I'M pretty sure football should feature in the Olympics – I'm just not sure which players should be there.
Stuart Pearce had a helluva task whittling down his original squad to the ones who will represent GB in London.
And his side struggled for long periods against Brazil in their final warm-up, going down 2-0 to Stan James’ 6-4 tournament favourites.
They will need to improve if they are to be in with a chance of grabbing a medal and although I can see them winning their opener against Senegal I don't see the likes of Craig Bellamy and Ryan Giggs being on the podium.
That's due to the strength of some of the mainly Under-23 squads, in particular Brazil, Spain and Uruguay. Brazil take this event seriously and have included the likes of Neymar, Hulk, Pato and Oscar while Spain will parade stars such as Jordi Alba, Juan Mata and Iker Muniain at Hampden.
Bet365 make Team GB 10-1 to clinch Olympic gold and they start their campaign against Senegal at Old Trafford on Thursday (8pm). Pearce’s charges are well fancied at a biggest
8-13 with bet365 and the Africans 6-1 at Stan James.
Punters who watched last Friday’s performance might fancy Great Britain to struggle but Pearce’s troops haven’t been together for long and should improve against the Senegalese.
William Hill go 11-2 for Team GB to win 1-0 and that's a possibility. Daniel Sturridge has been well backed to score first and the Chelsea striker is 11-2 at BetVictor to do so.
Spain start against Japan (2.45pm) and should be too strong but best odds are 2-5 with Ladbrokes and bet365. And how appropriate would it be for Alba to score in Alba (Scotland). The Euro 2012 hero is 6-1 at Ladbrokes to hit the target.
Uruguay are also in action on Thursday and are 2-7 at Ladbrokes and Betfred to take care of UAE. First scorer should be a fight between Luis Suarez (7-2, Coral, BetVictor) and Edison Cavani (4-1, William Hill, BetVictor). Liverpool striker Suarez won't need any time to acclimatise so he could be the one to back.
Brazil open tonight (7.45pm) against Egypt and in Cardiff and it should be a routine win. The Brazilians are a biggest 2-9 with Betfred and if he starts it could pay to back Leandro Damiao for first scorer at 9-2 with BetVictor.
He isn't as well known in Europe as most of his team-mates but could be the first-choice centre-forward after goal-laden displays for Internacional.
Recommendations
Suarez to score first
(7-2, Coral, BetVictor)
Spain/Uruguay double
(4-7, Ladbrokes)
Damiao to score first
(9-2, BetVictor)
Spain v Brazil final
(3-1, William Hill)
Brazil vs Egypt first goal under 26 mins @ evs with Betfred.
Chris, Brazil should manage that you’d think. I’m looking at maybe doing Brazil, Spain and Uruguay all -1 for a bit of value. Trawling through Europa League games just now for a bit of value.
Last time I checked, Spain to win both halves against Japan is 9/4 with Paddy Power
Worth a punt
Mr Fixit
I still haven’t received my £10.00 free bet from Sportingbet from the euro’s can you advise?
Austin, admin guys are sorting all missing free bets this week.
Paul tried your Spain Uruguay brazil -1 and added tromso to win elsborg ht/ft pays just under 12/1
Steven, looks good to me. Elfsborg on the Europa League treble I’m just about post.