| Portugal vs Germany: UEFA EURO 2008 Prediction |
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| Written by Scott Burgess | |||||||
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Wednesday, 18 June 2008
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 It’s down to the final eight as the EURO 2008 Quarter Finals get set to begin, Thursday June 19, with Portugal vs Germany, in Basel. The well rested Portuguese side will be pitted against a beatup and injured German team. Oddsmakers at SBGglobal.com have Portugal as +130 favs over Germany who are listed as +185 underdogs. Get your Portugal vs Germany: UEFA EURO 2008 Prediction in now at SBGglobal.comPortugal finished in first place in Group A standings with a 2W-0D-1L record after beating, Turkey 2-0, Czech Republic 3-1 and surprisingly losing 0-2 to Switzerland. Coach Luiz Scolari had rested eight players for their match against Switzerland, so that’s the reason for their only loss. They finished with five goals for and three goals against, all their goals were scored inside the 18 yard line. Their goals scorers were Deco, Raul Meireles, Quaresma Ricardo, Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe. Now that they have a fresh lineup they’ll have to watch out for a dangerous German side. “We know that we can't make any mistakes and that we will have to concentrate from the first moment to the last if we're going to get what we want," Ronaldo said. The Manchester United FC winger stated that nobody in the Portugal camp was expecting an easy ride despite Germany's mixed form in qualifying from Group B. "You have to respect Germany. They are always a very dangerous team, but we have threats on our side too." Portugal believes they have the upperhand with a well rested talented lineup. "All the teams that are here at the EURO have great motivation," Scolari said. "But to have extra days to recuperate could have an influence." The Portuguese have a forward lineup that are always a constant threat as they like to quickly pass the ball around looking for a streaking teammate. They are very good individually, they play well offensively and they don't focus too much on defense. Germany finished second in Group B standings with a 2W-0D-1L record after beating Poland 2-0, losing to Croatia 1-2 and narrowly beating host Austria 1-0. They finished with four goals for and two goals against. Lucas Podolski leads his team with three goals while Michael Ballack has a lone goal. The Germans have been less spectacular in this EURO than any other international tournament. They’ve been undisciplined and they’ve never raised their tempo throughout their Group matches. Their last match against Austria they struggled to get a goal until Michael Ballack pounded a thunderous free kick in the net. The Chelsea midfielder has been unhappy with his performances in this tournament so far. On a bad note, Germany may be without midfielder Torsten Frings due to a broken rib, he practiced for their match against Portugal but didn’t get involved in tackling. Top scorer Lucas Podolski has been troubled by a calf problem and went through a special routine rather than join in the team session. "The situation with him has improved vastly but we still cannot say whether he will play," Coach Bierhoff said. Fitness may also play a big part in how the Germans perform, "We only have three days to recover, but you cannot plan fitness. Sometimes you're better if you're rested, sometimes when you just recently played. We'll see what happens." Get your Portugal vs Germany: UEFA EURO 2008 Prediction in now Head to Head: 15 matches played
Point-Spreads.com Portugal vs Germany: UEFA EURO 2008 Prediction - Potugal +130                        |
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