Euro 2024 Group F Betting Guide: Can Ronaldo bring it home for Portugal?

The final group of Euro 2024 is headed by the only team to progress through qualifying with a perfect record - Portugal. It was played ten, won ten for Roberto Martinez’s Portugal side. 

They are joined in Group F by 2008 semi-finalists Turkey, first-timers Georgia and 2020 quarter-finalists Czech Republic.

The Teams

Portugal - 1.46

After a promising start, Portugal’s World Cup campaign came to a halt after they lost 1-0 to a Morocco side who were one of the tournament’s success stories. 

After their World Cup defeat, they won ten consecutive matches to qualify for this summer’s tournament in spectacular fashion. They dominated the group, scoring 36 goals and keeping clean sheets in 90% of their games.

They have a very experienced squad led by Cristiano Ronaldo up top and Pepe at the back who between them have 342 international appearances. 

Key Man: Bruno Fernandes

Fernandes hasn’t been at his best for Manchester United this season, but in a Portugal shirt he has fast become his country’s key man. 

In the ten qualifying matches, he had 13 goal contributions, including a goal and three assists in their 9-0 destruction of Luxembourg. There were rumours of tensions between the midfielder and Cristiano Ronaldo at the 2022 World Cup but those appear to have been ironed out with CR7 scoring ten goals in his nine qualifying matches.

One to watch: Gonçalo Inácio

When you have a centre-back pairing as settled as Ruben Dias and Pepe it is hard to break into the team, but the 22-year-old Inácio has played a full 90 minutes in four of their qualifying matches. 

The group stages of this tournament will see Portugal play three games in eight days, the nature of the fixtures are likely to mean that the 41-year-old Pepe will be unable to complete a full 90 minutes in each. Inácio is a more than ready replacement from the bench, he has played 32 times for Sporting Lisbon this season and has been a key part of the side which finished top of the Liga Portugal by ten points.

Fixtures: 

18 June vs Czech Republic
22 June vs Turkey
26 June vs Georgia

Betting Trend: Portugal to win to nil 

Portugal were utterly dominant at both ends of the pitch during qualification. While their attacking talent is clear to see, their defensive prowess may surprise some but they kept clean sheets in nine of their ten games and only conceded two goals all campaign. Therefore backing them to win to nil in a group they should dominate seems a good bet. 

Turkey - 5.5

Like Portugal, Turkey topped their qualifying group. Unlike Portugal, they did not win all their matches. Their record was a modest five wins, two draws and a loss from eight matches, giving them 17 points - the second lowest total of any team to finish top of their group.

Their performance at Euro 2020 was disappointing, they crashed out in the group stage having lost all three matches, conceding eight goals and scoring just once. They then followed that disappointment up by failing to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar after losing in a play-off to Portugal. 

They are led by veteran midfielder Hakan Çalhanoğlu, who has had the armband since 2022, and is of the best players his country has produced. 

Key Man: Hakan Çalhanoğlu

Çalhanoğlu made his debut for the national team at the age of 19, in September 2013. He has played in a variety of positions from right wing to attacking midfield, however he now plays more regularly as a defensive midfielder. His impressive range of passing gives him the ability to dictate the tempo of matches.

In his 84 matches, he has had 33 goal contributions, exhibiting not just an effectiveness but an efficiency as well. He is also equipped with some of the best dead ball skills in world football, in his career he has found the back of the net 28 times from free kicks.

One to watch: Kenan Yildiz

The 19-year-old striker was only three years old when Turkey lost 3-2 to Germany in the semi-finals of Euro 2008. Despite being so young, Yildiz has already represented two of European football’s biggest clubs. Having come through the ranks at Bayern Munich, he moved to Juventus in 2022 as a free transfer. 

He has only played five times for the national team, scoring once, but in Italy he has started to find his feet hitting the back of the net on six of his 38 appearances. 

Fixtures: 

18 June vs Georgia
22 June vs Germany
26 June vs Czech Republic

Betting trend: Turkey to receive over 2.5 cards

Turkey were not exactly the best behaved team in qualifying racking up a staggering 27 cards in their eight games, averaging 3.4 a game. You could push the boat out and back over 3.5 which would have hit in five of their eight qualifying games but for those who want to play it safe 2.5 seems sensible.

