Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal Have Edge To Win

Published on June 27th, 2016 8:42 pm EST
The four Euro 2016 quarter-final match-ups look like this after a few hectic days of play:

Poland v Portugal
Wales v Belgium
Germany v Italy
France v Iceland

Both Poland and Portugal had their share of problems in the Round of 16, and both teams desperately want to secure a passage to the semi-finals. Neither team was expected to make it to the semi-finals, so there is plenty on the line in Thursday's game.

Portugal will be led by Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been hot and cold so far this tournament. Poland will obviously be doing their best to ensure that a "cold" Ronaldo turns up on Thursday, and that will be accomplished through some stifling defense. As many teams have learned, Ronaldo is practically impossible to stop if he is given room to work.

-

Here are the current odds for Thursday's game:

Poland, 3.80
Draw, 2.90
Portugal, 2.25

Here are the odds to qualify:

Poland, 2.37
Portugal, 1.57

-

Here are the five likeliest outcomes of Thursday's match, according to the bookmakers:

Portugal Wins 1-0, 5.50
Draw 0-0, 6.00
Draw 1-1, 6.50
Poland Wins 1-0, 7.50
Portugal Wins 2-0, 9.00




As mentioned, Portugal will be relying heavily on the boot of Cristiano Ronaldo to win, though Poland is certainly no slouch, as they can count on Robert Lewandowski to add to their attack.

This should be a great contest between two teams who will be over-achieving by getting to the semi-finals.