I, like everyone else who was viewing the Denmark v Finland game last Saturday evening, watched in horror at the events unfold on the field.
 
Thankfully, it would appear that Christian Eriksen is recovering well and all here on the newspaper send him our prayers and best wishes.
 
My tip for outright winner of the tournament, Germany, are in the so-called ‘Group of Death’ with France, Portugal and Hungary. Pundits are saying it’s a weak German team. That indeed may be true but a ‘weak’ mannschaft will still be a potent force. It is coach Joachim Low’s swansong and the World Cup winner will want to go out on a high note.
 
On September 1, 2001 the Germans lost 1-5 at home in a World Cup qualifier in Munich, to of all countries, England. After the game Jurgen Klinsmann sighed and said: “I suppose that means we’ll just reach the World Cup Final now.” The implication was they were still a better team.
 
He was proven to be correct as the Germans did indeed reach the 2002 final only to lose to Brazil 2-0. The squad still features a number of their World Cup-winning side of 2014 and is also blessed with talent like Serge Gnabry, Kai Havertz, Leroy Sane, Joshua Kimmich and the incredible Jamal Musiala. The message is clear: never rule out Deutschland!
 
Thursday treble: Ukraine 4/6 (2pm KO), Denmark/Belgium BTTS 10/11 (5pm KO), Netherlands/Austria over 2.5 goals 8/11 (8pm KO). A £10 stake will return us £54.96.
 
Friday treble: Sweden/Slovakia under 2.5 goals 4/6 (2pm KO), Croatia 11/10 (5pm KO), England -1  Evens (8pm KO). If this touches for a tenner bet we will receive £70 on the nose.
 
Saturday treble: France HT/FT 1/1 (2pm KO), Germany/Portugal BTTS 4/5 (5pm KO),  Spain HT/FT 6/5 (8pm KO). A £10 bet will return £79.20.
 
Sunday double: Italy FT/HT 6/5 (5pm KO), Switzerland/Turkey Draw/Draw 9/2 (8pm KO). This little double will net us £121 exactly.
 
Monday quad: Netherlands -1 4/6 (5pm KO), Ukraine/Austria BTTS 5/6 (5pm KO), Belgium/Finland over 2.5 goals 4/6 (8pm KO), Denmark 1/1 (8pm KO). A £10 investment will put £101.85 into our pockets.
 
First goalscorer yankee: Lukaku 4/1 v Denmark. Kane 3/1 v Scotland.  Mbappé 3/1 v Hungary. Immobile 4/1 v Wales  A  £1 yankee quad alone would net us £ 4,000! You can do the maths with the various trebles and doubles... let’s go for it!
 
Betting story
Unlucky punter narrowly misses out on half a million off £3 accumulator
An unlucky punter from Wales agonisingly missed out on nearly half-a-million pounds from a £3 accumulator on a Tuesday evening back in January.
 
Scott Walker, from Cardiff, placed the nine-game acca down for Tuesday night’s fixtures and backed all teams to score alongside his final results.
 
And remarkably, the 22-year-old just missed out on the potentially life-changing sum of £464,617.97 after Luton Town were unable to force a winner against York City.
 
The Hatters couldn’t find a winning goal after coming back from two down in a game that saw both teams have a player sent off, and Scott told a local radio station how events unfolded.
 
He said: “I meant to put down a standard accumulator, but it ended up being one where every team had to score. I didn’t think it had a chance of coming in so I didn’t really follow the scores.
 
“I was on the phone and only ended up looking at about 9.15pm. I didn’t even think about checking the scores before then.”
Despite the heartbreaking near miss, Scott said that he will be dipping back into the accumulator market in the near future, but admitted he may avoid Luton.
 
“The funny thing is that I stopped doing accumulators for a while, then I won £520 last week,” he added.
 
“I’ll definitely be doing another one of these bets. I probably wouldn’t put Luton in it again!”
If you do get a tasty football bet up during the tournament, please email it to me at murphs35@hotmail.com
 
Famous football quote
“You can’t say my team aren’t winners. They’ve proved that by finishing fourth, third and second in the last three years.” – Gerard Houllier on Liverpool.
 
I wonder where they finished the fourth year? Sadly Mr Houllier died on December 14 last year after a heart operation. He is fondly remembered by the worldwide football family, but most particularly Liverpool fans.
 
Football quiz
Who scored the fastest goal in Euros tournament history, for who, against who and how long did it take him?
 
If you know the answer please email me at murphs35@hotmail.com. I doubt anyone will get this answer. No use of Google please!
 
Good luck with all your football bets and as always please remember to gamble responsibly.