Czech Republic - 7.8

The Czech Republic have qualified for the European Championships for the last seven tournaments and reached the knockout stage in three of them including a runner up in 1996 and a third-place in 2002. 

They progressed from a tricky group in 2020 by beating Scotland, drawing with Croatia and then losing to England. In the round of 16, they caused a big upset beating Netherlands 2-0 with the Dutch side failing to register a shot on target. Denmark were eventually on hand to knock them out in the quarter-finals.

Interestingly, they have struggled to translate their success in European Championships to the World Cups. They have only qualified for a World Cup once since 1998. They failed to get out of the group stage in Germany 2006 despite having a squad that included Petr Cech, Milan Baros, Tomas Rosicky and an ageing Pavel Nedved.

Key Man: Tomas Soucek

The West Ham midfielder has been the captain of the Czech Republic since their 2-0 victory over the Netherlands at Euro 2020. He tends to play the defensive midfield role for his country but that doesn’t stop him having an influence at the other end of the pitch. In his last five matches, he has scored three goals and contributed two assists. 

Despite losing club teammate and midfield partner Declan Rice to Arsenal in the summer, Soucek still contributed ten goals and three assists in all competitions for West Ham this season. 

One to watch: Adam Hlozek

Hlozek comes into the tournament on the back of a very successful season at Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen. Despite not playing a major role, he has still chipped in with seven goals and five assists in all competitions. 

While only 21-years-old, Hlozek has already made 31 appearances for the national team, scoring twice. 

Fixtures:  

18 June vs Portugal
22 June vs Georgia
26 June vs Turkey

Betting trend: Over 6.5 corners

Corners were one of the features of the Czech Republic’s qualification campaign as their matches averaged 7.1 per game with a high of 11. Backing over 6.5 would have landed in five of their eight qualifying matches. 

Georgia - 20.0

A penalty shootout win over 2004 champions Greece booked Georgia’s place at Euro 2024. This summer will be the first appearance at a major tournament after 15 attempts. It is a miracle they made it to the tournament having finished fourth in their qualifying group behind Spain, Scotland and Norway. 

Their 2-0 victory over Luxembourg in the first knockout round was helped when the visitors had centre-back Maxine Chanot sent off with the score at 1-0. His absence helped Georgian striker Budu Zivzizvadze score his second of the night just seven minutes later. 

It would be fair to say that the match with Greece was not a classic. Between them the two nations only managed one shot on target in 90 minutes. In extra-time, the game roared into life when Greek defender Konstantinos Mavropanos hit the bar from a corner before a mistake by the West Ham defender led to a Georgian counter-attack. 

In the end, it took penalties to separate the sides with Greece's Giorgos Giakoumakis handing Georgia the advantage by putting his spot-kick wide. It fell to Nika Kvekveskiri to book Georgia’s place in Germany and he did by smashing his effort past the keeper. 

Key Man: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

The Napoli winger is one of Europe’s most exciting prospects, playing a key role in Napoli’s 2022/23 title-winning side. This season he has carried on his fine form with 19 goal contributions in 35 games. 

For his country, Kvaratskhelia has started to play a more central role rather than on the left. His 29 appearances for the national team has seen him find the back of the net 15 times.

One to watch: Giorgi Mamardashvili

At just 23-years-old, Mamardashvili is already one of his country's best ever players. The goalkeeper plays his club football for Valencia where he is a key component of one of the league’s best defences. This season, they have conceded just 45 goals and Mamardashvili has kept 13 clean sheets. 

For the national side, he made his debut aged just 20 and has already made 16 appearances.

Fixtures:

18 June vs Turkey
22 June vs Czech Republic
26 June vs Portugal

Betting Trend: Over 2.5 goals

Goals are no stranger to Georgia. Their eight qualifying matches featured 30 goals at an average rate of 3.75 per game. This bet would have hit in seven of their eight matches so feels pretty safe.