As is always the case on the eve of major international tournaments, pressure is building steadily on the English national team. This club has played so well over the course of the last year and a half, and expectations are just so high that anything short of a title would be considered a disappointment.
History though, suggests that the Three Lions are going to once again fail and fail miserably. The Euros haven't been kind to England over the years, and all of that pressure and history will once again be discussed ad naseum in the lead up to this opening match in Group B against Russia.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
England -110
Russia +360
Draw +235
Over/Under 2 (over -120)
ODDS ANALYSIS
The English almost have to be odds-on favorites in this match. They should have a twinge of a home field advantage playing so close to home, but the real reason for giving them the nod is the recent form which we'll discuss in a moment. The Three Lions are set at -110 on the moneyline and at a level -0.5 on the Asian Handicap.
Totals early on in these international tournaments are generally pretty low, and this England/Russia match isn't an exception to that rule. The number is set at a flat 2 along with a vig mark of -120.
TOURNAMENT UPDATE
England has just been flat out fantastic in the lead in to Euro 2016. A 1-0 win against Portugal on Thursday wasn't the best result in the world knowing that the goal came after the Portuguese were left with just 10 men on the pitch, but wins are wins. Prior to that, the Three Lions took care of lesser teams, Australia and Turkey in matching 2-1 finals.
In the lead in to the Euros, England also beat France at home and Germany on the road, and those are the types of victories it's going to need to get if it wants to ultimately capture some major silverware.
Russia has had three straight suspect matches. The team drew 1-1 against Serbia and was beaten by both France and the Czech Republic. The only win which the Russians have in 2016 was against Lithuania at home, and that 3-0 triumph in Moscow has long since been forgotten even though it was only two and a half months ago.
LIVE BETTING
If there's a concern right now for England, it's that its defense hasn't always been top notch in these international tournaments. The Brits have allowed eight goals in their last seven matches. That's not a bad ratio for sure, but one goal could end up being the devastating factor.
Is Russia the greatest offensive team in the world? Not nearly. But what the Russians do have is Aleksandr Kokorin, a man who has scored at least one goal for his team in three straight matches for his team. Kokorin now has 13 goals in 40 matches in his career, and he's the man who can bust this game open even more than Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy or Wayne Rooney.
QUICK PICK
This match screams for a draw to us. England is very likely going to come out of the gates in a hurry, and we wouldn't be surprised if it manages to score the opening goal in the first half.
That said, Russia has the ability to come from behind, and we think it's going to do so when England fails to put this match away. Time and time again, the Three Lions find themselves in pressure-packed situations even if they're ahead because their fans expect so much. It only takes one moment of lapse at the back to spring Kokorin, a man who is one of the deadliest strikers in the tournament. One miscommunication, something that has happened a ton at the back for England historically, and this goes from three points for England to just one.
Euro 2016 Odds: England 1, Russia 1
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