Despite having a losing record in international play of 3-4-1 over its last eight games, Wales has played its way into the quarterfinals of the Euro 2016 tournament. Gareth Bale will try to lead the Welsh to another upset win this Friday against Belgium.
Wales vs. Belgium odds, Euro 2016: Wales big underdog vs Belgium in quarterfinal match
Wales and Belgium fight for a spot in the Euro 2016 semifinals this Friday night in France, with the Belgians pegged as big betting favorites.
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Wales is a +450 underdog to win in regulation in this quarterfinals matchup at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. A draw would pay +230, and Belgium is a -137 favorite to pick up a regulation win.
Entering the European Championship with a winless streak of four games and a 1-4-1 record over its last six games, Wales didn’t appear to be in top form heading into group play. But with wins over Slovakia and Russia, Wales came out on top of Group B, and followed that up with a 1-0 win in the Round of 16 over Northern Ireland.
Bale scored in each game of the knockout round and set up the own goal against Northern Ireland with a hard cross pass into the box.
Wales has enjoyed some recent success against Belgium. After drawing its previous two games against Belgium, Wales won 1-0 in a qualifying match between the two sides last June.
Belgium has been getting better with each game in the tournament. Since losing to Italy 2-1 in the group stage, Belgium hasn’t allowed a goal, defeating the Republic of Ireland 3-0 and Sweden 1-0 before blowing out Hungary 4-0 in the knockout stage.
Avoiding the more dangerous side of the Euro 2016 bracket, Belgium has emerged as one of the favorites to win the tournament, currently going off at +400 behind only Germany and France.
The total for Friday’s game is set at two goals. Each of the last four games between these two teams has had two goals or less scored in it.
Belgium has a stronger all-around team than Wales, but Wales is playing with plenty of confidence and nothing to lose. With a recent win over Belgium under Wales’ belt, the underdog could plant some seeds of doubt if it is able to keep the game close or find a goal in the early stages of the contest.
