Euro 2024 Stat Pack: Now is the time to back William Saliba at 100/1 for player of the tournament | OneFootball

Euro 2024

Lewis says it is time to add 100/1 Saliba to the portfolio

Sky Sports' Lewis Jones - aka Jones Knows - thinks now is the time to pull the trigger on William Saliba at 100/1 to win the player of the tournament award...

Football Only Bettor Podcast - Listen to Quarter Final tips here!

William Saliba is the best defender in the world - why is he 100/1?

The time is now to officially tip William Saliba to be player of the tournament at 100/1 with the Betfair Sportsbook. I've flirted with the idea, bigging him up to the max on a couple of occasions already at this tournament and the markets haven't taken any notice of me, so he's worth adding to our punting portfolio at what is a silly price for a player of his stature and current form where he's playing like the best centre back in the world.

Saliba is the calming presence alongside the unpredictable Dayot Upamacano that is one step ahead of the attackers.

France have kept three clean sheets in their four games, offering up just 0.64 worth of expected goals against per 90 - it's the best defence in the tournament.

Saliba's record now for club and country in competitive matches in 2024 reads just 13 goals conceded in 25 matches to a backdrop of 0.74 per 90 in terms of expected goals against. He is truly magnifique.

If France are going to lift another major title, it's going to be all about clean sheets and defensive brilliance. And the mainstream media focus will ramp up on Saliba's contribution soon enough.

Where have all the free-kick goals gone?

Zero from 40. That's where we're at in terms of free-kick goals from free-kick shots. When assessing the previous five European Championships, a goal is scored via this method every 34 free-kick attempts, so we are entering the realms of being due one.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been responsible for six of those attempts at Euro 2024, taking his ratio to now just one goal from 60 free-kicks at major tournaments.

That evidence from such a big sample size makes it quite ridiculous that he's the designated set piece man from shooting opportunities and Portugal need to do something different if they're going to give France a game in Friday's quarter-final showdown with the French

Lamine Yamal is one of seven players to have had two shots at goal from free-kicks at Euro 2024 - despite his young age, he is pulling rank in this Spain team at dead ball situations.

His quality is extraordinary for someone that has still yet to sit his GCSE's and he is the man most likely to break this no free-kick goal curse at the tournament. In what is shaping up to be a game vs Germany where overs looks the play on the goal-line, keeping Yamal in your thoughts when the player to score from outside the box markets become live could prove a profitable decision.

England v Switzerland SuperBoost

You can now back Granit Xhaka to commit 1 or more fouls v England at 1/1 - Superboosted up from 1/4!

The former Arsenal man has comitted six in four games so far at Euro 2024, and is no stranger to the referee as we know from his time in the Premier League.

England (60) have won the most fouls of any side at Euro 2024 (15 per game on average), with both Jude Bellingham (9) and Harry Kane (8) sitting in the top 10 of the most fouls won chart. Indeed, only three players (all 10) have managed more than Bellingham.

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1pt on William Saliba to be player of the tournament @ 100/1