The Round of 16 at Euro 2024 concludes Tuesday with a pair of matches that could be box office.
First up is an encounter between one of the surprise outfits, Romania, and the Netherlands, which has a ton of pressure on its shoulders after getting a huge break with the draw.
Anything short of a trip to the semifinals would be a disappointment for the Dutch.
And while the second match of the afternoon may not feature any traditional soccer powerhouses, Austria and Turkey were two of the most entertaining teams at Germany 2024 through the group stage and both will recognize this as a massive opportunity to make a historic run at a major tournament.
It should be a terrific afternoon of footy. Let’s get to some bets.
Romania vs. Netherlands prediction
(12 p.m., ET)
One of the surprise outfits of the tournament, Romania is playing with house money after it won its group ahead of Slovakia, Belgium and Ukraine. That said, the Romanians will fancy this opportunity as the Netherlands isn’t exactly firing right now and could be vulnerable to an upset.
What’s more, Romania’s blueprint for success in the group stage could absolutely work in the knockout rounds. Romania was a decided underdog against Ukraine in the opening match but it sat deep, protected the house and looked for every and any opportunity to counter against a vulnerable transition defense.
The Netherlands is certainly in a different tier compared to Ukraine, but Romania’s organized defense and deadly counterattack led by Nicole Stanciu has a chance to punish Clockwork Oranje in this contest.
Expecting the Romanians to deploy this strategy, it would not shock me to see the Dutch take a measured approach when they are in possession in order to not get caught going the other way.
This will be a chess match and that should keep the draw in play throughout the 90 minutes.
Recommendation: 90-minute draw (+350, BetMGM).
Austria vs. Turkey
(3 p.m., ET)
These two teams thrive in chaos and there’s no reason to believe they’ll change their ways for this matchup.
Ralf Rangnick’s Austrian team has made it clear that, no matter the opponent, they’re going to play their way. The Austrians want to play an all-action, pressure game and win the ball high up the pitch in order to create scoring opportunities. The end result has been three very exciting matches that featured plenty of goals and quality chances.
Turkey hasn’t been as organized in their approach as Austria, but the Crescent Stars have plenty of play-making talent, notably Arda Guler (aka the Turkish Messi), that can change a game in the blink of an eye.
The Turks have gone back and forth with all three of their opponents: Georgia, Portugal and Czechia. It would be surprising if they don’t do the same here.
This match can get off the rails at any moment and once the first goal is scored, plenty others should follow.
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Only two teams in the tournament saw 10 total goals (for and against) in their group stage matches: Austria and Turkey.
This seems like a great opportunity to take a shot on an alternate total or sprinkle an exact score such as 4-2.
Recommendation: Over 4.5 goals (+630, FanDuel).
