It will be Spain and Italy contesting the Euro 2012 final, not Spain and Germany as many expected, and it seems the bookies are finally sitting up and taking notice of Italy despite being against them for most of the tournament. The Spain v Italy odds make this a tough match to call and it certainly looks as though it will be a close game.
Spain are freely available at 6/5 to win this game at the time of writing and those odds will appeal to many as Spain have won their last two major tournaments almost at a canter. They haven’t been quite so impressive this time around though and many think they are fortunate to be in the final after beating Portugal on penalties in the semi final. This means the Italians could have more than their fair share of backers at 3/1 generally but the bet that really catches the eye is the draw at 9/4.
The draw has been the most common result between these two sides, in twelve matches there have been just two wins for Spain, four wins for Italy and six draws. The most recent match between these two teams was just three weeks ago in the opening match from Group C which gives further credentials to the odds on the draw this weekend. That match ended 1-1 and it would be no huge shock if we saw the same scoreline here, especially with two of the last four European Championships ending 1-1. That outcome is priced up at 6/1 but it is worth noting that Spain have not conceded a goal in knockout football at a major tournament since 2006. That run consists of nine games, mostly against strong opposition and includes several games that required extra time. Spain have become specialists at keeping clean sheets in this sort of game so 0-0 remains a huge possibility at 6/1 whilst the odds on Spain keeping a clean sheet certainly appeal at 7/5.
There are some very strong European Championship Final stats on offer for us to tempt us into some more bets. The last time a European Championship final had more than two goals was back in 1980 so one of the best bets on this game has to be under 2.5 goals at 1/2. That has been a winning bet on all the games that these two teams have been involved in at Euro 2012 except one, Spain’s thrashing of Ireland. Another bet to appeal that involves a low scoring final is 0-0 at half time. Three of the last four European Championships finals have been 0-0 at half time and the odds on that happening this time around seem a little generous. That bet is available at 11/8 and the score between these sides in Group C at half time a few weeks back was – you guess it, 0-0.
