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The last quarterfinal unfolded just as I expected. So if it weren't for my love for the England national team, all the main bets would have been successful perfectly, if, as I have already written, the mind should have greater authority than the heart. However, the other two events (Italy's ball control and fewer overall team defensive errors) justified themselves easily and brought me a minimal profit. J. Terry, who neither heard me nor had any intention to score a goal for either his team or the opponents, the bet doesn't count.
Meanwhile, we are approaching the climax of the championship. Today is the first semifinal, where Spain and Portugal will compete. As I mentioned in the diary entry 15 days ago, after what Spain did in the match against France, I certainly won't bet against Xavi and company. I stick to my word, so today I'm going "all in": I expect success for Portugal and dedicate all my bets to them. Dark humor, but even Mrs. Kazimiera Prunskienė forecasts Portuguese success, speaking in the language of this country after waking from a coma.
Balance: 747.80 Lt
Portugal advancing to the next stage (odds 2.75). Bet - 40 Lt
Since I'm not sure the match will go without extra time, I hedge a bit and instead of betting on Portugal's national team victory during normal time, I choose a more moderate option. Italy showed that Spain's defensive bastions are not impregnable. Therefore, the fact that later Spain did not have major problems in defense was more due to their opponents rather than their defenders.
Total shots on goal by Portugal > 5.5 (odds 1.90). Bet - 50 Lt.
Although only Italy's footballers managed to do what this bet requires, I'm sure Portugal is not a worse team. It's worth noting that even Ireland, relatively the worst team in the tournament, managed to hit the goal 4 times. It would be hard to expect that the Portuguese will play attacking football. On the contrary, we should expect what we saw in the match against Germany: disciplined defense and attempts to counterattack. V. del Bosque knows very well that Portugal's main attacking force is C. Ronaldo, so today will also depend a lot on Nani, playing on the other wing, who has not yet demonstrated the same game we see in Manchester.
Total yellow cards
