2010 World Cup – England betting
England might not have produced a great performance when beating Mexico on Monday night, although the excitement is starting to mount ahead of the 2010 World Cup. Fabio Capello’s team are available at 13/2 with Victor Chandler – £100 Free Bets to go all the way in South Africa, making them the third favourites behind Spain and Brazil. There are also a range of other England-related markets that have been created by the bookmakers as national interest continues to grow.
While Wayne Rooney (11/1 Paddy Power – £20 Free Bets), Frank Lampard (80/1 totesport – £25 Free Bets) and Peter Crouch (80/1 Boylesports – £20 Free Bets) all feature on the Top Tournament Goalscorer list, you can also bet on which of them will be England’s top goalscorer this summer. It’s the Manchester United forward who is 13/8 with Boylesports bookmakers to bag the most for his country and he had a brilliant record of scoring nine goals in ten qualifying matches to help his team reach the finals.
Lampard is next at 11/2 (Sky Bet), with Crouch on offer at odds of 10/1 (Paddy Power – Bet £10 Get £20 Free Bets), while Steven Gerrard (10/1 Blue Square – £66 Free Bets) was driving forward at every opportunity and could find the net against the USA, Slovenia and Algeria.
Indeed, you can bet on how many group points England will manage as they look to reach the last sixteen as winners of their section. There is 7/4 available on betfair – £25 Free Bets that the Three Lions manage a maximum haul against their trio of group opponents, although you can also bet on Fabio Capello’s team getting a certain number of points. Victor Chandler Bookmaker offer a tempting 9/4 that they manage seven points, with two wins and a draw likely to be enough to land top spot.
Meanwhile, Sky Bet have produced a range of England specials ahead of the World Cup, which includes a market focusing on the strike pairing that will line up against the USA. Given that Peter Crouch started alongside Wayne Rooney against Mexico, it’s tempting to plump for the 13/8 that it’s this duo who face the States, although the Rooney / Heskey combination is also considered to be a runner at odds of 15/8.
You can also bet on whether selected players will be included in the 23-man squad and it appears that Shaun Wright-Phillips (3/1 Skybet bookmakers) and Scott Parker (3/1 Sky Bet) have it all to do in the last friendly against Japan (if given the chance). However, there could be some value in backing Adam Johnson (8/13 Sky Bet), with Capello stating his admiration for the Manchester City winger who was featuring in the Championship at the start of the season.
If you think England are a bit short (2/5 bet365 – £200 Free Bets) to win Group C, then there are currently options to include them in a forecast or even tricast and Sky Bet’s 3/1 about England / USA / Slovenia could be worth a bet. Algeria look to be the weakest team in the section and the England / USA straight forecast is currently on offer at 15/8 with bet365 Bookmakers.
