CHRIS Graham (@chrisgraham79) takes a look at the betting for Tuesday’s Under 21 Final between Sweden and Portugal.
Sweden v Portugal | Tuesday 19:45 | BT Sport 1
Like the Copa America, the European Under 21 Championships has been tough going for punters. Denmark were surprise winners of Group A while in Group B well-fancied England finished bottom. In the semi-finals it got extremely surreal with favourites Germany destroyed 5-0 by Portugal while Sweden eliminated Denmark by four goals to one.
The one constant throughout has been the (mainly) unspectacular strength of Portugal. Unbeaten in their four games, it’s no surprise to see the bookmakers chalk them up as strong favourites for this match at 4/5. The Swedes (who weren’t expected to get out the groups) must be delighted to have got this far and are 17/4 to win in 90 minutes on Tuesday night.
Portugal’s stunning 5-0 semi-final win over Germany really did go off script. In their group they scored just two goals and ran a tight ship with just one conceded. Everything just seemed to click into place on Saturday night as they bust the myth of that young German side.
For Sweden it’s been a journey with far more twists and turns. An excellent win over Italy in their opening match was punctured somewhat by a defeat to England three days later. They managed to qualify via an 89th minute equaliser against their opponents here in match three.
I think Portugal will look to keep this a tight match on Tuesday. Sweden were the only side to breach their defence on Wednesday night but that came at the end of a match where the Portuguese looked to be cruising towards the semi-finals.
Portugal have been by far the most consistent, impressive side in this tournament and I’ll back them to win here. It does feel like their destiny. I’ll also have a nibble on them winning 1-0 and 2-0, as mentioned they’ve only conceded once in this tournament and at times Sweden have looked inept in the final third.
TOPICS Euro U21 European Football Football International Football TipsBest Bets
Sweden v Portugal – Portugal to win (4/5 William Hill)
Sweden v Portugal – Portugal to win 1-0 (6/1 888 Sport)
Sweden v Portugal – Portugal to win 2-0 (15/2 BetVictor)
