines after group stage, but you have to give the edge to Portugal, as Group B was a lot tougher to navigate through. Both teams started their tournament with a loss and then won their next two games each to secure a spot in the Euro 2012 Quarter-Finals. My tip for this match in the 1X2 market is that Portugal will win.

The Portuguese scored 5 goals while conceding just 4 goals during their 3 group stage matches. Portugal has 4 different players that have scored including Pepe, Postiga, Varela and Ronaldo (2X). Portugal showed a lot of toughness in this last match against the Dutch. Netherlands went up 1-0 in the 11th minute, but Ronaldo scored 2 goals (28th minute & 74th minute) to win the match.

Ronaldo had several other chances in the game to score the hat-trick as well, but was unable to bury them. Ronaldo fooled the goalkeeper on several occasions and even hit the right post on a solid boot from outside of the box. Czech Republic should be able to stay in the game in the early goings, but Portugal has too much depth for the Czech to keep up for a full 90-minutes. One interesting fact is that the Czech has a perfect 2-0 record in the QF’s at the European Championships.

Czech Republic vs. Portugal Best Bets

There isn’t much to go on in the H2H statistics because these two nations have played twice and split the matches. The Czech won the 1st match 1-0 at the 1996 Euros, but more recently Portugal beat the Czech 3-1 at Euro 2008. I think the best bet in this match-up is the O2.5 goals at 2.23 odds (188Bet).

The Czech was the only team in Euros history to win a Group during group stage while having a negative goal differential. The Cinderella story is over the Czech in this match, as they’re outclassed on offence. Typically in the knockout phase at the Euros goals start becoming scarcer and that’s the only reason why we’re getting + money on this wager.

In the L2 matches for Portugal the team has scored 5 goals and the offence has been potent. Portugal won’t let-up in the QF’s and if they employ the same game plan as they did the past two games it should go over the total. The Czech has gone over the 2.5 goals total in 8 of their L13 while the Portuguese have gone over the total in 8 of their L12 matches.

Czech Republic has netted a goal in 12 of their L13 Euro Finals matches, which bodes well for the over. I hope Portugal can take an early lead, as that will force the Czech to open up their formation. If Ronaldo opens the scoring Paddies will refund your bet for up to £100 in the 1st goalscorer, last goalscorer, scorecast or correct score market.