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The second semifinal match at Euro 2012 takes place this Thursday at 2:45 ET in the National Stadium of Poland when heavily favored Germany takes on Italy. The winner will play against the winner of the Spain vs. Portugal matchup in the finals. Get your odds for Euro 2012 today.

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While Spain may be the No. 1 team in the world, the Germans aren’t far behind. Germany charged right through the “Group of Death” with wins over Poland, Holland and Denmark, and took care of Greece 4-2 in a game that wasn’t even as close as that final score suggests. Loaded on offense and showing poise on defense in this tournament as well, Germany is currently the favorite to win the Euro 2012 tournament over Spain at 3/2. Clicking on all cylinders, Germany will be a very tough opponent for Italy to beat.

The Germans may be without midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, who is nursing an ankle injury and had a rough game against Greece. Striker Mario Gomez currently shares the tournament goal scoring lead with Cristiano Ronaldo with three, and is the favorite at 7/4 to score the most goals in the tournament.

Currently ranked 12th in the world in the FIFA world rankings, Italy may be moving its way up a bit with this semifinal showing at Euro 2012. After earning draws against Spain and Croatia, Italy topped Ireland to advance to the elimination round and beat England in penalties on Sunday. Italy controlled the tempo of the game and likely should have put it away before extra time; the extra 30 minutes of play coupled with 48 hours less rest can’t help Italy’s chances of upsetting the Germans. Italy is going off at 5/1 odds to win Euro 2012.

Mario Balotelli continues to be an enigma for the Italian side after failing to score on multiple opportunities against England, but he did convert on his penalty. Andrea Pirlo also scored on a penalty, delivering a soft spot kick counting on the goalkeeper to dive that got the soccer world buzzing.

Current odds list Germany as a -130 favorite to win in 90 minutes of play with Italy listed at +400 and draw odds of +250.

Winners of Euro 2008 and the World Cup in 2010, Spain has been on top of the soccer world for years, and will look to keep it that way Wednesday with a win in the semifinals over Portugal. Spain backers will have plenty of prop options for their side heading into the big game as well. Bet on Euro 2012 today.

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Prop bettors looking to bet on individual performances can bet on who will be the first goal scorer of the match as well as who will win the UEFA Man of the Match honors. Leading contenders for Spain in the first goal scorer category include Fernando Torres (5/1), Cesc Febregas (6/1), Fernando Llorente (6/1) and Alvaro Negredo (6/1) while Man of the Match favorites include Andres Iniesta (6/1), Xavi Hernandez (6/1) and David Silva (7/1).

Have a good idea of how the game will go and want to get better odds than just betting the end result? Try betting the “Half Time / Full Time” or “Correct Score” props. “Spain / Spain” (Spain leads at the end of the first half and second half) is the favorite at 11/5, while Spain getting the go-ahead goal in the second half with “Draw / Spain” is 4/1. Spain winning outright 1-0 is 9/2, 2-0 is 7/1, and 2-1 is 17/2.

Will Spain be able to shut out Cristiano Ronaldo with its smothering defense and possession game? If you believe they will, there could be some solid value in the alternate totals props betting the “Under 1.5” at +150, or betting on “No Goalscorer” for the Portugal side at 6/1.

Germany hasn’t needed more than 90 minutes to settle the score through each of its first four games of the Euro 2012 tournament, and the Germans are favored to keep that dominance alive Thursday with they face Italy. Bettors looking for other ways to wager on Germany other than just taking them to win will have plenty of prop betting options to choose from. Get your Euro 2012 odds today.

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Will Germany’s powerful offense be able to put up big numbers against Mario Buffon and Italy’s stingy defense? Bettors expecting a high-scoring game from Germany have plenty of profitable props to choose from. Looking at alternate Over/Unders, the Over 3.5 is +330 and the Over 4.5 is +800.

Germany winning by one goal is the favorite under the “Winning Margin” prop bet at 5/2, with Germany by two goals at 9/2, Germany by three goals at 10/1, and Germany by four or more goals at 20/1. Germany is favored to score first and last with both options available at -175.

While betting on Germany to win in 90 minutes plus injury time is -130, specific “Half Time / Full Time” results offer better payouts including “Germany / Germany” at 21/10, “Draw / Germany” at 4/1 and “Italy / Germany” at 33/1.

