EM test match, Monday, 10.06.2024
After seeing Alexander Zverev start the match with two double faults in a row in the French Open final, I immediately realized: Unfortunately, it’s not going to happen!
Accordingly, I quickly turned my attention back to my favorite topic, Euro 2024 and my planned European Championship bets.
In this context, I identified a few last friendly matches on the way to Germany, in which one or two promising bets could be made.
In this Czech Republic-North Macedonia prediction, you’ll find my thoughts on one of these occasions
Maybe not all of you know that ice hockey is at least as popular in the Czech Republic as King Football.
The fact that the Czechs became world champions on ice again this year at their own home World Cup after 17 years has therefore been a huge motivational boost for the Eastern Europeans.
The country’s national soccer team would now also like to benefit from the euphoria that has prevailed since May, but without putting too much pressure on themselves. After all, the “Reprezentace” is not quite as talented as the ice hockey team
In fact, I’m still not entirely sure where the Czechs’ European Championship journey could take them. Advancing beyond the preliminary round is possible, perhaps even just thanks to a three-pointer in the group game against Georgia.
The Czechs are certainly first-class in certain positions. This applies both to the center forward position (Patrick Schick) and to the respective leading roles in midfield and defense played by the two West Ham professionals Tomáš Souček and Vladimír Coufal.
These are certainly three world-class players, but that’s about it. One problem with this national team is the width of the squad, which leaves something to be desired. The back line in particular consists almost exclusively of players from the domestic league
After the Czechs’ only test match so far this month, I’m not really any wiser about their potential performance at this European Championship.
Beating Malta 7:1 is obviously not as easy as it was ten years ago, but I still don’t consider the Mediterranean team to be a suitable candidate to pass the European Championship maturity test!
On balance, however, this victory deserves more credit than I was initially willing to give the Czechs. After all, top players like Černý, Souček and Schick came off the bench, so CZE certainly didn’t approach the game with full intensity.
And yet such an impressive victory? Respect
The North Macedonians, meanwhile, are no longer the same stubborn opponents that surprisingly put the reigning defending champions off the World Cup two years ago.
They have lost their self-confidence and the latest international results also show that the Balkan side are now miles away from the victories they once enjoyed over Germany and Italy.
The North Macedonians have not won any of their last five international matches and underperformed in their last outing (2 draws, 3 defeats).
The 0:3 defeat against Croatia is telling because Balkan derbies are generally never given away, even in the context of a test match
This is a test match without German participation, which is why it will be difficult to find bets for this game with an official European Championship bookmaker.
Nevertheless, I would like to point out an interesting statistical fact that I don’t want to ignore: In each of the Czechs’ last four international matches, the Eastern Europeans managed to score a goal after the 75th minute of play.
Can the last-minute Czechs strike late this time too?
Friendlies have given the North Macedonians nothing to cheer about of late, winning just two of their last eight test matches (2 draws, 4 defeats).
Even more worryingly, the Balkan side have scored once in their last ten away friendlies (4 draws, 6 defeats).
Last but not least: the last time they won a friendly away from home was against Azerbaijan in 2011!
So you can almost be glad that the sports betting providers are offering odds for the match between the Czech Republic and North Macedonia that make placing a single bet on the European Championship participants at least halfway profitable.
The hosts’ odds of victory promise odds of around 1.50, which, even after deducting the applicable tax, makes placing a single bet worthwhile
Conclusion: Regardless of the latest developments on both sides, the European Championship participants should be victorious simply because of the different goals as far as June 2024 is concerned.
The North Macedonian footballers will soon be heading into the summer break, where they can begin to work on the many issues that separate them from a possible participation in the 2026 World Cup.
The Czech Republic, meanwhile, recorded an outstanding victory over Malta a few days ago without the country’s best players on the pitch from the start.
Consequently, in my Czech Republic-North Macedonia betting tip, I assume that CZE will have a successful dress rehearsal tonight
