Things haven't gone particularly well for the United Kingdom lately. And things got even worse on Monday, when England lost 1-2 to Iceland in the Round of 16 at the Euro Championships. It was a well-deserved victory for soccer-mad Iceland, and a big payday for their supporters at +650 on the moneyline.

Iceland wasn't the only upset winner on Monday. Italy was a +320 underdog going into their Round of 16 match with the defending Euro champions from Spain, but the Azzurri prevailed 2-0. The score would have been even higher had it not been for Spanish goalkeeper David De Gea and his acrobatics.
 

The Love of the Game

Otherwise, the Round of 16 went largely as planned. France, the host nation, moved to the quarter-finals with a 2-1 win over Ireland (+850), although they had to come from behind after giving up a penalty to Robbie Brady in the second minute. Also advancing to the next round: Poland, Wales, Portugal, Germany and Belgium.

This sets up what should be a very entertaining quarter-finals. Here are the four matches in question, with ESPN providing the coverage at noon Eastern:

Thursday, June 30

Poland vs Portugal

Marseille

Friday, July 1

Wales vs Belgium

Lille

Saturday, July 2

Germany vs Italy

Bordeaux

Sunday, July 3

France vs Iceland

Saint-Denis

By now, nobody should be surprised with how well Iceland has performed at their first Euros. This tiny nation of 330,000 people has been deep into soccer for decades now; their facilities are state-of-the-art, and their athletes are devoutly committed to sports in a way that has become uncommon elsewhere. Iceland may be overvalued at +3300 on the Euro 2016 futures market, but they might be a single-game bargain once the odds for Sunday's matchup with France are released.

Poland certainly looks like a value bet at +280 in their match with Portugal (+120). This is a virtual coin flip on paper; Portugal snuck into the Round of 16 after three straight draws during the Group Stage, and were headed for a penalty shootout with Croatia before Ricardo Quaresma's goal in the 117th minute. Wales might also be worth a look at +450 versus Belgium (–145), with neither team having a signature win at the Euros thus far. Belgium could end up cruising to the championship game thanks to a weak bracket, but their 4-0 victory over a poor squad from Hungary shouldn't inspire too much confidence in their chances this Friday.

 


*Odds as of June 28, 2016