Odds on “First Goal Scorer” and “Last Goal Scorer” are the same. Germany’s Mario Gomez and Miroslav Klose are each going off at 5/1 and Lukas Podolski is going off at 15/2. Expect any of Germany’s offensive stars to score more than once? Gomez is 6/1 to score at least two goals and Klose is 7/1 to do so. Gomez scored twice in Germany’s 2-1 win over Holland in the group stage.

The second semifinal match at Euro 2012 takes place this Thursday at 2:45 ET in the National Stadium of Poland when heavily favored Germany takes on Italy. The winner will play against the winner of the Spain vs. Portugal matchup in the finals. Get your odds for Euro 2012 today.

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While Spain may be the No. 1 team in the world, the Germans aren’t far behind. Germany charged right through the “Group of Death” with wins over Poland, Holland and Denmark, and took care of Greece 4-2 in a game that wasn’t even as close as that final score suggests. Loaded on offense and showing poise on defense in this tournament as well, Germany is currently the favorite to win the Euro 2012 tournament over Spain at 3/2. Clicking on all cylinders, Germany will be a very tough opponent for Italy to beat.

The Germans may be without midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, who is nursing an ankle injury and had a rough game against Greece. Striker Mario Gomez currently shares the tournament goal scoring lead with Cristiano Ronaldo with three, and is the favorite at 7/4 to score the most goals in the tournament.

Currently ranked 12th in the world in the FIFA world rankings, Italy may be moving its way up a bit with this semifinal showing at Euro 2012. After earning draws against Spain and Croatia, Italy topped Ireland to advance to the elimination round and beat England in penalties on Sunday. Italy controlled the tempo of the game and likely should have put it away before extra time; the extra 30 minutes of play coupled with 48 hours less rest can’t help Italy’s chances of upsetting the Germans. Italy is going off at 5/1 odds to win Euro 2012.

Mario Balotelli continues to be an enigma for the Italian side after failing to score on multiple opportunities against England, but he did convert on his penalty. Andrea Pirlo also scored on a penalty, delivering a soft spot kick counting on the goalkeeper to dive that got the soccer world buzzing.

Current odds list Germany as a -130 favorite to win in 90 minutes of play with Italy listed at +400 and draw odds of +250

Winners of Euro 2008 and the World Cup in 2010, Spain has been on top of the soccer world for years, and will look to keep it that way Wednesday with a win in the semifinals over Portugal. Spain backers will have plenty of prop options for their side heading into the big game as well. Bet on Euro 2012 today.

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Prop bettors looking to bet on individual performances can bet on who will be the first goal scorer of the match as well as who will win the UEFA Man of the Match honors. Leading contenders for Spain in the first goal scorer category include Fernando Torres (5/1), Cesc Febregas (6/1), Fernando Llorente (6/1) and Alvaro Negredo (6/1) while Man of the Match favorites include Andres Iniesta (6/1), Xavi Hernandez (6/1) and David Silva (7/1).

Have a good idea of how the game will go and want to get better odds than just betting the end result? Try betting the “Half Time / Full Time” or “Correct Score” props. “Spain / Spain” (Spain leads at the end of the first half and second half) is the favorite at 11/5, while Spain getting the go-ahead goal in the second half with “Draw / Spain” is 4/1. Spain winning outright 1-0 is 9/2, 2-0 is 7/1, and 2-1 is 17/2.

Will Spain be able to shut out Cristiano Ronaldo with its smothering defense and possession game? If you believe they will, there could be some solid value in the alternate totals props betting the “Under 1.5” at +150, or betting on “No Goalscorer” for the Portugal side at 6/1.

June 29 (Reuters) - The Euro 2012 soccer tournament helped online gambling exchange Betfair to report strong trading on Friday, with the development of mobile apps seen as a driver of future revenue growth.

The online bet-matching company, set up 12 years ago, reported a 15 percent rise in underlying profits (EBITDA) from its core businesses to 92 million pounds ($142.66 million) in the year to April 30. Betfair shares rose 2.8 percent to 755.5p by 0825 GMT.

Interim chief executive Stephen Morana said that this month's Euro 2012 championships had been "the world's biggest ever sports betting event", noting that the company had taken more bets on the tournament than it did on the 2010 World Cup.

Betfair said that revenue from core operations was up 18 percent over the past eight weeks. Morana said that Euro 2012 was responsible for about a third of the increase.

The company also highlighted a sharp increase in mobile betting on smartphones and tablet computers. The company produced a Euro 2012 mobile app and said that it could replicate the product for future major tournaments.

