5 Tips for Wednesday’s Euro 2020 & Copa America Action – 23/6/21

The first game on this list of tips comes from Group E where Slovakia take on Spain at La Cartuja in Seville, where Spain will have to win if they are to guarantee themselves a place in the Round of 16 at Euro 2020, whilst Slovakia only need a draw for a top-two finish, having beaten Poland on matchday one.

Slovakia fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat against Sweden last time out having opted for a more defensive set-up to try and qualify on four points in the standings, however, an Emil Forsberg penalty with just over 10 minutes to go won the game for the Swedes, leaving Slovakia with a huge task going into their final group game.

Meanwhile, Luis Enrique’s Spain could only manage two draws from their opening matches against Sweden and Poland 0-0 and 1-1, with Alvaro Morata’s opener being cancelled out by a Robert Lewandowski header last time out.

Spain have failed to score more than two goals in seven out of their last 10 international matches, whilst Slovakia have won just two of their last nine international matches, including their group stage win against Poland, with a 2-1 victory over Russia in March being their only other, thanks to goals from Milan Skriniar and Robert Mak either side of Mario Fernandes 71st minute equaliser.

The other game in Group E sees fourth-placed Poland face group leaders Sweden in a match that could see the Poles catapult themselves ahead of the Swedes if they win.

Sweden managed to get a 0-0 draw with Spain on matchday one with just 15% ball possession, before beating Slovakia via a late Forsberg penalty last time out.

Meanwhile, Poland were beaten 2-1 by Slovakia having conceded an own goal from Wojciech Szczesny and Skriniar either side of Karol Linetty’s 46th-minute strike, in a game that also saw Grzegorz Krychowiak sent off. Last time out the Poles managed to earn a 1-1 draw with Spain as mentioned above, with Lewandowski scoring an early second-half equaliser.

The Bayern Munich striker is the player that we are focussing on here, having come into the Euros scoring a record of 41 Bundesliga goals last campaign. Lewandowski has a phenomenal goalscoring record for his country, finding the back of the net 67 times in 121 appearances. The 32-year-old has scored six goals in his last eight international matches against the likes of Bosnia, Hungary, Andorra and Spain, hence why he is priced at 5/4 to add to his tally.

In Group F, Germany take on Hungary in Munich at the Allianz Arena in a game where a victory for either side would see them qualify for the knockout stages.

Germany’s thumping 4-2 win against Portugal last time out was one of the games of the tournament so far, as having fallen behind to a Cristiano Ronaldo goal just 15 minutes into the game, Die Mannschaft’s tournament hopes looked bleak having narrowly lost to France on matchday one, before own goals by Ruben Dias and Raphael Guerreiro, as well as strikes by Kai Havertz and Robin Gosens inside the hour mark, put Joachim Low’s side into a 4-1 lead.

Hungary earned an incredible 1-1 draw with France last time out as Attila Fiola put the Magyars ahead in first-half stoppage time, prior to Antoine Griezmann hammering in an equaliser from close range in the 66th minute. Prior to this Marco Rossi’s side were beaten 3-0 by Portugal on matchday one.

Chelsea midfielder Havertz is the player we are looking at in this match, as the 22-year-old scored last time out, which was his third goal in his last seven international appearances having also bagged against Switzerland and Iceland. Havertz’s goal means that he has also managed seven-goal contributions across these matches and came into Euro 2020 fresh from scoring the winner in Chelsea’s Champions League final triumph over Manchester City.

Portugal play France in Group F’s other fixture, which depending on the score, could see the holders of the Euros be knocked out of the competition.

The Euro 2016 winners were hammered 4-2 at the hands of Germany shortly after their 3-0 victory against Hungary on matchday one where Ronaldo scored a brace shortly after Guerreiro’s 84th-minute opener.

Meanwhile, France narrowly beat Germany 1-0 on matchday one via an own goal by Borussia Dortmund centre-back Mats Hummels, before only managing a 1-1 draw with Hungary, with Euro 2016 Golden Boot winner Griezmann sparing some of Didier Deschamps’ sides blushes.

Portugal have managed just two clean-sheets in their last five games, conceding to Germany, Luxembourg and Serbia, showing last time out that despite having an array of good attacking talent, that they can susceptible to conceding goals.

France are in good form heading into this crucial fixture, having won five of their last six matches against Kazakhstan, Bosnia, Wales, Bulgaria and Germany, losing just once since June 2019.

The final game on this of tips comes from the Copa America, where Ecuador go head to head with Peru.

Ecuador will know that they will have to realistically win this game if they are to stand any chance of progressing to the knockout stages, following a 1-0 loss to Colombia on matchday one, as well as only managing a 2-2 draw with Venezuela last time out, as Ronald Hernandez’s 91st-minute equaliser denied them from taking all three points.

Peru come into this match on the back of a 2-1 victory against Colombia thanks to a Sergio Pena strike and an own goal by Everton defender Yerry Mina, having been hammered 4-0 on matchday one by Brazil.

The last time these two sides met was as recent as 8th June in a World Cup qualifier, where Peru ran out as 2-1 winners following goals from Christian Cueva and Luis Advincula.