Portugal has yet to win a game within 90 minutes at this year’s European Championships, but Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. get the nod as +115 betting favorites ahead of Wednesday’s Euro 2016 semifinal clash with Wales at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Wednesday afternoon’s Wales vs. Portugal betting matchup at Parc Olympique Lyonnais marks the first meeting between these two sides since Portugal won 3-0 in a 2000 international friendly, and just their fourth all-time meeting, with the two squads splitting a pair of friendlies way back in 1949 and 1951.
The semifinal also features a rare showdown between members of this year’s Champions League winners, Real Madrid, as winger Gareth Bale leads the Dragons against club teammate Ronaldo, captain of the Portuguese side.
Bale’s three goals during the group stage powered Wales to a first-place finish on the Group B table, but the “World’s Most Expensive Footballer” received plenty of help from the Dragons’ supporting cast in their stunning 3-1 rout of heavily favored Belgium in the quarterfinals.
Ronaldo has tallied just two goals so far for a low-scoring Portugal squad that has found the back of the net just six times in five Euro 2016 matches, while allowing just five total goals.
Despite Portugal’s struggles to fill the net, Ronaldo remains among the favorites to finish the tournament as top goal-scorer, joining Bale at +700 on the Euro 2016 player props.
A pair of European soccer Goliaths face off in Thursday afternoon’s Euro 2016 semifinal matchup, as host nation France takes on defending World Cup champion Germany. France looks to extend its unbeaten streak as host nation at international tournaments to 18 games as they take on Germany sporting +180 odds on the three-way betting line.
Les Bleus ended Iceland’s impressive run in its first tournament appearance, handing the Norse a 5-2 beating in the quarterfinal, and have racked up 11 goals in five matches at the tournament.
Conversely, Die Mannschaft have effectively shut down opposing shooters, cruising to four straight clean-sheet victories before giving up a goal to Italy in a quarterfinal contest that ended 1-1 before Germany prevailed in a lengthy penalty shootout.
The Germans, sitting at +200 on the odds for the match, also have enjoyed success against France at international tournaments, emerging victorious in their past three meetings. That includes a 1-0 victory in the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Cup, but they are just 2-1-5 overall in their past eight games against Les Bleus.
Euro 2016 semifinal preview, predictions >>
Thumbnail photo via Tim Groothuis/Witters Sport via USA TODAY Sports