Chief technology officer Tony McAlister, who developed the app, said that the migration to mobile would enhance revenues.

Read More:UPDATE 2-Betfair boosted by Euro soccer, mobile apps | Reuters

The stage is finally set as the Euro 2012 final will be played on Sunday at 2:45 PM ET between Spain and Italy in the Kiev Olympic Stadium in the Ukraine. Which team will be crowned the Euro 2012 champion? Get soccer odds for the tournament at Bovada.

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After a dominating 2-0 performance over France in the quarterfinals, the Spanish side didn’t look quite as dominant Wednesday in its win over Portugal. It was a fairly sloppy game for both teams that ended 0-0 at the end of 120 minutes plus injury time, but Spain prevailed 4-2 in penalties. While Spain’s offense couldn’t find its rhythm, the defense was able to hold Cristiano Ronalo and Portugal scoreless; Spain has allowed just one goal all tournament long and hasn’t given one up in four straight games.

Xabi Alonso missed the first penalty kick taken by Spain, but the team converted on its next four tries with goals from Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos, and Cesc Fabregas.

Everyone was pencilling Germany in to the final against Spain after their four straight wins heading into the semifinals, but Italy had other plans. The Italians shocked Germany in a 2-1 upset, getting two first-half goals from Mario Balotelli and holding on for the win. The goal came in injury time after a handball in the box; Italy actually controlled the tempo for most of the game. They’ll look to shock the soccer world again Sunday with an upset over Spain.

With those two goals, Mario Balotelli moved into a tie with four others for the tournament’s goal scoring lead with three. If he scores a goal Sunday and none of the Spanish players currently with two don’t score two more, he will be the tournament’s standalone top goal scorer.

Current odds list Spain as a +100 favorite to win in 90 minutes of play with Italy listed at +280 and draw odds of +240. In the group stage, these two teams played to a 1-1 draw.

No Balotelli. It was just Spain, Spain and Spain who became the first team to win back to back Euro cup on Sunday in the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv as they thrashed Italy by an astonishing 4-0 score line at the Euro 2012 through the goals scored by David Silva, Jordi Alba, Fernando Torres and Juan Mata in the 14th, 41st, 84th and 88th minute of the match respectively.

Spain divided the four goals into two in each half undermining all the past record.

Fernando Torres won the golden boot with three goals as those were in the fewest minutes. Italy had used three subsitutes, so when in the 61st minute Motta got injure and had to taken away the Azzurri were reduced to 10 players. While Gianluigi Buffon had a dreaded match for Italy, Iker Casillas performed superbly for Spain blocking at least a couple of certain goals.

All talks of Mario Balotelli and Andrea Pirlo proved futile as the Spaniards teamed up superbly to give no chance to Italy.
Reining FIFA World Cup holder Spain won its third European crown after the 1964 and 2008 win. Spain became the first team to win three major tournament in a row.

Prior to this game Spain had not allowed a goal in nine straight knockout games dating back to Euro 2008 and it kept the record intact.


Read More: Spain Vs Italy Euro 2012 final score: It was Spain all the way | Northern Voices Online: NVO News Blog

Even though the Olympics are almost upon us, the current sports headlines across much of Europe are celebrating the signing of Swedish soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimovic by the French club Paris Saint-Germain. The three-year deal is worth a reported $30.5 million for Ibrahimovic’s former team, AC Milan, and an estimated net salary of $17 million a year for the man French dailies are already giddily calling “Ibra.” Sporting director Leonardo described the move as “the biggest deal in this club’s history,” with Ibrahimovic himself thanking his Brazilian boss and the club for making “something impossible possible and now I am very happy … I’m here to make history and I will enjoy all the trophies we bring home.”

Read more: Soccer Star Zlatan Ibrahimovic Joins PSG ? And Qatari Owner’s Business Empire | Keeping Score | TIME-com

The sponsorship of sports teams used to be the domain of cigarette and beer or liquor producers but as the rules regarding safe and responsible advertizing have changed we are now subject to the influences of online gambling firms and sports equipment producers and of course the odd insurance company.

The latest company to sign on as a major sponsor for the football club Manchester United is online betting firm Bwin sportsbetting. Manchester United already has a few full time sponsorships that pay millions of BSP for the privilege of having their names associated with the club. The top league UK football club has had offers from all corners of the globe willing to pay handsomely for the rights to advertize their products and services to the millions of football fans in Europe and beyond. Betfair is leaving the pole position as Manchester United's sponsor in this field and Bwin is now taking over after a successful partnership between Betfair and the Red Devils for the past three years. Prior to that sponsorship deal, Betfred held the sought after place in the advertizing sphere.

