The domestic season drew to a close last weekend, but as we know the action never really stops in football, and there’s plenty coming up to tide us over until the 2022/23 campaign kicks off – starting with the UEFA Nations League.
The Nations League is the newest continental tournament, designed to bridge the competitive international games gap in the year between the Euros and the World Cup. Of course, this year is slightly different, due to the global pandemic delaying the 2020 Euros until last year and the World Cup being held later this year.
All that means we have some fans who have some great matches to look forward to, with all the big hitters across Europe in action over the next couple of weeks. Read on to see our pick of the action, plus expert betting tips for each game…
France vs Denmark Betting Tips
We start with League A Group 1, where current World Champions France take on Denmark, who have enjoyed recent success on the big stage, making it all the way to the semi-finals in last summer’s Euros against all the odds. Of course, they were knocked out by England, but given the hardship the squad went through during the tournament with Cristen Eriksen’s on-field collapse, it was some achievement to reach that stage of the competition.
France on the other hand, had a dismal time during the tournament as they exited in the round of 16 on penalties against the Swiss – a truly shocking defeat for arguably the best international squad of players in the world. They will be hoping to capture the form of 2018, where they won the World Cup for the second time.
Unsurprisingly, France are heavy favourites for this one at odds of 8/11, while a Denmark win is priced at 7/2. We like the look of a bet builder consisting of a France win, Mbappe to score anytime and over 8 match corners for both sides combined, which gets you odds of 6/1.
Croatia vs Austria Betting Tips
Sticking in the same group, it’s another big matchup, as Croatia takes on Austria. Both sides have enjoyed relative success in tournaments recently, with Croatia making the final of the 2018 World Cup and Austria knocking out France in the last Euros.
Croatian captain and Real Madrid superstar Luka Modric has surprisingly kept on playing for his country, despite being 36 years of age and would love to add to his trophy tally after bagging the Champions League and La Liga titles this season. He will face his club teammate David Alaba, who also captains his country, often playing in Midfield as opposed to his natural position in defence.
The Croatia win is priced at EVENS, with Austria the expected outsiders for this clash at 14/5. We strongly fancy Croatia here and are backing them for a Half-Time/Full-Time match bet at 9/4.
Spain vs Portugal Betting Tips
Moving on to League A Group 2 now, which kicks off with a mouthwatering match-up between geographical neighbouring rivals Spain and Portugal. There have been many fantastic games between the two over the years, most notably the 3-3 draw during the 2018 World Cup group stage, where Cristiano Ronaldo saved his side once again with a free kick in the dying minutes to complete his hattrick.
Remarkably, he will of course still be playing in this fixture, captaining Portugal and hoping to add to his record breaking 115 international goals tally – something that will unlikely be repeated anytime soon. Spain, though, gave a decent account of themselves last summer, making the semi-finals with a young side as they look to develop their next golden generation.
The Spaniards are favourites for this clash at 20/23, while Portugal comes in at 12/5. We expect goals in this one, with both sides desperate to get one over on their close rivals. However, Spain probably have enough to edge it, therefore a home win and both teams to score at 15/4 is our pick.
Italy vs Germany Betting Tips
The huge matchups don’t stop there, as Italy takes on Germany in League A Group 3. Italy, of course, have very recent success winning Euro 2020 last year. However, Mancini’s side suffered the ultimate embarrassment of being knocked out by North Macedonia in a World Cup playoff, meaning they will not take part in Qatar 2022 in November. Will that pain fuel the fire and push them to win the Nations League? Time will tell.
Germany has also suffered their fair share of embarrassment in recent years, humbled by England in the knockout stages of the last Euros and beaten by South Korea in the 2018 World Cup. Long term manager Joachim Löw departed after the Euros and he has been replaced by his assistant Hansi Flick who has the task of rebuilding the team to its former glory.
Despite the embarrassing failure in the World Cup playoff, Italy are still slight favourites for this one at 29/20, while Germany aren’t far behind, getting odds of 9/5. Again, we’d expect goals here and like the look of Italy win and BTTS at 4/1.
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