Men's Olympic Football: Four Betting Tips From The Semi-Finals
We have now reached the semi-final stage of the Olympics men’s tournament after Friday's dramatic quarter-finals.
France, the favourites with the UK betting sites, beat Argentina 1-0 in a feisty affair. On Monday they will face Egypt, who beat Paraguay on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the last eight.
Spain eased past Japan to book their place in the semi-finals, triumphing 3-0 in Lyon. They are set to do battle with dark horses Morocco, who thrashed the USA 4-0 in the quarter-finals.
Gambling.com’s experts on The Panel have checked out the latest odds for the two semi-finals and picked out two tips for each of them.
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Men's Olympic Football Predictions:
- The Panel Tip 1: Spain To Beat Morocco - 23/20 With BoyleSports
- The Panel Tip 2: Fermin Lopez To Be Anytime Scorer- 10/3 With Bet365
- The Panel Tip 3: France To Beat Egypt To Nil - 23/20 With BetMGM
- The Panel Tip 4: France And Egypt to Draw At Half-Time - 8/5 With Unibet
Morocco Vs Spain, Monday 5pm
Spain’s under-23 team is looking to make this an even better summer for the country after the senior side won the European Championship last month.
La Roja slipped up on matchday three of the group stage, losing 2-1 to Egypt and dropping down to second place. But Spain bounced back last time out with that comfortable victory over a solid Japanese outfit.
Morocco are the dark horses at this competition on football betting sites, a role they took on following a surprise 2-1 defeat of Argentina in their very first outing.
That result set them on their way to top spot in Group B, although a 2-1 loss to Ukraine showed the North Africans are not infallible. However, Morocco were thoroughly impressive in the quarter-finals as they thumped the Americans 4-0.
The Atlas Lions should not be underestimated in the semis, but Spain should ultimately prove too strong. We fancy La Roja to get the job done in 90 minutes.
The Panel Tip 1: Spain To Beat Morocco - 23/20 With BoyleSports
Lopez To Strike, Again
Fermin Lopez was Spain’s standout performer in the 3-0 defeat of Japan on Friday. He has now scored three times at this tournament, second only to Soufiane Rahimi of Morocco.
He struck twice in Lyon - once in the first half and once in the second - to set Santi Denia’s side on their way.
Lopez has won two caps at senior level and he has done his chances of a more permanent place in Luis de la Fuente’s squad no harm over the last couple of weeks.
He plays as a No.10 in Spain’s 4-2-3-1 formation at the Olympics and frequently gets himself into dangerous goalscoring positions.
The Barcelona man will have his eyes on the top scorer prize, even if he is primarily focused on helping Spain to progress to the final of the tournament. Lopez can make his mark in this fixture too.
The Panel Tip 2: Fermin Lopez To Be Anytime Scorer - 10/3 With Bet365
France Vs Egypt, Monday 8pm
France edged out Argentina 1-0 in the quarter-finals, maintaining their 100% record in the tournament, but they had to withstand some late pressure from Argentina to advance.
Off-field events turned the tie into something of a grudge match and it concluded with a 30-man tussle involving players and members of both teams’ coaching staff.
Egypt have upset the odds on betting apps as they surprisingly pipped Spain to top spot in their group, before squeezing past Paraguay on penalties on Friday.
Anything they achieve from here will be a bonus, with Egypt already guaranteed to be involved in the bronze-medal match at a minimum.
Nothing can be taken for granted in this sport, but it is hard to look past France in this one. Les Bleus should be able to shut Egypt out on their way to victory in Lyon.
The Panel Tip 3: France To Beat Egypt To Nil - 23/20 With BetMGM
French Patience Might Be Needed
Egypt might struggle to get the better of France, who will benefit from home support. Yet it would be unwise for the hosts to expect a procession.
The Egyptians can be resolute, gritty opponents and they will be set out to make life as difficult as possible for their more celebrated opponents in this semi-final clash.
France might have to be patient. They cannot afford to be sucked into any of the dark arts that Egypt may employ.
Thierry Henry’s team might even need to wait until the second period before they make a breakthrough, and the Phraroahs might be happy to get to half-time all square.
Egypt have not been behind at the interval at all this summer and that bodes well for their attempts to keep France’s attack under wraps in the first 45 minutes.
The home team should ultimately get the job done, but they could be frustrated in the first half.
The Panel Tip 4: France And Egypt To Draw At Half-Time - 8/5 With Unibet
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