Read More: Online Sportsbook Bwin To Sponsor Manchester United FC

As Tom Werner walked down Boylston Street recently, he was stopped, recognized by a fan. Not a Red Sox fan, though.

Perhaps just 100 yards from Fenway Park, Werner was recognized not for the beloved baseball team he helped bring to two World Series titles, but for his work with Liverpool Football Club, the English Premier League team an ocean away.

The reach is great — of Liverpool, of the English Premier League, of top-level European soccer. And many of those clubs, in an effort to extend their fan bases in the emerging soccer market of the United States, are doing so with summer tours of the country, with exhibitions such as the Liverpool-AS Roma game at Fenway Wednesday.

But who are the Liverpool diehards who will be packing Fenway Park?

Read More: Liverpool, other European teams can help soccer’s popularity in USA - Sports - The Boston Globe

One of the globe's most in-demand players, both in the media column inches and in the transfer market, will have the eyes of the sporting world upon him over the coming weeks as Brazil's Olympic side get ready to launch an offensive on the gold medal of the men's football tournament.

Neymar, who plays his club football with Santos, will be their star man.


Read More: Brazil Olympic Soccer Team: Why All Eyes Will Be on Neymar | Bleacher Report

Argentina is the two-time defending champion at the Olympic men's soccer tournament, but they didn't even qualify for the field for London. Instead, it's Brazil and Spain who are listed as the top favorites on the soccer odds at Bovada to claim the gold medal.

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The men's soccer tournament at the Summer Olympics is restricted to players age 23 and under, with 16 teams divided into four groups for the event. Along with Argentina, 2000 Olympic champion Cameroon, 1996 Olympic champion Nigeria, and the United States all failed to make the field for the tournament as well.

That leaves Spain as the most recent Olympic soccer champion in the field for the event – they won the tournament on home soil at the Barcelona games in 1992, and they're at 12/5 to claim the gold medal in London. The Spaniards won the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship in Denmark in 2011.

Spain, however, trails 13/8 Brazil on the odds to win the men's soccer tournament at Bovada. The Brazilians have never won Olympic gold in soccer; they won the third-place match in Beijing four years ago. Brazil won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia in 2011.

Uruguay (8/1), host nation Great Britain (9/1), and Switzerland (10/1) follow Brazil and Spain on the odds to win the gold medal in soccer in London, with Mexico set at 14/1.

The second tier of contenders for the tournament are Japan (33/1), South Korea (33/1), Senegal (40/1), Belarus (50/1), Egypt (50/1), Morocco (50/1), and Gabon (66/1), while Honduras (125/1), New Zealand (150/1), and the UAE (200/1) are the longshots.

In Group betting, Great Britain is the favorite at EVEN to win Group A, with Switzerland at +125 atop Group B, Brazil at -800 in Group C, and Spain pegged at -500 to win Group D.

The American women have finished atop the podium in soccer in three of the four Olympic Games since the tournament was added to the event, and they're set as the favorites at Bovada to pick up the gold medal once again in London.

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The United States won the inaugural women's Olympic soccer tournament in Atlanta in 1996, then fell to Norway in the first-place match in Sydney in 2000. The Americans then won back-to-back gold medals at the Games in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008.

That has the Americans pegged as the 7/4 favorites on the soccer odds at Bovada to win the gold medal at the tournament in London, with Brazil just behind them on that list at 7/2. Brazil lost the first-place match to the United States in both Athens and Beijing, and they were beaten in the third-place match in both Atlanta and Sydney.

Japan is next at 5/1 odds to win women's soccer gold in London, and they're coming off a victory in the FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany in 2011 – beating the United States in the first-place match at that tournament. Japan's best-ever Olympic showing in women's soccer was a fourth-place finish in Beijing.

France and Sweden are then both at 9/1 odds to win the gold medal, with host Great Britain at 10/1. Sweden beat France 2-1 in the third-place match at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Canada (20/1), North Korea (25/1), New Zealand (66/1), Cameroon (80/1), Colombia (80/1), and South Africa (100/1) round out the field for the tournament, with the nations divided into three groups and no restrictions on the ages of the participants.

