Thursday’s Round of 32 Tips: Spain, Portugal and a Sneaky Swiss Bet
Available in USThree knockout ties on the Thursday card, and only one of them looks a formality. Spain should stroll, Portugal and Croatia is the pick of the night, and there’s a late one for the insomniacs that might just hold the best value on the whole slate. Here are the tips, the fractional prices for the Irish books, and — crucially — what time to set the alarm for. All odds below trace to the morning of 2 July 2026 and are converted to fractional.
Spain v Austria — 8:00pm IST, SoFi Stadium
The night’s banker, and priced like it. Spain, who came through Group H without conceding a goal for the first time in their history, are out at around 1/3 to win in 90 minutes, with the draw 17/4 and Austria a big 9/1. The wrinkle is a thinned attack — Nico Williams (adductor) and Yeremy Pino (shoulder) are both ruled out, heaping the creative load onto 18-year-old Lamine Yamal.
At 1/3 there’s nothing in the bare win, so this is a goals-and-handicap exercise. Austria are no mugs — they reached the knockouts for the first time since 1998 — and with Spain a winger or two light, the Austria handicap or the “under” is the thinking punter’s angle. We broke down the full team-news in our Spain injury preview.
Portugal v Croatia — midnight IST, BMO Field
The tie of the round, and a genuine coin-flip of a veteran duel. Portugal are 4/5, the draw 5/2 and Croatia 4/1, with the Croats having attracted noticeable overnight support. Luka Modrić’s engine against Ronaldo’s Portugal is a story in itself — we’ve given it the full treatment here — but for betting purposes this is a tight, tactical one. Croatia have the midfield to strangle it; the 5/2 on the draw and extra-time looks a fair each-way shout in a game between two sides that drew 1-1 the last time they met.
Switzerland v Algeria — 4:00am IST (Fri), BC Place
One for the night owls, and where we think the value sits. Switzerland are evens, the draw 21/10 and Algeria 3/1 in a first-ever competitive meeting. The Swiss won Group B, are fully fit — Xhaka, Freuler and Jashari all available — while Algeria come in as a third-placed qualifier and, more to the point, may be without Mohamed El Amine Amoura, a serious doubt with a thigh problem. There’s a lovely subplot too: Algeria coach Vladimir Petković built this Swiss side over seven years before taking the Algeria job.
The value pick
Switzerland to win, evens. Of the three, it’s the one where the price and the picture don’t quite line up: a settled, fit group winner is even-money against a team missing its spark and travelling as the lesser qualifier. Spain is too short to touch straight, and Portugal-Croatia is too close to call with confidence. If you want one bet for the Thursday-into-Friday shift, that’s ours.
The euro-priced Irish books — ZotaBet, BetiBet, Boomerang Bet, BillyBets and the rest — have handicap, goals and match markets up for all three. Our betting guide covers the wider outright picture.
Odds shown are converted to fractional format for Irish bookmakers and were accurate as of the timestamp noted; always check the live price before betting. 18+, gamble responsibly.
