The final round of 16 games at the European Championships take place on Tuesday, 29th June. There will be no shortage of excitement around Europe when it comes to the two games taking place on this day, with the eye-catching fixture being the one between England and Germany at Wembley. The last game of the round takes place afterwards, as Sweden battle Ukraine.
England vs Germany
When the round of 16 ties were set, the fixture between England and Germany was the game that stood out from the rest. The history between the two nations means that there will be high stakes on the line, with England looking to finally overcome the past hurt against the old enemy at EURO 96 and the World Cup in 2010.
Both nations are yet to find their stride at EURO 2020 this summer, which only adds further intrigue for when they meet at Wembley. England took seven points from their three group games to top Group D, and will be the narrow favourites in the betting for this fixture. Gareth Southgate’s team haven’t conceded a goal yet, but this will be a fixture that will test his young side’s temperament as well as their ability. Phil Foden could be recalled for the fixture, which could mean that Jack Grealish may miss out.
Germany picked up four points from the three games that they played in the group stages. They were beaten by France in the opening game, before bouncing back with a dominant victory against Portugal. The Germans narrowly avoided an embarrassing exit at the group stages for the second major tournament in a row on the final matchday, as they fought back from 2-1 down against Hungary to get the point they needed to progress.
This will be the first meeting between England and Germany since a 0-0 draw in November 2017. We find it hard to rule out a draw in normal time, and could easily see history repeating itself with a penalty shootout victory for the Germans.
Pick: The draw at 2.25 with BetXChange.
Sweden vs Ukraine
The round of 16 comes to a close with a match between Sweden and Ukraine on Tuesday evening. It will be a huge chance for both these nations to earn a spot in the quarterfinals, where they could come up against England or Germany in Rome.
It could easily be argued that Sweden are the dark horses in this competition, as they find themselves in the easier half of the draw, and just have to navigate three games to reach the final. Sweden have often been a nation that have had a strong defensive record in the major tournaments, but they also have quality at the top end of the field these days. They have scored four goals in the three games that they have played, with three of those goals coming in their 3-2 victory against Poland to secure top spot in Group E.
Ukraine have perhaps been better in the EUROs this summer than their results have suggested. They qualified for this round after being one of the best third-place teams, as they claimed three points in a tight group that also included the Netherlands and Austria. Their only win came against North Macedonia, but they will need to improve on that performance once again to beat Sweden.
A case could be made for both Sweden and Ukraine to qualify for the next round of the competition. However, Sweden’s performances have been impressive so far, and we give them a slightly better chance of reaching the quarterfinals.
Pick: Sweden at 1.41 with BetXChange.
