Test match, Monday, 03.06.2024
Will the top favorites for the European Championship title actually come from the island? A few days before the tournament finally kicks off in Germany, England will test their recent mixed form against the team from Bosnia.
The bookmakers are unanimous: only one team can win here. In my England Bosnia betting tip, I’ll tell you why I can imagine a somewhat sluggish performance by the favorites and am therefore betting on “Under 3.5 goals.”
A look at our European Championship bookmakers reveals: England and France are battling it out for the status of top favorites! We still have a few weeks before the question of the new European champions can be answered.
The Three Lions came very close to the big time three years ago, but were defeated in dramatic fashion by Italy on penalties in the final, even at their home ground of Wembley Stadium.
A little later in Qatar, the title didn’t work out either, with France knocking them out in the quarter-finals. Now it should finally work out in Germany in 2024, and the English had no problems at all with qualifying.
In a group with Italy, Ukraine, Malta and North Macedonia, they picked up six wins and two draws, although this result was to be expected somewhere along the line.
The two draws came in away games against Ukraine and North Macedonia, meaning Italy, the toughest opponent in this constellation, were beaten twice.
After a very impressive 2023, which included two wins in test matches against Scotland (3:1) and Australia (1:0), they deservedly took a break before continuing in March 2024
Unfortunately, the comeback did not go exactly as the Three Lions had imagined. They narrowly lost 1-0 to Brazil, while Jude Bellingham saved a 2-2 draw against Belgium at the last second.
Of course, both opponents were anything but easy, but a win would have done a lot for their confidence. Whether it was mainly due to the fact that captain and Bayern star Harry Kane was missing through injury?
The attacker is of course in the squad, but he alone will not be able to ensure a successful European Championship. First up on Monday is the test against Bosnia, followed a little later by a match against Iceland.
The English have never played against Bosnia before, so this clash will be a real premiere. A premiere that, according to our bookmakers, can only have one outcome:
England is favored, so much so that the average odds are 1.15 to 16.0. So no chance for the underdog? Of course, the visitors have nothing to lose.
Bosnia has once again failed to qualify for the European Championship. In a group with Luxembourg, Slovakia, Portugal, Iceland and Liechtenstein, they only managed fifth place in the end, winning just three times
Nine measly goals, seven defeats, even against Liechtenstein, the soccer dwarf, only the results 2:1 and 2:0? In the end, they deserved no more than fifth place.
Thanks to relatively strong Nations League results, the Bosnians still made it to the play-offs, where they met Ukraine in the semi-finals – and almost reached the final!
The team led until the 85th minute of the match, but in the end a double strike from their opponents meant that their participation in the European Championships came to nothing again. The only time the blue and yellow flags flew was at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The number 74 team in the world will not be taking part in this European Championship, but they will actually be competing in Nations League A from September, where they will face Germany, Hungary and the Netherlands.
How strong are the English really, have they not wanted to play big so far this year or is it just not working? After missing out on wins against Belgium and Brazil, they MUST win against Bosnia on Monday.
Their opponents are of course much weaker individually and are not even taking part in the European Championship. They only managed three wins in their qualifying group in 2023, two of which were against Liechtenstein, even if they were close.
Bosnia are relatively harmless offensively, so the only question is how clearly the favorites will do it. Since there will certainly be some testing before the start of the tournament, my tip is:
Three goals and it’s over!
