Summer of Soccer best bets: Two Euro rematches and a new American classic

Welcome back to the Summer of Soccer! We've had a lovely two-day break to recover from the opening stages of the Euros and the Copa America, but now we — and both tournaments — are back in a big way. Did you get some rest on those off days? Did you take in other sporting events like the Tour de France and Wimbledon? Or did you, like us, spend it watching Mert Gunok's last-minute save against Austria on an endless loop?

Yeah, we can't blame you. That's one impressive parry.
We've got three games coming up on Friday July 5: two heavy-hitting European matches that hearken back to tournaments of old, and one Copa America battle between two of the best young teams in the Americas. We're usually happy to tell you which games will provide more entertainment than the others on a given matchday, but honestly, all three of these are going to be bangers. Cancel your plans and watch them all.

Spain vs. Germany, 12 p.m. ET. Cast your mind back to July of 2010: Katy Perry's "California Gurls" was blasting out of everyone's stereo, that one Icelandic volcano had finally stopped erupting, and Spain was playing Germany in the semifinals of the South Africa World Cup. Spain won that match 1-0 thanks to a Carlos Puyol header, and Germany took the loss hard ... so hard, in fact, that when it came back to the World Cup four years later, it won the whole thing in a typically merciless fashion. Today, Spain and Germany are the strongest teams in Europe, and this match could have easily been the final. Will Spain's youth and speed pay off? Or will Germany's dogged persistence and home-field advantage carry it into the semifinals?

Portugal vs. France, 3 p.m. ET. Cast your mind back to July of 2016: Drake's "One Dance" was blasting out of everyone's stereo, a very strange presidential election was gearing up in the States, and Portugal was playing France in the final of the European Championships. France was hosting the tournament and cruised through in grand style; Portugal had clawed through the group stage in third place and won just one game in regular time throughout the whole tournament. The stage was set for France's heartwarming home win, but Portugal had other plans. It took the game to extra time and scored one lucky, impossible goal to nick the trophy against the odds.

This year, the tables have turned: it was Portugal who looked brilliant in the group stages and France who looked lucky to progress at all. Will the result flip as well, sending France through? Or will Portugal recover from its last-gasp win over Slovenia to push into the semis?

Venezuela vs. Canada, 9 p.m. ET. This one doesn't have much history, but don't worry: by the looks of things, it will soon enough. Venezuela and Canada have been two of the Copa's best surprises and they both enter this match in fine form. Can Venezuela maintain its perfect record and book a semifinal spot? Or will Canada, led by American coach Jesse Marsch and featuring several MLS players, snatch this one for North America?

We'll find out everything tomorrow. In the meantime, here are the bets we're eyeing:

Goals galore from the Spaniards and the Germans. Euro 2024 hasn't exactly been chock full of goals, but the two top scoring teams by far are Spain and Germany. They'll both be hungry to win this one convincingly, and that means we can expect some attacking fireworks from the jump. We're loath to call this one — the teams truly are too evenly matched to separate — but we're comfortable backing a final scoreline featuring at least three goals at +110. Want to push this one a bit further? Try opting for four goals at +275 or five at +600.

Another Ronaldo storyline. Cristiano Ronaldo became the unwitting protagonist of Portugal vs. Slovenia when he insisted upon taking every free kick and penalty ... and missed them all, until his triumphant moment in the final penalty shootout. No player at Euro 2024 has taken more shots than our friend Ronny, but he still has zero goals to his name as we cruise into the quarterfinals. We're not sure he'll change that against France — its defense, starring Arsenal stalwart William Saliba, is fantastic — but we do think he'll manage two or more shots on target at +162 .

Venezuela's renaissance. It's been a while since we've had a competitive Venezuela team, and this one, led by coach Fernando Batista, isn't just competitive — it's ruthless. Venezuela cruised through as group winners in Group B, beating Ecuador, Mexico and Jamaica without really breaking a sweat.

We love Canada and are pleased to see it building in a healthy, sustainable direction, but we think this match is Venezuela's for the taking. Canada doesn't have a strong goalscoring record in the Copa; it finished second in Group A after finding the back of the net just once. (Really, you have to credit Chile's under-performance, not Canada's over-performance, for its spot in the knockout rounds.) We're backing a Venezuela win with no Canada goals at +275 .