Summer of Soccer best bets for 6/25: Yardbarker's picks for Euro and Copa America

Welcome to what broadcasters around the world are breathlessly calling the "Summer of Soccer." We've covered the European Championships extensively around these parts, but it's just one of the big continental tournaments taking place around the world. As of this week, we've got the Copa America running too — and accordingly, we're going to start prepping you for both tournaments on a daily basis. Get your Euros fix in the morning and flip over to the Copa in the afternoon: their air times do not conflict.

Tuesday, June 25 features a whopping six games between the two tournaments: four group-stage deciders in the Euros and two group-stage middle rounds in the Copa:

France vs. Poland, 12 p.m. ET: One of the tournament favorites against a team that has already been eliminated: this one has shades of Germany-Scotland, and it will probably not be close. Poland is only playing for pride here and it doesn't have a great track record when it comes to delivering during dead-rubber games. Check this one out if you like watching France strut around like champions; otherwise, skip it. Because airing at the same time is ...

Netherlands vs. Austria, 12 p.m. ET: Two of the wildest, strangest and most forward-thinking teams at the Euros meet to battle it out for second and third place. We'd normally give this one to the Dutch, given their tournament pedigree, but Austria has been the surprise package of the Euros so far and it appears to be the best-coached side at the tournament. This one could go either way, and it should feature plenty of goals (and, knowing these two sets of players, plenty of bad fouls and screaming fits too.) We've got this one earmarked as one of the day's headliners.

Denmark vs. Serbia, 3 p.m. ET: Will Serbia finally live up to their immense potential and leverage the three world-class strikers they've got up front? No. Will Denmark finally play like the team that made the semifinals three years ago? No. But this one should still be fascinating — with both teams still fighting for knockout positions and capable of scoring in buckets, we could see its score see-saw all over the place. Now that we've said that, of course, it'll probably wind up as a 0-0 draw. 

England vs. Slovenia, 3 p.m. ET: When these two teams met in the World Cup in 2010, the English press hyped it up as the easiest match the Three Lions could've hoped for, then ripped their team to shreds when they only managed a 1-0 victory. (Jermaine Defoe scored the winner in that one. Remember him?) We think something similar will happen here; Slovenia are cunningly, deceptively talented and pushed both Denmark and Serbia all the way to the limit. England should have enough juice to get past them, but that won't stop the English press from writing scathing, morale-destroying reports like this.

Peru vs. Canada, 6 p.m. ET: Peru is one of the weakest teams in South America these days, but it's always good for giving a challenge; international soccer fans will no doubt remember how Peru mentally destroyed New Zealand to win a playoff in 2018 to qualify for that World Cup. Canada, meanwhile, have ascended to near-unbelievable heights, qualifying for just their second-ever World Cup in 2022. It's coached by American manager Jesse Marsch and features players like Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies and Mallorca's Cyle Larin; it is better than its opening-day match against Argentina made it appear.

Chile vs. Argentina, 9 p.m. ET: Here it is: the biggest, baddest game of the day, batting cleanup in the evening slot. Chile and Argentina are neighbors down in the cone of South America and their soccer rivalry is the stuff of legend. Chile, down slightly from its worldbeating performances of the mid-2010s, is still fully capable of delivering the drama (and if you're wondering if ex-Arsenal striker Alexis Sanchez is still playing, the answer is yes, of course he is, he will never, ever retire.) Argentina, meanwhile? They haven't been up to much ... just winning the World Cup in dramatic fashion while their captain Lionel Messi writes a stellar new chapter in the States. This one is a must-watch.

Phew! It's a lot to get through. But here are the bets we're eyeing amid all the craziness:

The attacking threat of the Dutch and the Austrians. These two teams have some of the most creative attackers in the world: Xavi Simons, Memphis Depay, Marcel Sabitzer, etc. They've also got some of the most notorious big-man strikers in Wout Weghorst and Marko Arnautovic. With so many potential goal scorers, we're looking at who is the most likely to get involved at any point in the goal-scoring journey: we're backing the Netherlands' Jeremie Frimpong and Austria's Christoph Baumgartner to score or assist at +162.