Euro 2004 Betting Review
17th June 2008, by
Centrebet offered odds on Euro 2004 throughout UEFA's premier international soccer competition. UEFA included 50 of its 51 member associations - Portugal qualified for the tournament as hosts automatically - when officials from the football body conducted the Euro 2004 preliminary round draw in Oporto. UEFA split the 50 sides into ten groups of five teams and decreed that the Euro 2004 preliminary games should take place on the ten allocated international matchdays between September 2002 and October 2003. The ten group winners qualify for the Euro 2004 tournament. The ten group runners-up take part in five play-off games on a home-and-away basis in November 2003, with the five victorious sides progressing to Euro 2004.
We provided prospective punters a full 2004 European Championships football betting schedule for planning their bets.
Euro 2004 Betting Options:
Centrebet quoted hundreds of Euro 2004 betting odds on every game, allowing punters to wager on everything from the match result to the identity of the contest's first goal scorer, for the thirty-one fixtures which comprise the 2004 programme. Euro 2004 Futures betting was also available throughout the tournament, enabling punters to back one or more countries for title glory at any stage of the competition. Another popular long-term market was the Golden Boot. Milan Baros from the Czech Republic took out the award with 5 goals.
Euro 2004 betting opportunities commenced with the season kick off in Oporto on June 12 and concluded in Lisbon on July 4. Sixteen teams competed in the first phase, with the top two teams in each of the four groups advancing to the quarter-finals, from which stage it became a knockout competition. Portugal were attempting to become the fourth European Championship host nation to win the tournament and the first since France beat Spain 2-0 in the 1984 final. Although Portugal reached the final, outsiders Greece shocked the world with a 1-0 victory over the hosts.
Other countries that expected to make an impact at Euro 2004 included England, Germany and Spain. England have never progressed past the semi-final stage of a European Championship, whereas Germany (1972 in Belgium, 1980 in Italy and 1996 in England) and Spain (1964 on home soil) are previous winners. Eight nations have won the competition down the years. Denmark's defeat of Germany in the 1992 final was remarkable since the Danes were last-minute replacements for Yugoslavia following the outbreak of war in the Balkan region. Most of the favourites were knocked out before the semi-finals. Their next chance will come when Germany host the World Cup in 2006.
Centrebet also offers a online sports books on a wide range of European soccer fixtures, as well as offering online sports betting facilities on most major sporting codes and events. We've recently reviewed many of the upcoming European domestic football competitions, including English Premier League odds, German Bundesliga football betting, Italy's Serie A betting preview and Danish Superliga Football betting odds. Centrebet also offers UEFA Champions League odds, and UEFA Cup odds for season 2004-2005. Books for these events are now open for Centrebet customers. In order to bet on these sporting events, you first need to register to bet with Centrebet on our secure bet site. You can check our online sports betting calendar for more information on upcoming events.
last update : 17th June 2008 17:11