Euros preview: Wednesday’s action including Georgia vs Portugal
Slovakia vs Romania
It’s up for grabs now! Going into the final group games on Wednesday, each team in Group E has three points.
The bad news for Slovakia is that they’ve failed to beat Romania in their previous eight encounters. Then again, the two sides haven’t even met since 2013.
Having beaten Belgium already in this competition, the Slovaks are unlikely to be daunted by Edward Iordanescu’s team at the Frankfurt Arena.
It’s difficult to say how this one will go, but it’s hard to look past Ivan Schranz’s contribution; the Slavia Prague forward has found the net in each of the two previous group games. Could he prove Slovakia’s saviour against the Romanians too?
Schranz is 9/1 to open the scoring, as he did against both Belgium and Ukraine…
Ukraine vs Belgium
It would be a footballing fairy-tale if Ukraine could edge past Belgium and make it into the last 16. But we can’t look past the fact that Domenico Tedesco’s side features at least one world class player, in the shape of Kevin de Bruyne.
Kev can’t do it all himself, of course. But perhaps embattled striker Romelu Lukaku can finally find the net in legitimate fashion, having already scored three disallowed goals so far in this tournament.
Whether or not big Rom can finally score, you’d expect Belgium to get the job done here. Before the shock loss to Slovakia, they’d gone unbeaten in 15 matches. De Bruyne to provide an assist or score a goal at 21/20 looks a decent shout.
Czech Republic vs Turkey
Are the Czechs set to go bouncing out of this competition on Wednesday? They’ve earned one point from their first two games, drawing against Georgia after losing 2-1 to Portugal in their opener.
As for Turkey, they started positively with a 3-1 win over Georgia, but rather had the wind taken from their sails after Portugal beat them 3-0 on Saturday.
Still, the Turks only need a draw to make it through to the next stage. Does that mean this will be another match where one side attempts to soak up the pressure without necessarily offering much in the way of attack?
That approach might be enough to thwart Ivan Hasek’s team. The Czechs need a win – but may be without their main source of goals. Patrik Schick went off injured during the 1-1 draw against Georgia.
Turkey have had the better of it in recent meetings between these two sides, winning each of the last three encounters – most recently in a 2022 friendly.
And manager Vincenzo Montella has suggested his side will “put everything on the line”, which could mean Turkey won’t be satisfied with sitting back.
Young Real Madrid star Arda Guler made an impression in his opening match against Georgia, and may return here after being rested to recover from injury during the Portugal game. Guler is 19/5 to score at any time here.
Georgia vs Portugal
The Georgians held the Czechs to a draw last time out for their first point in this tournament. But it’s not telling any tales out of school to suggest that Georgia may find themselves outclassed by Portugal on Wednesday.
True, the Portuguese have already qualified for the last 16 in top spot. That means Portugal boss Robert Martinez is likely to rotate his side; but his squad are not short of quality players.
Whoever gets a run-out, it seems likely there will be potential for goals. Martinez has already said he will play Cristiano Ronaldo in this match. And Ronaldo may view this match as a great opportunity to score – he’s yet to find the net in this tournament.
The 39-year-old did bag a brace in a friendly against Ireland a couple of weeks ago, however, and may well be able to find the target here. You can back Portugal to win and Ronaldo to score in a double at Evens.
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