Euro 2008 betting odds were available for the following matchups:

Croatia vs. Germany (Thursday); Austria vs. Poland (Thursday); Holland vs. France (Friday); Italy vs. Romania (Friday); Sweden vs. Spain (Saturday); Greece vs. Russia (Saturday).

Croatia had 9/2 odds as the underdog.  Romania had 9/2 odds as the underdog.  France was listed with 17/10 odds.  Holland was listed with 8/5 odds.  Sweden paid 19/4 odds.  Greece was listed with 5/2 odds.  All other teams had even or shorter odds heading into their respective matchups.

Sportingbet was offsetting any decreased value in odds by offering a 20 percent signup bonus exclusive to Gambling911.com readers by joining through this link.

Euro 2008 betting odds typically do not feature the best value unless betting an underdog like Croatia or Greece.

And Germany is far from a "lock" to win on Thursday.  From the BBC:

"This is most probably the toughest challenge in Germany's group, and I do believe they will struggle against Croatia's midfield. The likes of Modric, Srna and Olic will seriously trouble the not-so-decent defence duo of Metzelder and Metersacker.

"I really do believe this could be a lively little number. If Croatia can play for longer than the 25 minutes they managed against Austria, I think they might cause Germany a few problems. And surely it's worth testing Jens Lehmann out with a few long-range punts?"

The big question concerning this matchup: Will key player Luka Modric have fully recovered from a mild ankle/Achilles tendon/hamstring injury?

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Alistair Prescott, Gambling911.com

Originally published June 12, 2008 11:43 am EST