Joe Casey
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Euro 2024 rolls on on Thursday with tournament favorites England in action and looking to build on their opening-round win over Serbia. First up on Thursday, June 20, we have Slovenia vs Serbia at 9:00 am ET on FS1 which is immediately followed by Denmark vs England at 12:00 pm ET on the same station. Rounding off the day’s action is a huge matchup with Spain taking on Italy at 3:00 pm ET live on FOX. We have expert soccer predictions for EVERY Euro 2024 and Copa America game throughout both tournaments, but for now, let’s dive into our Euro 2024 best bets for Thursday, June 20.
Denmark vs England best bet: England Win in Shutout (+137)
England will like their chances of collecting another 3 points in Group C when they face Denmark in Frankfurt on Thursday. The Three Lions did enough to earn a 1-0 win in their opening clash with Serbia, despite letting their grip of the game slip in the second half. Watching Gareth Southgate’s team go into their shell after taking the lead is nothing new and can be frustrating for their fans, but the team successfully achieved what they set out to do. The 1-0 victory in Gelsenkirchen was typical of Southgate’s reign in recent tournaments as it was accompanied by a clean sheet. England have now shut out their opponents in 9 of their last 13 games across Euro 2020, the 2022 World Cup and the current Euro 2024 finals in Germany at a ratio approaching 70%, which far exceeds the likes of Spain (42%), France (27%) or Croatia (17%) over the same period. Expect the same here against Denmark.
Read our full Denmark vs England predictions
Spain vs Italy best bet: Spain ML & both teams to score (+350)
Spain and Italy will be looking to seal a place in the knockout phase of Euro 2024 when the familiar foes clash in a pivotal Group B game in Gelsenkirchen on Thursday. Both teams won their opening contests with Spain enjoying a more comfortable ride in beating Croatia 3-0 than the Italians did when coming from behind to beat Albania 2-1. La Roja roared into top gear midway through the first half to cruelly exploit gaps in Croatia’s defense and put the result beyond doubt before halftime.
Spain have scored 14 goals and conceded 6 across their last 7 European Championship finals matches, so it would be no surprise to see De La Fuente’s team score and concede in this contest too. They should probably have conceded at least once against Croatia, but Bruno Petkovic missed a second-half penalty and then saw his make-up effort ruled out for encroachment at the original spot-kick. That award went against Spain after they were caught out playing from the back and Italy will almost certainly be looking to press them when they can in this game. The pressing of Luciano Spalletti’s side was a feature of their win over Albania with Italy carving out several chances after winning possession in their opponent’s defensive third. With that in mind, getting +350 for Spain to win and both teams to score looks a strong wager.
Read our full Spain vs Italy predictions
