i can't see them beating italy but drawing with them probably gets them into the next round.

At the rate this Italy/Swiss match is going, Wales may not even need a win to get by on goal differential...

_________________

the turkey x wales match should have went over by the half. the smart bet to make - but a loser bet on the day. it's ok - glad to see the turks stuffed...was waiting for the predicatable mayhem to break out at the end. the switzerland bet was a bad one - bad, bad, bad.

prior to kickoff - thought it outrageous that the turks took a knee to fight 'discrimination'. the only 'discrimination' they care about and 'notice', is the 'islamophobia' that erdogan says permeates in europe.

onwards and upwards tomorrow.

ukraine x north macedonia

risking $1400 to win $1000 on the ukraine. will also play $500 on the over at 2.5.

denmark x belgium

another home match for denmark. going to believe they will sit back and play for the 0-0. $300 on the under at 2.5.

netherlands x austria

gotta play holland at home. holland at -$180. risking $900 to win $500 on holland.

so far..so good. the gypsy-mobile has lost a wheel. seen hundreds of matches go goal-less in the 2nd half - want to be greedy here and get both bets.

have followed italian football all my life. the defensive outlook has always been scorned, but they were always feared and respected.

when you add athleticism to the constant technical and tactical attributes...this italian side should be more 'liked' than italian sides in the past.

has definitely lost a step...that penalty was hideous. will thrive in matches against a turkey that can't play defense to save their lives. what is surprising is that turkey is goalless over 2 matches. at intl. level - the turks have a fairly decent attack.

Not when the flopping and whining start.

_________________

fair enough - we're talking about a sport where all 22 play to the referee. difficult enough to score a goal during open play - everyone plays for a set-piece or particularly, a penalty.

to me, VAR is necessary - felt the referee got it wrong on the ukraine's penalty. the ukraine showed they aren't ready for prime-time. great footballers, good side - they backed-off today, when the rout was on. they made some hair-brained decisions protecting a 2-1 lead. back-heels in your own half in extra-time. not good football.

Yeah, the VAR has been very helpful in this tournament.

_________________

Belgium coming out flat like usual and Denmark playing inspired.

_________________

hmmm...denmark at home, with a 1-0 advantage in the 2nd half and what happened was obscene. atrocious defending - not even half-challenges. barely token challenges.
much weaker sides in finland and/or russia will likely make the next round at their expense.

i don't believe it's in danish football dna to defend - you have to know how to get and play for a result.

good day at the office, fairly high-scoring tournament - would be even higher if more penalties were made. bigger and more athletic GKs than ever. i also believe they are cheating on the run-up to the pk. moving to one side before the kick is taken. they're getting a courtesy or the refs aren't cracking down on it. not a fan of not having the tournament in one nation - i suppose with so many nations qualifying, only a few nations could host the actual tournament with big enough stadiums and infrastructure.

all in all, considering the lack of fans due to covid and the eriksen scare, it's been a very good tournament. only one major refereeing blunder - the penalty to ukraine against the gypsies.

It's not. It's attack and hope Kasper Schmeichel can stop everything.

Today should be a good day. Watching Sweeden/Slovokia now...looking forward to England/Scotland this afternoon. And don't sleep on that Croatia/Czech Republic match, either.

_________________

Love the Croat unis and interested to see if Schick can cash some more Czechs (!).

2 more matches today:

croatia x czech rep.

going to play this as more czech looking good against a poor scotland as opposed to a strong czech side. to me, likely a draw..but, odds are enticing enough to play croatia here. croatia -$120.

will risk $600 to win $500 on a croatia victory.

england x scotland.

not a 1981 home intl. scotland is far off any semblance of a team that can compete with an england. i expect one-way traffic and the dam will break. steep odds..england at -$315. over/under @ 2.5...will need england to go over themselves for the over to come in. i do believe england will bleed for the kit here.

going to risk $950 to win $300 on england. will also play $700 on the over. can't for the life of me see a 1-0 for scotland or 1-1 match here.

bad call..prima donna referee - one of many opera style referees from spain. in the future, you must jump with your arms at your sides while defending high balls. idiot.

other than that, horrible croatia 1st half. seem uninterested. may have to write-off this play and consider it a loss before the 2nd half even starts.

Wow...nice of England to show up for all of 2 minutes in the second half.

_________________

Croatia has really gotten screwed two of the last three big tournament games, this game and the World Cup final.

well, tough day at the office yesterday...half the roll disappeared. 2 later matches today.

portugal x germany.

i'm thinking this is where i get much of that back. deutschland uber alles. germany, at home, +120. over/under 2.5 (+100).

$1000 to win $1200 on germany.

spain x poland.

spain at -$300.

spain were the ultimate punching below their weight team until they struck gold with the tika-taka style of play 15 years ago. still a very, very good side. feel they have too much for poland to handle. poland lucky the temps are not in the 90s in seville. for poland, too much chasing and defending today. feel spain will get at least 2 goals in the 2nd half.

will risk $1500 on spain to win $500.

the penalty was a bullshit call, but croatia was terrible for the first 44 minutes of the 1st half. pedestrian, not interested. i believe they will defeat scotland, while the czechs will lose by 2 goals to the english and croatia will qualify for the next round.

i was a fan of their early sides, especially mid to late 1990s croatia.

Did the US not qualify for this?

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

If they had kept their Berlin sector and made it the 51state, they would have had a chance.

_________________
"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

this is the european championship. nations that are members of uefa - union of european football associations. tournament held every 4 years.

the usa is a member of concacaf - confederation of north & central america and caribbean association football. concacaf plays it's tournament (gold cup) every 2 years. 2021 will have a gold cup, played in the usa starting in july.

copa america, a tournament for s. american nations has already started in brazil.

Seems exclusionary.

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

ein prosit....ein prosit...angriff...angriff

the panzers are rolling.

I'm kind of shocked that I could sit through a full half of Germany Portugal.

But now that the College World Series has started, all is better

_________________
There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

wow..pathetic spain spurns the PK gift. really, really punching below their weight.

as we move on..

today belgium x portugal.

always tough to bet against a portugal, ronaldo is always a factor. de bruyne is fresh and in his prime.

oddsmakers have belgium at +150/portugal at +190 and the over/under is 2.5 (+105 for the over).

the bankroll is over $2k and i'm looking to double it.

i'll play belgium for $800 to win $1200 and also play $800 on the over.

also, good to hear that eriksen of denmark had a successful heart procedure. apparently needed a device to normalize and regulate his heartbeat.

2 wild matches today.

France and Switzerland in penalties now, and Spain beat Croatia in extra time earlier.

_________________

wild

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."