Group A, it’s time to see which teams will be going home in the third and final games of qualifying, a quarter final place is at stake.

Switzerland v Portugal
Turkey v Czech Republic

The Turkey match is the match to watch, with second place up for grabs.  Switzerland already know their fate and Portugal look like they will be resting a few players after assuring qualification, a match I’ll be avoiding!!!  Turkey have a poor record against the Czechs, 1 win out of 14 games, but of course it’s matches like this where history can be changed..  This is the first time both teams will have played each other in the Euros.

Euro 2008 Bettting Tip-  The Czechs look like a team that need some pace injected into them, Turkey could overrun them with the players they have.  Turkey have looked good in the past 2  games and hopefully winning 1 out of 14 games against the Czechs will mean nothing for this game, so back Turkey to win at odds of 3.7 on Betfair against the match favourites.

UPDATE: What a game!!!  Turkey trailing 2-0 comeback and win 3-2, they showed great heart and determination, making Euro 2008 a great watch.  Not only that we win our bet!!! At 3.7 it’s another big odds win for us and hopefully you followed my tip here, although I have to say I wasn’t feeling so confident or happy when the Czech’s second goal went in!!

What an unbelievable night it was yesterday…. yes another great eviction night for Big Brother.  Oh did anyone watch the football?  I missed it, I bet the Holland match was another boring game with no action or any goals as usual….

Greece v Russia- This match is being played in Salzburg today and both teams will be wanting to avoid defeat in this match in order to keep their qualification hoped alive.  Russia weren’t impressive in their last match, whereas Russia showed signs that they could qualify against a good Spain team.  Once again Russia will miss their best player Arshavin through suspension, lets hope it won’t be too late for Russia when he does finally play.  Out of 13 competitive games, Russia have beaten Greece 9 times, with Greece only winning 3 times. 

Euro 2008 betting tip:Greece will be changing their formation to a more familiar one which they used at Euro 2004, so we should expect a major improvement from Greece.  Even so, I still think Russia have the potential to win this match and Hiddink will be looking to get qualification back on track against the Greeks.  Let’s back Russia to win at odds of 2.24 on Betfair.

UPDATE- A winning bet at odds of 2.2.4!!  Russia win the match by one goal and this sets up a tantalising game with Sweden. 

Sweden v Spain- Sweden have won 3 out of the 12 times they have met Spain, with Spain winning 5 games.  A good omen for Sweden is that they were the last team to beat Spain in a competitive match in 2006.  There’s no doubt that Spain were in sparkling form against Russia and they have proved that playing two strikers up front isn’t dead in international football.  Sweden also showed that playing football against negative tactics can win matches and gave them deserved 3 points.   

Euro 2008 betting tip:  Spain will cause alot of problems for the Swedish at the back with Villa and Torres, but Spain also do look vulnerable in their defence and if Sweden can keep up the intensity and pace they played in the last game, then they will create chances.  Something tells me to go against the Spanish in this one, but I’m unsure.  So lets go with a small bet on a Swedish win at odds of 6.8 on Betfair (go for the lay of Spain if you want to cover draws also at 1.68), also it’s hard not to back an on form striker to score, back Villa to score at anytime for Spain at 2.48.

UPDATE- Well in the end it was Spain the worthy winners with the scoreline 2-1 to them.  Although Sweden did give them a scare when they scored the leveller.  We lost the bet on backing Sweden to win the match, but luckily only a small bet was advised.   Hopefully any losses from that bet was covered by the bet on Villa to score at anytime, 2 out of three winning tips is not bad for a Saturday!!!

It’s the Group C  ‘Group of death’ games today and there’s no doubt that today we’ll see some great matches.  So far we’ve done pretty well with the winning bets (not so good with the fun bets though), hopefully the winning will continue.  If you’ve just joined us (where have you been?, I hope you haven’t been watching Big Brother!!), make sure to sign up to Betfair to put your bets on and you will get a FREE £25 Bet offer.  See the link or check out the banners.

Holland v France- Well it’s the tale of two contrasting performances, Holland played some great football, scoring a fantastic 2nd goal and France were just poor all over the pitch, not really threatening up front.  The two teams have played 21 times, with 9 wins for the Dutch and the French winning 8 times.  Luckily for the Dutch this match can’t go to penalties as France knocked them out in Euro ‘96.  If France play like they played in their first game then they will have no chance, surely this game will bring out a big performance from the French players? 

Euro 2008 betting tip- We shouldn’t be underestimating the French in this match, we saw how they got their act together at the World Cup after a terrible start, but without a world class player like Zidane they may find it tough.  It won’t be an easy game for the Dutch and unlike teams like Romania, they won’t be defending most of the match to keep a clean sheet.   I will still be backing the Dutch to win this match at odds of 2.8 on Betfair, but as the current odds suggest, it is going to be a very close match.

UPDATE: 4-1 what a game!!! This has to be the game of the tournament so far, the Dutch were on killer form today and if the French had put away their chances then the score line could of reached double figures.  Thankfully this game won us our bet and should of covered any losses from the Italy match. 

Italy v Romania- It’s all at stake for the world champions today, they have to win to stand a chance of qualifying.  Romania will look to frustrate just like they did against France.  Italy looked like they were missing the creativity in midfield, if only they had Totti pulling the strings.  From past games, it doesn’t look too good for Romania, out of 14 games Italy have beaten them 10 times.   In Euro 2008 Italy won 2-0 against the Romanians in the quarter finals.