Brazil is the -300 favorite to win Group E, with Japan the -120 favorite on the soccer odds at Bovada for Group F, and the United States sitting atop the Group G odds at -300.

More than 400 miles from center stage, the coach of the U.S. women’s soccer team leaned toward the microphone and gave her own musical opening to the Olympic Games.

“Have a little faith in me,” sang Pia Sundhage, channeling John Hiatt in perfect pitch — complete with a soulful flourish at the end.

The competitive portion of the London Games begins today, two days before the Opening Ceremony and far removed from the nonstop Olympic freneticism of the British capital. Soccer is one of two sports that starts early — archery is the other — because the extra days are needed to play a sufficient slate of games that doesn’t wear out the players.

Read More: U.S. women’s soccer opens Olympic Games today | Olympic Sports | Detroit Free Press | freep-com

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An early start to the Olympics turned into an early hole for the U.S. women's soccer team, which gave up two quick goals before unleashing an attack the rest of the world will find hard to stop.

Abby Wambach used her size and strength to put in a header, Alex Morgan applied her speed to chip one over the goalkeeper and Carli Lloyd broke the tie with a 25-yard rocket. All of which sent the two-time defending goal medalists to a 4-2 victory over France on Wednesday as they opened their London Games far from London.

Read More: Soccer: U.S. women open Olympics with win | Deseret News

The men's Olympic tournament has long been known as the wildest and wackiest competition in world soccer. The roll call of past champions includes such soccer powerhouses as Sweden, Hungary and Belgium, but never Brazil.

Sure enough, the opening matches of the 2012 Games unfolded with the customary parade of stunners, as Spain, a favorite for the gold medal, lost to Japan, 1-0, while another leading contender, Uruguay, escaped an early deficit to beat the United Arab Emirates, 2-1.

Even Brazil, which scored three times in the opening half hour against Egypt, endured a nervy finale before holding on to win, 3-2.

By the time Great Britain's first appearance at the Summer Games since 1960 ended in a 1-1 draw with Senegal at Old Trafford in Manchester, this Olympic tournament was looking like one of the most wide-open in years.

Read More: Olympic Men's Soccer Results: Britain and Senegal Tie, Spain Loses - WSJ-com

With the exception of last summer's World Cup matches with Brazil and Japan, the U.S. women's soccer team generally faces few challenges on the field. So Coach Pia Sundhage has tried to foster some of that off the pitch by rotating players through her starting lineup.

"It's a good team and there is competition," she said Friday while preparing for the U.S.'s second Olympic match, Saturday against Colombia at historic Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland (NBC Sports Network, 9 a.m. PDT). "I would rather put it like I want to give other players the chance to play. I believe that whoever is in the starting lineup, that will be our best starting lineup."

In Wednesday's Olympic opener, that meant starting Shannon Boxx in the midfield and leaving Carli Lloyd on the bench. But when Boxx sustained a leg injury in the 17th minute, Lloyd came on to score the go-ahead goal in a 4-2 victory over France.

"That's a very good way to jump into the game and make a difference," Sundhage said. "She is ready."

Which is why the coach said Lloyd will be back in the lineup against Colombia, with the U.S. needing a win to clinch a berth in the tournament quarterfinals.

Read more here: U.S. women's soccer team is not afraid to change | CharlotteObserver-com & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper

Abby Wambach lay on her stomach, kicking the turf in pain from a freshly minted black eye. Had she been somewhere other than a soccer field, she might have responded differently to her aggressor.

Instead, she merely broke the U.S. women's soccer record for goals at the Olympics. Wambach's second-half goal put her atop the all-time list Saturday as the Americans dominated feisty Colombia 3-0, guaranteeing a spot in the quarterfinals of the London Games soccer tournament.

Megan Rapinoe scored in the first half and celebrated by wishing injured teammate Ali Krieger a happy birthday, and Carli Lloyd had a late goal in her return to the starting lineup.

But niceties were otherwise few and far between in a game that included 30 fouls -- with no altercation more painful than when Lady Andrade hit Wambach in the face in the 39th minute.

"I'm running toward the goal to get position, and I got sucker-punched," said Wambach, sporting a black semicircle under her swollen right eye after the game. "It's clear. We have it on film, so it's up to the Olympic committee and FIFA to decide what to do."

Read More: 2012 Summer Olympics -- U.S. women's soccer blanks Colombia - ESPN Los Angeles