EURO 2024 Gameday Odds (June 29) – Italy, Germany Favoured In Round Of 16 Opener

After a brief pause, EURO 2024 continues on June 29 with the first two matches in the Round of 16. The opening two weeks of action in Germany provided plenty of drama. The hosts’ big win over Scotland in the opener set the tone, and though the flood of goals narrowed as the tension increased, there were plenty of twists and turns and more than a few shocks, most notably Croatia exiting the tournament.

The big takeaway from the group stage is that no team, aside from perhaps Spain, who won all three, has strengthened their case to be the last one standing. The rest of the favourites have stumbled. France scored just one goal – their other coming from an own-goal; England looked disjointed, drawing their final two matches; Germany lost some momentum against Switzerland, and Portugal’s perfect start was halted with their defeat against Georgia.

It’s all to play for; now the real fun begins.

12:00 p.m. ET Headliner: Italy vs. Switzerland

Italy Win	+147	Switzerland Win	+260	Draw	+190
Over 1.5 Goals	-175	Under 1.5 Goals	+145	Broadcast	TSN

Lacking the obvious star power of more heralded sides, Switzerland are easy to overlook. One does so with some peril, however. The Nati navigated the group without major incident, taking four points from their first two matches and were poised to overtake the Germans for the top spot in Group A at the final hurdle when Dan Ndoye scored in the first half only for a late equalizer to force a splitting of the points.

Ndoye was the fifth different goalscorer for the Swiss, and Murat Yakin’s side oozes trademark professionalism, rarely breaking out of a steady march. Switzerland reached the quarterfinals at EURO 2020 but has often fallen at this stage. The question, as always, is whether they can find another gear.

Italy’s progression was a little more dramatic. Drawn into Group B, a group of death, alongside Spain, Croatia, and Albania, who turned some heads despite collecting just a single point, the Italians needed a 98th-minute equalizer from substitute Mattia Zaccagni against Croatia on the final day to ensure they would be moving on at their opponents’ expense.

The defending champions, the Azzurri, have not exited a EURO before the quarterfinal stage since 2004, when they failed to escape the group. However, not unlike the Swiss, this is a team without a true superstar. Luciano Spalletti’s side has scored as much as they have conceded (three goals each way), and that leaves little margin for error.

Italy has largely dominated the all-time series, including a 3-0 win in the group stage of EURO 2020, but there have been many draws. Placed in the same qualification group for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, both matches ended level. There isn’t much to separate these two going into this meeting in Berlin.

Game Bets To Consider

• Italy are slight favourites heading in. An interesting wrinkle is that the Swiss have scored in the first half in all three matches in Germany, while Italy have conceded first in all three. Should that trend hold, Next Team to Score 1st Half (Goal 1) Switzerland at +245 could be worth a wager, but it would not be a shock if this one came down to a shootout – Game to go to Penalties, Yes +335.
• Federico Chiesa has been kept off the scoresheet thus far, but the Juventus attacker has a knack for the big moment. Both his goals at EURO 2020 came in the knockout stage, scoring in the Round of 16 and the semifinals en route to lifting the trophy. Betano is offering Enhanced Odds for Chiesa to Score Anytime at +440.

3:00 p.m. ET Headliner: Germany vs. Denmark

Germany Win	-139	Denmark Win	+490	Draw	+270
Over 2.5 Goals	+112	Under 2.5 Goals	-139	Broadcast	TSN

There were concerns that Germany would struggle as hosts at EURO 2024. The emphatic win over Scotland quelled those fears, and with six points after two games, progression was secured as quickly as possible. Despite Julian Nagelsmann opting to roll out the same lineup in the group closer against the Swiss, the Germans stumbled, conceding first and needed a 92nd-minute equalizer from Niclas Fullkrug to wrestle back the top spot in the group.

Die Mannschaft was the top-scoring side through the group stage with eight goals—admittedly, the five against the Scots padded that figure—and with Jamal Musiala and Fullkrug, two goals each, Germany is the only team with more than one multi-goalscorer.

In all but four of the last 13 editions of the European Championship dating back to 1972, Germany has been semifinalists, runners-up, or champions. A deep run will be expected, but the Round of 16 exit at EURO 2020, falling 2-0 to England, will be fresh in the memory when they take to the pitch in Dortmund.

Denmark will need to show more if they hope to repeat the feat accomplished in the last edition, where they reached the semifinals. On three points from a trio of draws, the Danes needed disciplinary points to separate them from Slovenia for second place in Group C behind England. The Red and White took the lead in their first match but were pulled level, then did the opposite in their second before closing the group stage with a scoreless draw against Serbia.

Interestingly, Kasper Hjulmand’s side needed a tiebreaker – head-to-head goal difference – in their favour at EURO 2020 as well to advance from the group with the same tally of three points, but picked up steam through the next two rounds to set up a semifinal against England at Wembley Stadium in London where the home side needed an own-goal and a 104th-minute winner from Harry Kane to overcome an early Danish goal. They have some form of catching fire at the right moment to go deep at this competition – their win in 1992 as a last-minute entrant is the stuff of legend.

Germany has bossed the all-time series, but the most recent meetings have been relatively even. Three of the four meetings since 2010 have ended in draws, with Germany winning 2-1 in their group stage meeting at EURO 2012.

Game Bets To Consider

• The Germans are heavy favourites in this one. There are some interesting options when looking at Halftime/Fulltime results. Germany to lead at the conclusion of both halves (1/1) comes in at +145, whereas going into the break, even with Germany coming out on top (X/1), sits at +315.
• Betano are offering Enhanced Odds on an interesting combined wager for First Goalscorer – Jamal Musiala (Germany) or Christian Eriksen (Denmark) at +480. Both of Musiala’s goals came in the opening 22 minutes, and Eriksen’s strike against Slovenia came in the 17th minute. Both of them had a habit of breaking the ice.

Latest EURO 2024 Futures Odds

Here are the latest EURO 2024 Futures odds, heading into the matches on June 29:

Team		Jun 26	Team		Jun 26
England	+400	+500	Portugal	+650	+550
Spain	+450	+450	Netherlands	+1100	+1900
Germany	+500	+450	Austria	+1700	+3400
France	+550	+375	Italy	+1700	+1400

With the conclusion of the group stage, there has been a shakeup in the futures odds. England is back on top, Spain has jumped up to second, Germany, France, Portugal, who suffered that stunning defeat to Georgia, and Italy have all seen their prospects lengthen, while the Netherlands, who lost to the newest member of the top eight in their final group stage match, have seen theirs improve.

Austria, having handed the Dutch a 3-2 defeat at the end of an impressive group stage, has displaced Belgium from the top group.