The biggest upset in the opening round of Euro 2016 is the fact that Hungary was able to win Group F. The Magyars haven't had anything to cheer about for years and years on the pitch, but they're here in the last 16 in the Euros, and they theoretically should be favored over a lesser side. Except for one problem. Their "reward" for beating out Iceland, Portugal and Austria is a date with Belgium in the opening knockout round.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Hungary +625
Belgium -164
Draw +255
Over/Under 2 (under -120)
ODDS ANALYSIS
You wouldn't know it, but Belgium is the top-ranked team in this tournament according to FIFA. The Belgians might be a second place team, but they've gotten themselves the most favorable draw possible to get into the Euro 2016 final thanks to the fact they've avoided the side with France, England, Germany, Italy and Spain by good fortune.
The Belgians are -164 on the moneyline though, a price which isn't quite convincing that this is as much of a walk in the park as you'd think.
The total of 2 with -120 vig on the under suggests that this will be a tough match to try to find goals in.
TOURNAMENT UPDATE
Who knew that the best thing Belgium would go on to do in the opening round of Euro 2016 was to lose to Italy? That match left the Red Devils in second in Group E and gave them the far easily path going forward from here; Italy has to play against Spain in the opening knockout round.
Still, the Red Devils haven't always been convincing. They've had problems at the back throughout this tournament and are lucky to have not conceded against either Ireland or Sweden at least once or twice after allowing two goals in a comprehensive defeat against Italy. Belgium got the job done though, taking all three points from both of the weaker sides in Group E to get to this point.
Hungary was amazing. The team thoroughly outplayed rival Austria for the full 90 minutes to open up this tournament, and it fought back from behind to snare a point from Iceland which ended up being pivotal. The match of the tournament though, was the one against Portugal. Yes, the Magyars will be disappointed to cough up three leads against A Seleccao, but just the fact that they were able to fend off one of the best sides in the world to get one point from a match of this caliber was almost miraculous.
LIVE BETTING
So how has Hungary been pushing this deep into this tournament? Simply put, the team just keeps coming, and Belgium is going to have to be really careful of that. Toby Alderweireld and Thomas Vermaelen haven't been convincing in the middle of the defense, and though Thibaut Courtois made one fantastic save in the early going to set the tone against Sweden, he hasn't always been sharp either.
Zoltan Gera put forth a cracker of an effort to open the scoring against Portugal, and he and Balazs Dzsudzsak were all over the field. These men aren't strikers by nature, but they still found their way up the pitch in attack, something you wouldn't commonly expect out of a team with a lack of talent on it as Hungary has.
QUICK PICK
This is quite the dangerous match for the Belgians, but we think they're ultimately going to flex their muscles and get the job done. Kevin De Bruyne has been outstanding over the course of this tournament, and he and an improving Romelu Lukaku are just too good to be stopped over the course of the 90 minutes.
There's too much size and strength in this Belgian midfield, and eventually, Cinderella's carriage is going to turn back into a pumpkin. There might be some nervy moments in there for the Red Devils, but they'll advance in normal time with a final score line which will look more convincing than it actually is.
Euro 2016 Odds: Belgium 2, Hungary 0
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