In this Euro 2008 Odds: Switzerland vs Portugal Group A fixture, the host country (and city), Switzerland will be playing their final group A match against arguably the best Euro 2008 side. Kick off is scheduled for 2:30 pm EST from St. Jakob-Park Stadium in Basel, Switzerland. The Swizz squad and their sea of fans will have to contend with Cristiano Ronaldo and a red-hot/undefeated Portugal side. SBGglobal has Portugal is a +120 Euro 2008 Odds: Switzerland vs Portugal Group A favorite against Switzerland +210.

Thus far, only Spain, Netherlands, Croatia, and Portugal are the only remaining undefeated sides in this year’s Euro Cup. Portugal has certainly been one of the favorites coming into the tournament, and they’ve yet to disappoint.

Ricardo Quaresma and Cristiano Ronaldo have lead the way for the Portuguese, but their playing time might be limited today. They’ll go into this afternoon’s match with Switzerland with a record of 2-0-0, a Diff. of 4, and 6 accumulated points. The Euro 2008 Switzerland vs Portugal Group A Odds of a Draw according to SBGglobal are +210.

Unfortunately, this Euro 2008 Cup host country has failed to qualify for the quarterfinal round. Therefore their match aganst Portugal this afternoon will be solely for pride.

For the home side, striker Eren Derdiyok suffered an ankle injury in Switzerland’s second loss of this Euro 2008 to Turkey, and thus, Daniel Gygax is expected to start.

SBGglobal.com has posted the following Euro 2008 Odds: Switzerland vs Portugal Group A:

Portugal: -½ (+120); OV 2½ (-105); or +120

Switzerland: +½ (-150); UN 2½ (-125); or +210

Greece and Russia meet on Saturday in the Soccer Betting Euro 2008 action in what is really an elimination game in Group D.  The loser would almost assuredly have no chance to advance to the quarterfinals.  Greece is the defending European Champion but they did not start well in their first match, losing 2-0 to Sweden. "Our aim is to get four or six points from these next two matches.” Greece’s Dimitris Salpingidis said, “Our game against Russia is extremely important – if we lose, we are out – that says it all."  Greece knows that they must play much better against Russia if they expect to advance from this group. “We promise you that we will be a different team. We can’t tell you if we will win or lose, but we won’t be the same team as against Sweden,” captain Angelos Basinas said.  

Euro 2008 Betting Preview
Greece vs. Russia
Saturday, 2:45 pm Eastern – ESPN 2

Russia is -.5 (+110) with a total of 2 under (-125) at SBG Global.

Three-way line – Russia +110, Greece +230, Draw +220

Greece will be looking to Angelos Haristeas to score on Saturday.  He has scored more times than any other active Greek player. He has 18 goals in 66 caps. 

Russia did not play well in their opener either as they were routed by Spain 4-1.  The team will need to play much better against Greece if they are to have a chance to advance.  Russia could be without striker Roman Pavlyuchenko who has a thigh injury. Andrei Arshavin will also miss the game on Saturday due to suspension. They will need Yuri Zhirkov to score on Saturday. He will be their main threat with Pavlyuchenko and Arshavin out of the lineup.  Russia seems confident they will do well on Saturday.  Head coach Guus Hiddink does not look to make many changes. "No, not really. Mainly because we have a young team and we're not one of those national sides where one of the 23 players can replace another and play just as well." he said. 

The two teams last met at Euro 2004 as Russia won 2-1 in group play although Greece had already advanced at that point. In 1993 Greece drew 1-1 in Moscow and won 1-0 in Athens.  Russia won in 1995 by scores of 3-0 and 2-1.

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Germany was one of the main favorites to win the Soccer Betting Euro 2008 but unless they get at least a draw on Monday against co-host Austria they will not advance out of Group B. The Germans got an opening win against Poland but they were upset in their second match against Croatia. Now they must face a hostile crowd in Austria and get at least a draw. Germany coach Joachim Loew is still very confident in his team and the match against Austria really shouldn’t be difficult.

Austria was very lucky to get a draw against Poland in their last match and is really outclassed by the Germans.  That does not mean Germany is taking Monday’s match lightly.

"Our team will show a different face, I can promise you," Loew said, "It's a setback, but it won't throw us off. We will not be going out of the tournament. We won't be thinking of what might happen. They (Austrians) will be playing for their lives but we'll get the point we need and we'll reach the quarterfinals," he said.
 
Austria would need a victory against Germany to advance. It may be difficult for Austria to contain the high powered German attack.  Loew has said he will make changes in the lineup on Monday. "We've shown before that we can play well in the attack and work well in the defense before," he said. Germany could be without Lukas Podolski, who has scored all three of Germany’s goals so far in Euro 2008. Soccer Betting at SBG Global.
 
Austria is fortunate to still be alive as they scored on a penalty in extra time against Poland to get a 1-1 draw.  English official Howard Webb awarded a penalty after Mariusz Lewandowski pulled on Sebastian Proedl. Substitute Ivica Vastic scored on the penalty and Austria stayed alive. "We didn't succeed the way we wanted to, but through the penalty we secured a draw that was the first point for Austria in a European Championship," coach Josef Hickersberger said. Austria could now advance to the quarterfinals if they are able to upset Germany on Monday.

"It's a special match for me because I spent wonderful years in Germany," Hickersberger said. "Playing against Germany for me is something special. But what happened 30 years ago doesn't play any special role for me. We won in Cordoba but that is as far as it goes." The other match on Monday has Croatia facing Poland. Croatia has already clinched a spot in the quarterfinals and will advance from Group B. Poland would need a win against Croatia and then they would need Austria to win against Germany and for the score to be just right.  It is a very unlikely scenario for Poland.

"With a win, yes, we would have the same points as Germany," Poland head coach Leo Beenhakker said, "But now we don't have it in our own hands any more and the conclusion is that we are out of the tournament.”

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The Netherlands will try and advance from Group C on Friday as they play France.  The Netherlands is coming off an impressive 3-0 win against Italy in their first match that puts them in prime position to advance to the Soccer Betting Euro 2008 quarterfinals. Head coach Marco Van Basten is trying to keep the team focused on the task at hand and not get overly excited about the Italy win. “We have won just one game. It is only the first step.”  The Netherlands will again look to Ruud Van Nistlerooy to provide the offense on Friday.  He has scored in four straight group matches for the Dutch.

Euro 2008 Betting Preview
France vs. Netherlands
Friday, 2:45 pm Eastern – ESPN 2

This game is a pick with a total of 2 under (-140) at SBG Global.

Three-way line – Netherlands +145, France +165, Draw +200 

France head coach Raymond Domenech is facing all kinds of pressure after a poor performance by his squad in their opening scoreless draw with Romania.  The French media is ready to run Domenech out of the country and a loss against the Netherlands might seal his fate.  France was without Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry in the match against Romania and they missed their scoring ability. Both players may return on Friday. France needs Henry to provide some offense. He is France’s all-time leading scorer with 44 goals in 100 International matches. “Maybe we must change our playing style and opt for a quick passing game to destabilize our opponents,” France defender William Gallas said, “It's important to defend well and not to concede any goals but we must accelerate a bit. We need points; we need to win and to do that we need to take more risks.” 

A loss by France would probably mean they would be out of Euro 2008.  A draw might not be enough either as they still have to play Italy in their final match.

The two teams have met 21 times since 1908 with the Netherlands having a slight edge.  The last time the two teams met was in 2004 and they played to a scoreless draw.

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