The top half of the bracket in Euro 2016 is absolutely wide open, and all of a sudden, Wales has gone from a cute team which might slot into the last 16 and pull off an upset to one which legitimately has a shot to go on a really deep run. The Welsh will take on familiar foes on Saturday in the second of the knockout matches against Northern Ireland.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Wales +103
Northern Ireland +360
Draw +200
Over/Under 2 (under -160)
ODDS ANALYSIS
The lowest total of the tournament is going to be on display in the second match of the day on Saturday. The number is effectively set at just 1.5, though the total officially sits at 2 with -160 vig on the under.
That said, Wales is easily the favorite and should advance from this opening knockout round. The Welsh are set at +103 on the moneyline and are basically 50/50 propositions to take care of the Green and White Army to advance in normal time or not.
TOURNAMENT UPDATE
Wales has already outlasted one of the British Isle teams in Euro 2016. Sure, the team was beaten by England, but it stood toe-to-toe with the Three Lions in the 2-1 defeat. Furthermore, Wales was able to win its other two matches with Russia and Slovakia to top the group while England drew against both teams. Had you told Wales fans at the start of the tournament that it would've gotten six points and topped Group B but lost to England, they would've taken it.
Northern Ireland though, has to be one of the happiest teams in the field of 24. Group C was a nightmare waiting to happen with matches against Germany and Poland, and matters were only made worse when it was beaten by the Poles to kick off the tournament. However, against all odds, the Green and White Army came through against a good Ukraine team which underachieved in this tournament, scoring two goals in the second half to walk away with arguably the biggest win in team history.
LIVE BETTING
Northern Ireland's defense was resilient in the group stage of this tournament. It did a really nice job against Robert Lewandowski for Poland, and this is a similar match against a Welsh team which is going to be relying on Gareth Bale to do just about everything offensively.
Bale scored in all three of Wales' matches in the opening stage of the competition, and there's just no way he's going to be denied if he has chances in front of net. He's no Lionel Messi for sure, but the argument could be made if there's a man who is playing anything like Messi in Euro 2016, it's Bale. He's the man who Northern Ireland is going to have to slow down and keep silent, especially in a match where one goal is likely to make all the difference in the world.
QUICK PICK
Poland and Germany were both relatively conservative in their matches against Northern Ireland, and neither one really went for the gusto of pressuring the Green and White Army for various reasons. Wales won't do anything of the sorts.
We've spoken about how well Bale has played with his three goals in this tournament, but let's give some credit to this defense as well. Russia had absolutely nothing going forward in a match it had to win on Sunday, and we have to think that Northern Ireland is going to be in the same sort of boat.
This is a real opportunity for Wales in this match to make a massive run, and we don't think it's going to squander that chance. This might be just one moment of brilliance, but that's all we think the Welsh will need to get into the Euro 2016 quarters.
Euro 2016 Odds: Wales 1, Northern Ireland 0
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