England Hope To Lift Their First International Cup Since 1966

What happens when it’s those boring in between years when there’s no World Cup and no European Cup and a bunch of friendlies just aren’t cutting it?

You start a whole new competition!

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the UEFA Nations Cup, a whole new tournament designed to keep national pride alive during the odd years in between the other major cups. And fortunately for all of us, the national teams and players are taking the matches seriously, so we get close to full strength squads, intent on having theirs be the first name etched on the trophy.

In the four groups, Netherlands won the Group of Death against Germany and France, Switzerland shocked Belgium in Group 2, Portugal outlasted Italy and Poland in Group 3, while England overcame Croatia and Spain to win Group A. Each group winner gets an automatic berth in the semifinals Wednesday and Thursday, with the final set for Sunday June 9^th. 

And while the last matches in the group stages were way back in November, and a lot has happened since then with players in their respective domestic leagues and international competitions (some as recent as last week-, sorry Kane, de Ligt and other Champions League participants!) there’s still a lot to play for in this final European competition of the season for most of these players. 

So how are each team looking as they enter the semis? And who’s favored to reach the final on Sunday? Let’s look at both match-ups.

Portugal vs Switzerland (Wednesday)

Here’s what Portugal has going for them:

• Home field. The semis and final are taking place in Porto.
• Ronaldo. Despite missing all the qualifying games, he’ll start for the national team in the semis. How Ronaldo is that?
• Joao Felix. He’s so good, he’ll skip the U-21’s and head straight to the senior squad. It is only a matter of time before he’s on one of the teams from Manchester.
• Even more star power: Beyond Ronaldo and Felix, Portugal also features names like Silva (both Bernardo and Andre), Guedes, Neves, Carvalho, Semedo, and Fonte.

Here’s what Switzerland has going for them:

• Good Form: Portugal can say it is coming in unbeaten in their last 4, but in truth, they were all draws. The Swiss team, on the other hand, have a 3-1-1 record in their last 5, including a huge 5-2 throttling of World number one Belgium to send them to the semis. 
• Haris Seferovic: The leading scorer in the Portuguese Primiera Liga (featuring many of his semifinal opponents) with 23 goals on the season, Seferovic finished with 5 goals in the group stage, including a hat trick in their decisive game against Belgium.
• The X Factor: Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka have both been in top form recently for their respective Premier League teams Liverpool and Arsenal, and have each scored in the Group stages of the Nations League as well. 

So what to bet? Portugal is the heavy Full Time home favorite at -155 to Switzerland’s +450, with a tie coming in at +250. With home field and Ronaldo, it’s hard to bet against them, but parlaying your bets can help you win more. 

• Think it’ll be a defensive match? Building a bet with a FT tie, an under 2.5 Total Goals Scored, and Both Teams To Score, you get +600. 
• Think Portugal will win big? Building a bet with Portugal wo win in FT, scoring over 3.5 Total Goals, and only one Team To Score, will get you an astounding +1800.

England vs Netherlands (Thursday)

Here’s what England has going for them:

• International Roll: The last time we saw England on the world stage, they were rolling  into the semis of the World Cup. They hope to build on that success by taking home only the second piece of international hardware since the 1966 World Cup.
• Hot Streak: England have won their last 5 games and have scored 5 goals in each of their last two games.
• Strength In Attack: Even if Harry Kane doesn’t play (did he really play in the Champions League final though?) the Three Lions have plenty of attacking power with Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling. Throw in the fact that two of the strongest defenders from the Dutch (Wijnaldem and van Dijk) played huge roles in the CL final, and the match-up leans towards England.

Here's what Netherlands has going for them: 

• History: The Dutch haven’t lost to England in their last seven international friendlies, going 3-0-4 from 2001-2017.
• Memphis Depay: Former Man U, current Lyon, and, if you read the transfer gossip, possibly future Liverpool forward Depay has been a consistent scoring threat, having found the back of the net in his last 4 matches.
• De Young Guys: Matthijs de Ligt (age 19) and Frenkie de Jong (age 22) have both been outstanding for both Ajax and Barcelona this year, and may team up at Camp Nou next year.

These are two evenly matched teams, both dealing with players who were in the CL Final (although England had seven players versus Netherlands two.) England is the slight favorite at +148 to Netherlands +200, with a tie coming in slightly better at +215. Again, a bet builder seems like the best way to earn some winnings.

• A FT tie with over 2.5 is a GREAT deal at +1000.
• An England FT win with over 3.5 goals and both teams to score is at +800.

Good luck and enjoy the game!