The third edition of Round the Sports World in five minutes features the semi-finals of the European Under 21 championships in football, a vital F1 race in Austria and a chance for the world’s best golfers to find some form ahead of The Open next month. Keep reading to find out what our betting tip of the week is.
UEFA Under 21 Championship Semi-Finals
- Start: Wednesday, June 25
- Venue: Slovakia
- TV Coverage: Channel 4 (UK)
- Fun Fact: Nick Woltemade, who plays his club football at Stuttgart, has certainly been making the most of his time at the European championships, scoring a hat-trick in his first match against Slovenia and following that up with key strikes against the Czech Republic and Italy. Woltemade has a brilliant scoring record at this level with 12 goals in 16 appearances, and his performances over the past week have attracted plenty of interest, with Everton and Roma among the clubs interested in acquiring his services.
Betting
England, Netherlands, Germany and France are the last four teams standing here at the U21 European Championships.
The quarter-finals produced some entertaining matches that saw Netherlands edge out Portugal 1-0, England somewhat surprisingly beat Spain 3-1, France beat Denmark 3-2 and Germany just about getting the better of Italy after extra-time, also winning 3-2, with Merlin Rohl scoring the winner just three minutes before penalties were coming up.
England are 23/20 to beat the Netherlands in the first of the two semis with Ladbrokes, with the Dutch priced up at 21/10 and the draw 5/2.
In the other semi, things are much tighter in the betting with Germany 17/10, France 13/8 and the draw 9/4. Ladbrokes make both England and Germany 2/1 to go all the way, with France 23/10 and the Netherlands the outsiders of the four at 9/2.
Summary
Though the four semi-finalists all have a fine pedigree in this competition, it’s two countries that aren’t in the semis at all that have the best record of anyone.
Spain and Italy are the only sides to have won this competition on no fewer than five occasions each, though it’s England who are the defending champions after beating Spain 1-0 in the 2023 final.
It was England who got the better of Spain once again in the quarter-final just a couple of days ago, with ugly scenes at the final whistle as part of a mass brawl that also saw a Spanish player sent off. But England won’t care too much about that.
Formula One Austrian Grand Prix
- Start: Friday, June 27
- Venue: Red Bull Ring, Austria
- TV Coverage: Sky Sports Formula One
- Fun Fact: The fan-favourite, Max Verstappen, is the most successful driver ever at this circuit in the 43 editions of this race. He’s won it on four occasions, with Jo Siffert winning it on three occasions in the 60s and 70s, and the great Alain Prost also victorious on three occasions in the 1980s.
Betting
Oscar Piastri leads the Formula One World Championship by 22 points over Lando Norris, and Coral are making the Australian the narrow favourite to come good in Austria, being priced up at 7/4, with Norris just a bit bigger at 2/1, followed by Max Verstappen at 3/1 and George Russell at 7/1.
These are testing times for Lewis Hamilton, who just can’t get going at Ferrari. That he’s available to win this race at odds of 33/1 tells its own story.
Summary
This will be the 11th race of the season with the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, one of the flagship events of the Formula One calendar, taking place next week.
It’s been an exciting World Championship so far, with things pretty tight at the top between Piastri, Norris and Verstappen. All three of those have already won at least one race this season, as has George Russell, who won last time out in Canada.
We could be looking at one of the most competitive World Championships in years that could go down to the wire in Abu Dhabi, in the last race of the season in December.
PGA Rocket Mortgage Classic 2025
- Start: Thursday, June 26
- Venue: Detroit, Michigan, USA
- TV Coverage: Sky Sports Golf
- Fun Fact: Despite the course being set up back in 1899, it’s only been on the PGA Tour for six years. It has rewarded both big hitters such as Bryan DeChambeau and Tony Finau and more strategic players such as Rickie Fowler, all of whom have won the event in the past.
Betting
This might not be the best field you’ll see all year, but there’s still some real quality in it with several Major winners in it.
Unibet have decided that Collin Morikawa, twice a Major winner himself, is the man to beat here and made him the 11/1 favourite.
Just behind him in the betting is Keegan Bradley, who won last week. This has made him rethink the possibility of being a playing captain, something very rare in golf, when the Ryder Cup comes along in September.
Patrick Cantlay (14/1) and Hideki Matsuyama (25/1) are also among the favourites.
Summary
We’re just three weeks away from the last of the four Majors when The Open takes place at Portrush. It is time for the world’s best to get their game in gear, also remembering that there are vital Ryder Cup points up for grabs, in addition to plenty of prize money.
Bradley denied Englishman Tommy Fleetwood by birding the last hole on Sunday night at the Travelers Championship in what would have been his first-ever win on the PGA Tour. The wait goes on for popular Ryder Cup star Fleetwood and his first win on US soil. In the process, Bradley moved up to seventh in the world rankings and will have to give serious consideration to being the first playing Ryder Cup skipper since Arnold Palmer back in 1963.
Elsewhere, Morikawa raised some eyebrows last week by mostly putting without a glove, very rare in professional golf, so we’ll have to wait and see if he does it again this week.
Betting Tip of the Week
Germany to win the Under 21 Euros @ 2/1 with Ladbrokes
England look a bit overrated in the betting to go all the way in the Under 21 European championships. They put in a good performance to beat Spain in the quarters, but the absences of such key players as Rory Delap, Jobe Bellingham and Jarrad Brathwaite mean they’re not at full strength, and that could make all the difference.
England were a bit flat in drawing with Slovenia and have already lost to Germany once in this tournament. So, at the same price and with Nick Woltemade in such fine goalscoring form, Germany is rated a better bet at 2/1 to win the competition.
