The final four teams for both Euro 2024 and Copa América are written in stone.
The semifinals for each tournament are set to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, with all four matches airing on the FOX family of networks.
As two of the biggest international soccer tournaments near their conclusion, “Bear Bets” returned to preview each semifinal matchup in Euro 2024 and Copa América. Chris “The Bear” Fallica and Geoff Schwartz discussed which side they liked in each match while also sharing other plays they’re eyeing.
Let’s dive into the fun.
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EURO 2024
Spain vs. France, Tuesday, 3 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app
The Bear: Draw and Under 2.5 goals
“Spain is going to have some issues with their lineup too, because you have Dani Carvajal, one of their better defenders, out. Pedri, who is a fantastic young player, he’s hurt and Robin Le Normand, one of their other central defenders, he’s out. So they’re going to have a different defense. Nacho will start, maybe Alex Grimaldo will come in there as well. They’re going to be a little bit different on the backline as well. So, maybe someone with not as much experience will make a mistake and that will help France.
“I might be on Spain or draw on the double chance as well. I can’t see this match being a wide-open affair.”
Schwartz: Would hesitate wagering on France with Kylian Mbappé’s condition
“I didn’t know that France is Iowa football right now. I didn’t expect that. They’re coming into the semifinals having scored zero open play goals in five games. They can’t score. Isn’t that a problem? I know Mbappé is hurt. I think he’s hurt more than he let’s on. Obviously, he’s wearing the face mask, and they mentioned on telecasts he’s trying to avoid headers, which makes a lot of sense. But he’s good enough athlete to not hit his face on a header.
“I know France won without Mbappé in penalties, but if he can’t play this game up to 85, 90 percent, it feels like France can’t win this game.”
UEFA Euro 2024 Semi-Finals Gambling Guide
England vs. Netherlands, Wednesday, 3 p.m., FOX and the FOX Sports app
The Bear: Draw and Under 2.5 goals
“Gareth Southgate is not going to change the lineup. He’s going to do what he does. You’re looking at a Dutch team, which is more than comfortable to kind of absorb pressure. There are a lot of familiar players with this side because there are a lot of players on that Dutch team that play in England.
“I can’t see a ton of goals. Eight of the 12 games in the knockout round were Under 2.5. That’s a good auto-play in a high-stakes soccer match.”
Schwartz: Netherlands double chance, a draw-draw parlay with Spain-France match.
“We’ve had 12 matches in the knockout round; you’ve had five draws. Three of the four quarterfinals were draws. With the way these matches are going to set up and play out, I think there’s a really good possibility that we’re looking at two draws here. It’s currently at +799.”
COPA AMÉRICA
Argentina vs. Canada, Tuesday, 8 p.m., FS1 and the FOX Sports app
The Bear: Canada to be held scoreless; possibly play Argentina to win and Argentina to win 2-0 or 3-0
“In the first match of the tournament, Argentina had an [expected goals] of about 3.4, 19 shots and 10 on goal. They were just a little bit unfortunate. They finally got that second goal late to make it academic. Even the other night when Canada wound up beating Venezuela, Venezuela had a ton of opportunities. If they play like that again and give Argentina a ton of chances, this will be a 2-0 or 3-0 win for Argentina.”
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Schwartz: Canada to be held scoreless and either Argentina to win by exactly two goals or to cover -1.5
“I’m an Under person, but you’ve turned me into a super Under person, Bear, after all these soccer wages. Every day we text Bear, ‘Bear, what do you got for us?’ He’ll respond with, ‘Under, under, under, under, under.'”
Colombia vs. Uruguay, Wednesday, 8 p.m., on FS1 and the FOX Sports app
The Bear: Under 1.5, Uruguay to advance
“The reason I like Uruguay is because they can win 1-0. They feel comfortable going to penalty kicks with the experienced penalty takers that they have. They can win 3-0 if they feel skillfully superior to their opposition. I think we’re going to see a game plan similar to what we saw against Brazil in the quarterfinal. I think you’re going to see them play another tight defensive type game.”
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