Holland is already eliminated from Euro 2012, Spain hasn’t looked impressive, Ronaldo has come to life for Portugal, England has surprised and France has underachieved.

But the biggest story so far at Euro 2012 might be the form of Germany, which is now the favourite to win the tournament at +215 odds. Spain, the pre-tournament favourite, has dropped to +252, while Portugal is now +660 after surviving the Group of Death.

Here’s a breakdown of all the teams still alive at Euro 2012, going into the quarter-final rounds.

Odds provided by Pinnacle Sports

 

Germany To Win Euros For A Fourth Time?

Euro 2012 Outright Winner betting now sees Germany as the slight favourites (+215)* to win Euro 2012.  The Germans have been in impressive form at the Euro, as the only side to gain maximum points from the group stages.

Mario Gomez is currently the tournament’s top scorer with 3 goals, and the team has scored the joint second-most goals with 5 amongst them.

Even when they were not at their best against Denmark, Germany still managed to overcome them with a win. The Germans’ excellent strength in depth and understanding within the squad will no doubt have contributed to their performances which have made them the current favourites.

Spain Far From Out Of It

Despite Spain dropping slightly to +252* they are still a massive force to be reckoned with. Although they were perhaps second-best in their opening game draw with Italy and struggled to beat Croatia, the number of stats in their favour show why they are the current World and European Champions:

Spain have scored the most goals in the tournament with 6, they have only conceded 1 goal – the fewest. They have had the most shots on target with 39, completed the most passes with an 82% success rate, and finally they have the most ball possession, holding the ball for a total of 120 minutes.

This total domination in a range of statistics make Spain a formidable opponent for anyone.

 

Portugal, Italy & England In The Mix

Portugal’s (+660)* rise from outsiders to third favourites has been incredible, they were expected to be eliminated at the expense of Germany and Holland. However despite losing their opening game against Germany 1-0, they went on to edge Denmark in a thrilling 3-2 victory. In the final game of the group, Cristiano Ronaldo who had yet to make an impact on the tournament stepped up with two goals to seal a 2-1 victory for the Portuguese.

Italy (+810)* came into the tournament under a cloud of match-fixing in their domestic league, however the squad has pulled together and got out of a tricky group by getting two 1-1 draw’s with Spain and Croatia and beating Ireland 2-0. They have been able to rely on their best players such as Daniele De Rossi, Andrea Pirlo and Gianluigi Buffon. Whilst wildcards such as Mario Balotelli and Antonio Cassano have shown that they are capable of winning matches on their own.

England (+840)* have perhaps for once, entered a tournament without the weight of expectation on their shoulders. Roy Hodgson’s men have been difficult to beat, despite being unspectacular. Much of their hopes are going to depend on Wayne Rooney and if he can hit top-form, their clash with Italy is going to be delicately poised.

 

France Down But Not Out & Outsiders

France (+1150)* suffered a morale-denting 2-0 defeat to already eliminated Sweden in their final group match. The French have struggled to replicate their impressive form that they showed in friendlies coming into the tournament. Striker Karim Benzema, whom many had high hopes for has yet to score a goal, whilst enigmatic winger Franck Ribery has not been at his best.

The saving grace for France though is that they do possess a wealth of talent, and manager Laurent Blanc has a number of options open to him should he feel the need to change the squad around.

Rank outsiders Greece and the Czech Republic are available at +5400* and +4100* respectively. The Greeks can take confidence from the fact that they now have nothing to lose having got out of the group stages, and they can also draw from their experience of winning the tournament in 2004. The Czech Republic appear to have forged a strong team-spirit, and Petr Cech in goal will always make it difficult for sides to score against them.

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