Who can tame Gareth? Bale ready to go on the warpath
One of the survivors of the magical Euro 2016 campaign, Wales’ Gareth Bale is ready to deliver on the international stage once again. After inspiring his side to the semi-finals five years ago following a 57-year exile from a major tournament, Wales could prove to be one of the dark horses yet again. They may even be undervalued at 2/1 or 3.0 to qualify from Group A,
In Bale, Wales boast one of the most prominent attackers on the planet. His searing pace and his wand of a left foot have made him a constant threat on the international stage. The mercurial forward has been a model of consistency and produced whenever he was called upon. He will be licking his lips at the prospect of facing Italy, Turkey and Switzerland in Group A.
Can the Swiss survive?
Switzerland are a team in transition. Although they have missed Xherdan Shaqiri throughout the qualification campaign, he’s back when it matters most. The Swiss have had a good run in the qualifiers, having lost 1, drawn 1 and won 3 out of their 5 most recent matches.
With a number of outstanding players in their side, including Haris Seferovic, Ricardo Rodriques and Granit Xhaka, they stand a good chance of qualifying out of this pool. In fact, they are priced at 9/2 or 5.5 to top the pool. They will need to get the best of Turkey though. That will be a match to savour.
Turkish Delight at Pool Draw
Turkey’s Euro 2020 campaign will kick off against favourites Italy in Rome on June 11th. However, like Switzerland, the Turks are entering this competition off an impressive run of form. They have also won three of their last 5 games, all of them away wins. What’s more one of those was against one of the top ten contenders to take the Euro 2020 title — The Netherlands.
Nevertheless, Turkey are generally seen as a rather limited side, not blessed with many options up front. They are currently priced a little behind Switzerland at 11/2 or 6.5 to take top spot in the group. However, apart from the Italian match, Turkey’s games will be held in Baku, Ajerbaijan, where they are likely to gain some partisan support. This could help lift their star players like Bunyamin Balci, Hakan Calhanoglu and Enes Unal to even greater heights.
All teams eyeing Italian job
Undeniably, the Italians are the favourites to top this group, coming in at impressive odds of 1/2 or 1.5. Add in the home advantage of playing all their games in Rome, and they are definitely the ones to beat.
But this could be easier said than done. The Gli Azzuri are on a winning streak, having not lost a match in their last ten games with 8 wins and 2 draws under their belts. And in front of a home crowd, they are likely to put on a great show.
In fact, if they can emerge triumphant from Group A, they’ll be well on the road to taking the title. They are considered serious contenders with odds of 11/1 or 12 being offered for them to lift the trophy.
