Spain and Germany Remain Favorites to Win Euro 2012, But Portugal Has Outside Shot
Euro 2012 Odds
Spain -115
Portugal +330
Draw +250
Euro 2012 Outright Winner
Spain 3-2
Germany 13-8
Portugal 5-1
It's no surprise that Portugal has made it this far in the tournament. After all, it has long been one of the most talented soccer countries in the world. With players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani in their prime, nobody has questioned the team's potential. The issue has been execution as they tend to play a little tight on the international stage as evidenced by zero FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship titles.
One of the biggest culprits of this underachievement has been Ronaldo himself, who is deemed to be one of the best players ?- if not the best player -? in the world. Ronaldo has just 35 goals for his country in 94 games of international play, which is a stark contrast to what he's done for his club Real Madrid, scoring 112 goals in just 101 games.
The good news is that Ronaldo has finally got the 20,000-pound gorilla off his back and has scored key goals for Portugal throughout Euro 2012. He finally looks more relaxed and is a key reason why the team is in the semifinals. If he's going to keep this up, Portugal could win it all.
But first, they?re going to be met with a stiff challenge on Wednesday as Spain is next up on the schedule. Spain is the defending Euro and World Cup champions, which implies that they?ve got that exact pedigree that Portugal is still searching for.
The Spanish team looked a bit sluggish to start Euro 2012 but has since picked up its game. After a lackadaisical stroll through group, it easily handled France 2-0 in the quarter-final. Xabi Alonso led the way with two goals to push his team through to the semi-final round.
Spain is built a little differently than Portugal as its strength comes from an awesome midfield group. With players like Andres Iniesta, Jesus Navas, Xavi and Alonso, they dominate the midfield, keep possession and thread through beautiful passes to create scoring chances.
The difference is that Spain hasn't had that same caliber of finishing up front. With David Villa injured and out of the tournament, the pressure has fallen on Fernando Torres, who is more than capable of some brilliant strikes, but has looked a bit off the mark.
A criticism of Spain so far has been that we've yet to see its best game. Sure, it hammered Ireland 4-0 but the Irish might have been the worst team in the Euro 2012 tournament. A 1-1 draw with Italy and an unimpressive 1-0 win over Croatia might be evidence that this team isn't as sharp as it was in years past. That theory could very well be true. Most of the players on Spain's team are heavily used by the club sides, so this team could be fatigued from playing so much soccer.
The Portuguese will have a chance to test that theory on Wednesday and make their mark. Not much was expected of them when they found themselves in the "Group of Death" with Germany and The Netherlands, but they have not only survived, they have a chance to make the Euro finals for just the second time in the country's history.
With so many superstars on each side, Wednesday's clash will be nothing short of a classic.
