Euro 2016: Austria Takes Its First True Test Against Portugal
Published June 18, 2016 by Florin P
Portugal seeks all three points against inexperienced Austria (8:00 p.m UK Time).
Portugal is credited with the first chance to win Group F after a convincing qualifying campaign and back-to-back victories in friendly games. The most recent triumph over Estonia indicates the fact that they are well capable of scoring plenty of goals against defensive minded teams. Austria falls into this category, as they lack the experience to play offensive football against a former semifinalist.
All Eyes on Cristiano Ronaldo
As always, Portugal depends heavily on the performance of its brightest star, with Cristiano Ronaldo being once again in the spotlight. He creates many scoring opportunities and is pretty clinical in front of the net, which makes him a serious threat for any defensive. His teammates are providing him with quality balls all the time and Austria will have no choice but to allocate at least two defenders to blocking.
The problem with this gifted striker is that he suffered a severe injury less than two months ago and it’s uncertain whether he will be able to perform at its highest level. Austria will defend with all lines and has a couple of strong defenders and midfielders, capable of stopping Cristiano in his tracks.
Austria Hoping for Second Place
The new format of Euro 2016 makes it possible for teams to qualify even if they finish in the third-place, but this is not the group where one can take such chances. Iceland was the pleasant surprise of the qualification stage and with Austria locking horns with them in the final round, the stakes are high.
Against Portugal, they’ve got no option but to defend for 90 minutes and hope that Cristiano Ronaldo won’t perform at 100%. From a punter’s perspective, this is a risk worth taking, because even if their striker struggles, there are other offensive players to step up. As long as the odds stand at 11/10 on Portugal to win, this bet makes perfect sense and players can lock on these odds at bet365 Sports.
