The bottom half of the Euro 2016 bracket is an absolute nightmare, and Slovakia seems badly placed in it. About the only shot it has of taking out Germany is if Joachim Low and company are more concerned with the match to come against either Italy or Spain in the quarterfinals than this one in the Round of 16.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Germany -220
Slovakia +825
Draw +310
Over/Under 2 (over -125)
ODDS ANALYSIS
Germany isn't quite the biggest favorite in the Round of 16 in the Euros, but it's awfully close. The Bavarians are -220 moneyline favorites, and basically all of the early betting has been on their side.
Slovakia is getting a goal on the Asian Handicap and a price of +105 for good measure.
The total is low at 2 with -125 vig on the over.
TOURNAMENT UPDATE
Germany hasn't always been pretty in this tournament, but Low deserves a lot of credit for getting what he needs out of his side. The Germans took three points from Northern Ireland and Ukraine to get into this position to win the group, and a draw against Poland was enough from there to advance as the Group C winners.
Slovakia had to really fight to qualify for the second stage of this competition. Group B was incredibly tough, and that match against Russia which was won could easily have been drawn, especially after the Slovaks conceded a goal with 10 to play to take a 2-0 lead and have it cut in half.
The draw against England on the last day of group play in Group B ended up being of little consequence, but it left Slovakia as the first third place team to qualify for the Round of 16.
LIVE BETTING
Germany doesn't use a true striker in attack, but the one thing it does is possess the ball for long stretches. There's no doubt that the Germans will have at least 60 percent of the ball in this match, and that number could be even higher than that when push comes to shove.
Slovakia isn't going to be bothered by that, though. This is a team which basically parked the bus against England effectively in that last match day in Group B, and most of its best attacking moments have come on the counterattack. It's tough to do against Germany, but it's going to be the only way to get the job done.
QUICK PICK
This is another one of these matches which screams to be unsexy yet effective for Germany. Low knows that tougher matches are ahead. He's going to want to get Thomas Muller going after he went through the whole group stage without really a glorious chance at finding the back of the net, and Mario Gotze will need to have an impact as well.
We're not sure all of this is going to come through for the Germans against a Slovakian side which won't open up at the back under any situation which isn't incredibly dire. However, we do think that Low is going to once again get exactly what he needs out of his soccer team.
Don't be so quick to lay the goal on the Asian Handicap and think that it's a dead lock to at least get a push, though. There's a really good chance this match goes through at least the first half without either side unlocking the safe, per se. Germany will do so eventually to provide heartbreak to a Slovakia team which has fought so hard to get here after losing its first match to Wales, but the end result won't be pretty.
Euro 2016 Odds: Germany 1, Slovakia 0
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