Hungary vs. Portugal Odds, Picks & Predictions: Euro 2020 Betting Preview for Tuesday, June 15
UWE ANSPACH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images. Hungary’s goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi
- Home-field advantage combined with a likely defensive focus is creating value on this underdog.
- Soccer betting analyst BJ Cunningham previews the Euro 2020 match between Hungary and Portugal.
- Find odds and Cunningham's pick for Tuesday afternoon's Group F match below.
Hungary vs. Portugal Odds
| Hungary Odds | +750 |
| Portugal Odds | -240 |
| Draw | +360 |
| Over/Under | 2.5 (-106 / -114) |
| Day | Time | Tuesday | 12 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN |
| Odds updated Tuesday morning via DraftKings. | |
Hungary and Portugal square off in Budapest on Tuesday to kick off Group F action at the 2020 European Championships.
Hungary had the worst luck of any team in this tournament, because they got drawn into the group of death with Portugal, Germany and France. Hungary won its qualifying group in Euro 2016, which funny enough included Portugal. However, it's pretty bleak for the 2021 version of Hungary's national team, who do not have many players who can compete in this group.
Portugal comes in as the defending champions, but only have themselves to blame for getting put in the group of death. They finished second in their qualifying to Ukraine, which put them at the mercy of being drawn with two group winners — and it just so happens it's two of the best teams in the world in France and Germany.
Portugal will need all three points from this opening match if they want to make out of the group stage.
Hungary Dealt Unfortunate Draw in Stacked Quartet
Poor Hungary got paired in the worst possible group — and it’s hard to sit here and give them much hope, because there really isn’t much.
They finished fourth in their Euro qualifying group with Croatia, Wales and Slovakia, putting up a -2.9 expected goal difference (xGD) through eight matches. They beat Bulgaria and Iceland to get to the Euros, but lost the expected goals battle in both of those matches. The only plus I can give Hungary is at least two of their three group stage matches will be played in Budapest.
When you look at their roster, there are only two guys with some name value, and they both play for RB Leipzig: Goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi and center back Willi Orban (left mid Dominik Szoboszlai wasn't able to recover from injury in time). Outside of those guys, it's really bleak.
However, Hungary did draw with Portugal 3-3 during the 2016 Euro Group Stage, which was one of the best games of the tournament.
Hungary usually lines up in a 3-5-2, but it will probably end up being a 5-3-2 as the match goes along to handle the Portuguese attack, so I think Hungary is going to try and play for a 0-0 draw.
Portugal Loaded With Talent Outside Cristiano Ronaldo
The Portuguese attack is unbelievable coming into this tournament with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernendes, Diego Jota, Bernardo Silva, Joao Felix and Andre Silva. I mean, there is just so much talent in this attack. Those guys are part of an offense that averaged a whopping 2.35 xG per 90 minutes during Euro and World Cup qualifying.
Offense will not be an issue for Portugal, but what will be an issue is in their defense. Portugal has Manchester City’s Ruben Dias, who was one of the best defenders in the Premier League this season, but he will be paired with either a 37-year-old Jose Fonte or 38-year-old Pepe, which is not ideal.
What worries me about this match for Portugal is they are in a lookahead spot with Germany and France coming up next. This match will also be played in Budapest, so Hungary will have the home-field advantage.
Betting Analysis & Pick
With Hungary likely playing very defensive in this match, and given the fact that they do have home-field advantage, there's some value on the Hungarians to keep this match close.
Therefore, I am going to back Hungary's spread of +1 at +115 odds at PointsBet as my top selection.
Pick: Hungary +1 (+115)
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