After 50 games, 107 goals and 30 days of late nights and/or very early mornings for us here in Malaysia it comes down to this.
It is no exaggeration to say that the tournament may well end up being defined by the final itself so with most fair minded people sitting on a hung jury about just how good UEFA Euro 2016 has been, let us hope the show piece occasion delivers.
I cannot find any value in the outright or total goals market for this one so have come up with three plays on the game which hopefully will see us go out with a bang rather than a whimper.
HT/FT Betting – SPLIT STAKES – PORTUGAL HT – FRANCE FT @ 29.00
FRANCE HT – PORTUGAL FT @ 55.00
Two long shot plays to kick things off but it is worth remembering that France have already been part of one of the two games that featured the HT-FT result turnaround when they came from behind at the break to get past Ireland. (England v Wales was the other). For either of these scenarios to come to pass in all likelihood a 1-0 lead for either side is required at HT and that is conceivable and both nations have enough about them to suggest a narrow deficit at the break will not be beyond them.
It would be a brave man to predict that win or lose, Cristiano Ronaldo will not be center stage when it comes to headlines tomorrow morning so with that in mind…….
RONALDO TO SCORE AT ANYTIME @ 2.60
I at the head of the queue when it comes to ridiculing the statistic of approaching 50 free kicks taken by Ronaldo at World Cup and Euros’ finals without scoring but he isn’t going to be taken off that particular duty any time soon it seems and despite missing from the penalty spot against Austria in the group stage, he wont be passing up that responsibility either. That could be significant with the still suspect French back line already conceding two spot kicks during the tournament. It would be just typical of Ronaldo to break the free kick hoodoo on the second biggest stage available to him in International football too. Factor in his aerial threat and his constant desperation to be the man that makes the difference and 2.60 for the Portuguese captain to score any time represents decent value.
RONALDO TO BE SHOWN A CARD @ 5.00
Ronaldo’s in game intensity is a joy to behold and while for the most part his disciplinary record is excellent (just five yellow cards in 54 games this season), he did go into the referees’ book against Wales and will be quite happy to take another for the team here if the Portuguese are defending a narrow lead. The frustration that will build within him should he be fighting a lost cause late on could also see him in trouble with Mark Clattenburg at some stage. Add in the obligatory shirt coming off for the cameras if he smashes in a late winner and you have a decent run for your money @ 5.00. Clattenburg showed EIGHT yellows in the UEFA Champions League final between the two Madrid clubs so is clearly not scared of laying down the law on the big stage.”
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