Euro 2008 betting tip-   Romania are at massive odds of 7.0 on Betfair to beat Italy.  Italy have to win this match to have a chance at qualifying.  I know that ‘having’/'needing’ to win is very different to winning a game and although Italy are missing creativity  in midfield I will be backing them at odds of 1.7 to beat Romania today.  Also I’m going for a small fun bet on Luca Toni to score at anytime at odds of 2.42.  See Betfair.

UPDATE:  Losing bet, Italy rode their luck at the end with the saved penalty and could of been out of Euro 2008.  In the end the 1-1 draw lost us our bet of backing Italy to win this game.  As I said before having to win a game doesn’t mean you will win the game, maybe I should take my own advice next time!!

Well last night was truly memorable to watch, two teams fighting for the ultimate prize……yes it was The Apprentice final!! …and the football wasn’t too bad either!!

Austria v Poland- The two teams have played each other 7 times in total, with Austria winning 3 times and Poland winning the remaining games.  Both teams have never played in the Euros before and both will be looking to get their first ever goals in this tournament.  Austria played better than expected in the first match against Croatia, just like their co-hosts Switzerland, a little bit of luck in their first game and they could of picked up at least a point.

Euro 2008 betting tips: Well we know that these two teams have never drawn against each other and Poland have scored three goals in the last four matches against Austria.  So what does that tell us?  A boring 0-0 draw of course!!!  No not really, based on these stats lets go with over 2.5 goals in this match at nice odds of 2.6 on Betfair.  Also go small on a 3-1 and 3-2 win to Poland, just in case history does repeat itself!!  (odds of 44 & 61 wow!!)

UPDATE- Well in the end it was 1-1 draw!!!  Not enough to get us the winning overs bet which I thought would come about.  But luckily we went small on the score lines as well, it seems like history doesn’t always repeat itself in football!!  Never mind we’ve been doing quite nicely with the betting so far and it’s good to learn that it’s ok to have some fun bets as long as they are kept small.

Croatia v Germany- Croatia don’t have a very good record against Germany, with only 1 win out of the 7 games they have played each other.  Whilst Germany looked comfortable in the last match against the Polish, Croatia made hard work in the games against the co-hosts.  Although playing against the team with home support is never easy and Bilic will no doubt look for major improvements against the tournament favourites.

Euro 2008 betting tips: Germany are the favourites to win this match, I’m in two minds about this game, so I don’t think I’ll be backing a win or lose.  Lets go for in form Podolski to score again at anytime and first goal scorer at odds of 3.25 and 7.2 respectively on Betfair.

UPDATE- Well this was the first big upset of the tournament, Croatia 2-1 Germany.  A great game to watch (except if you are a Getmany fan and/or Schweinsteiger fan) and full marks to Bilic for getting his tactics spot on.  I didn’t want to go against Croatia the team I tipped  to win Euro 2008,  so I should tipped them to win!!!  Podolski is in great form and won out anytime scorer bet on Betfair at odds of 3.25, if only he got the first goal… oh well there’s always next time!!

So it’s round two of the qualifying matches. After last night’s fantastic match with Spain and Russia, the question everybody is asking is……Was the Russian substitute who was substituted after playing 22 minutes taken off due to fatigue?…No no really, it’s…Can Spain finally meet expectations?

Czech Republic v Portugal- No doubt this game could be a potential cracker.  Out of the eleven times the two have played each other, the Czechs have won four matches and the Portuguese have won three.  The two teams last played each other in Euro 1996  and the Czechs won that match 1-0.

Euro 2008 free betting tip:  The Czechs looked slow in midfield and didn’t really create much in the first game, but with Baros coming into the lineup this could change.  I would think that the Portugeuse will be too quick for this Czech team, although the longer the game stays at 0-0 the more risks Portugal will take to get a goal, leaving them open to a counter attack.  Looking at the Czech team that started the last game, I don’t see them scoring more than a goal.  Based on the first game, I’ll back Portugal to win that match at odds of 1.85, maybe also bet on the 0-0 scoreline currently at odds of 7.8, just in case Chech is in fine goalkeeping form today. 

UPDATE- In the end Portugal were too strong for the Czechs and to me were worthy 3-1 winners.  Just in case you wnated to know, some player called Ronaldo scored the 2nd goal for Portugal, I’ve never heard of him before, apparently he would love to play football in Spain….  A winning bet comes in for us once again, even at odds of 1.85, it was worth it!!

Switzerland v Turkey-The hosts will be looking to bounce back against Turkey and if they had a little bit of luck on their side they could of snatched at least a point in their opening game.  Unfortunately for Switzerland captain Alex Frei will take no further part.  But Turkey are also missing a key player in Emre through injury.  Turkey have history on their side in this tie with 7 wins out of fourteen matches.

Euro 2008 free betting tip: In front of their home fans Switzerland will definitely give this match a go, but I’m asking: Do they have enough fire power up front to finish?.  I don’t think they will really threaten Turkey, the lay of Switzerland to win this match is pretty good value at odds of 2.28.

UPDATE- Another winning bet, Turkey win with a late late goal which just sealed our already winning bet.  If only we had bet on Turkey to win then we would of been even more in profit!!  But let’s just be glad that we have another winning bet!