Denmark v Portugal Tip
12th Jun, 2012 15:55
Denmark to win
Euro 2012: Denmark v Portugal
At a best price to win of 10/3 (Bet365), common sense dictates that we should side with Denmark in the first Group B clash on Wednesday.
The case for doing so at big outsider odds is pretty overwhelming. Morten Olsen’s men qualified ahead of Portugal for the 2010 World Cup. They did so again for this summer’s tournament. And we all know what’s happened since the football’s got underway in Poland/Ukraine. It is the underdogs who have once more delivered, beating the highly fancied Netherlands while Germany edged out the 2004 finalists.
Since Olsen arrived at the helm way back in 2000, Denmark have won three out of five encounters with Portugal and only lost once. The most recent clash in Copenhagen last October pushed Paulo Bento’s team down into the playoffs after the hosts won 2-1. On that night Michael Silberauer was charged with man-marking Ronaldo which he did to good effect. He is set to be brought into the starting eleven in Lviv to perform the same task.
Recent form is just another metric that suggests the bookies have got the odds all wrong for this one. Portugal are winless in four with only one goal to their name. The Danes did lose friendlies to Brazil and Russia - no shame in that - but more importantly they have won five competitive outings in a row.
Denmark relished being written off against Netherlands, and will thrive on that status again here.