European Championship Qualifications Begin on Friday

England and Portugal play the opening matches in the European Championship qualifications against the Czech Republic and Ukraine.

The European Championship of 2020 is the biggest football event of the year and qualifiers for the tournament are already underway. The opening matches across the 10 groups start this week and some of the most exciting games are scheduled for Friday evening. France, Turkey and Iceland play on the road in Group H, but the most anticipated matches are the ones in groups A and B.

England Welcomes the Czech Republic at Wembley

England is the main favorite to win Group A and they have the chance to kickstart their European Championship campaign with a victory. On Friday at 7:45 PM UK time, they welcome the Czech Republic and they are heavily favorites. 888 Sport only offers odds of 7/20 on the home side to prevail, as England has no injured or suspended players.

The Czech Republic has struggled in the previous qualification campaigns and has high expectations from these matches. Finishing second in Group A behind England would be an acceptable result, so the visitors will aim for a draw. If the match ends undecided, punters who have wagered on this result will be paid at 4/1 by bet365 Sports, while the odds on the visitors to cause an upset stand as 10/1.

Portugal has a Difficult Match against Ukraine

Portugal is expected to qualify to the European Championship without breaking a sweat, while Serbia and Ukraine will compete for the second place. That’s why the visitors are under a lot of pressure in this match and will be trying to salvage a point on the road. Portugal has all its players fit to play and it will once again rely on Cristiano Ronaldo, who returns to the national team.

Winner Sports offers odds of 1/2 on Portugal to open the qualification campaign with a victory in front of its fans. These odds are expected to drop as kickoff draws near, so those who plan on betting on the favorites should act quickly. On the other hand, a Ukraine victory is priced at 8/1 and with punters expected to bet heavily on the home side, we predict that the odds on the hosts to win will grow further.