The Sky Bet compilers have been busy since the seedings and have priced up England’s potential opponents in the group stages as well as a possible death match up with FIFA’s highest ranked opponents

To view the full range of markets visit Sky Bet.

Highest Fifa ranked possible opponents

449/1 USA, Cameroon and Portugal

Lowest Fifa ranked possible opponents

449/1 Ghana, North Korea and Slovakia

Pot 2 – England Group Opponents

Australia 13/2

Japan 13/2

North Korea 13/2

Mexico 13/2

U.S.A. 13/2

New Zealand 13/2

South Korea 13/2

Honduras 13/2

Pot 3 – England Group Opponents

Paraguay 11/2

Chile 11/2

Uruguay 11/2

Ivory Coast 7/1

Ghana 7/1

Cameroon 7/1

Nigeria 7/1

Algeria 7/1

Pot 4 – England Group Opponents

France 13/2

Portugal 13/2

Slovenia 13/2

Switzerland 13/2

Greece 13/2

Serbia 13/2

Denmark 13/2

Slovakia 13/2

Originally written by Bet123.net, an online Betting Guide

Who will England draw in the group stages?

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Meanwhile there’s a whole host of ways for you to place your bets on England’s hope for the World Cup. Paddy Power are offering a number of betting opportunities including:

11/4 England to be knocked out in the Quarter Finals – again!
6/1 England to lose in a penalty shootout – again!
6/4 Michael Owen is picked for the World Cup squad
8/15 Beckham odds on to make it to his fourth World Cup
6/4 Manchester United favourites to have most players in the England squad
4/1 Peter Kay favourite to record the England World Cup song

Pop along to Paddy Power if any of those takes your fancy.

The current odds for Englands hope of lifting the World Cup in 2010 are:

Originally written by Bet123.net, an online Betting Guide

England v Ukraine to be shown online only?

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England v Belarus Betting: Special Offers:

• Get a Free £25 bet on Belarus v England when you open a new account with either 888sport or Blue Square.
• A £10 double on Peter Crouch to score first and England to win 2-0 would return £292.50 with Bet365.

England v Belarus Match Odds
Belarus are the next opponents in England’s quest to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, and should prove to be a sterner test than Kazakhstan, although England are expected to win this match nonetheless. At the time of writing, only Betfair had available odds for Belarus v England, with 9/1 available on the home side, and an England win was priced at just 0.36/1. We will of course add more odds to this page as they become available.

England v Belarus correct score Betting:
Again, only Betfair have correct score odds for the Belarus v England game. A 3-0 England win is priced at 6.2/1, which is the same odds for a nervy 1-1 draw. If you fancy Belarus to snatch a victory, then you can grab odds of 12.5/1 on a 1-0 victory.

England v Belarus Betting – First Goalscorer
At the time of writing, no first goalscorer odds were available. We will of course update this page as soon as odds are available.

Where to watch England v Belarus?
The Belarus v England match will be shown live on Setanta Sports 1 from 6:30pm.

All odds correct at time of writing. Please click here for the latest odds

Originally written by Bet123.net, an online Betting Guide

England v Belarus Betting

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• Get a Free £25 bet on England v Kazakhstan when you open a new account with either 888sport or Blue Square.
• A £10 double on Peter Crouch to score first and England to win 2-0 would return £292.50 with Bet365.

England v Kazakhstan Betting Match Odds
If the bookies are to be believed, then this match should be a foregone conclusion. The best available odds for England to win are just 1/16 against (Paddy Power and skybet). Ladbrokes have the draw at 9/1, and you can get an amazing 50/1 from Bet365 on Kazakhstan pulling off the greatest of upsets.

England v Kazakhstan Correct Score Betting
Rather than betting on the match outcome alone, much more value can be had by betting on the correct score. However, given such as uneven match, it could be tough to say just how many goals will be scored. England to win 3-0 pays 5/1 with skybet, whilst England to win 3-1 pays out 14/1 with Bet365. Much greater odds are available on England v Kazakhstan Betting for those looking to bet on a Kazakstan win – A 1-0 win for Kazakstan would return 66/1 with Bet365.

England v Kazakhstan Betting – First Goalscorer
At the time of writing, first goal scorer odds were only available for England v Kazakhstan Betting from Bet365. Key players odds are Wayne Rooney (9/4), Jermaine Defoe (11/4), Peter Crouch (7/2), Theo Walcott (4/1), David Beckham (8/1), Gareth Barry (12/1). For Kazakhstan, Ostapenko is the favourite to score first (20/1), followed by Kenbayev (22/1)

Where to watch England v Kazakhstan?
The England v Kazakstan 2010 Word Cup qualifier match will be shown in its entirety live on ITV from 4:30pm on Saturday 11th October. Betting will be available “in play” from 888sport throughout the match.

Originally written by Bet123.net, an online Betting Guide

England v Kazakhstan Betting

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England start their dream to win the World Cup in 2010, with their first qualifying match against Andorra on Saturday 6th September.  Never before have they had such an upward battle to get the players ready, and their fans behind them, as expectations run low for their success.  As in all football matches though, they need to concentrate there campaign on each match as it comes, and for them, the kick off is at 7pm.

To look at the bookies, the match is a foregone conclusion, with England overwhelming favourites to win, however with their performance of late, you may be asking yourself if a draw or a win for Andorra might be on the cards,  The England bet is pretty much written off, with the best odds being 1/33 (from Ladbrokes).  However if you fancy a draw for this match, which given the total lack of ability for the English players to find the back of the net, then a very reasonable 15/1 is available from Bet365.  Of course if you have lost all faith in the England Squad and think that Andorra might just score that important winning goal, then 80/1 is on offer from 888sport.

This means for a £10 bet, you would get back the following:

£10 on England to Win 1/33 Ladbrokes – £
£10 on a Draw 15/1 Bet365 – £150
£10 on Andorra to win 80/1 888sport £800

All odds correct at time of writing, for updated odds, check the Andorra v England Odds page.

If you think England will win, but still want to place your bet, then there are plenty of other markets to choose from.  All of which offer a better return than the England to Win odds.  In fact there are over 50 different markets from player related bets (such as goalscorer/Red Card/scoring a hat trick) to results based bets (half time score/how many goals/which minute the goal is scored in).  So there are plenty of opportunities for you place a bet on England game against Andorra.

For a full list of markets available check our Andorra v England Odds page.

Originally written by Bet123.net, an online Betting Guide

Andorra v England Betting

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The same scenario has been played out in numerous World Cups and European Championships since England’s success on July 30th, 1966. The domestic fixture schedule needs to be rewritten to allow the national coach to spend more time with the international squad. Furthermore, player need more rest between engagements. This might be achieved by having fewer teams in the Premier League, or a winter break in fixtures. However, few clubs would be prepared to stand the loss of income this would involve, with even fewer players accepting the necessary reductions in salary. Not surprisingly, therefore, Fabio Capello has more or less given up hope of seeing the burden on his squad eased.

The Football Association sanctioned the breakaway which led to the formation of the Premier League 10 years ago, to allow Premiership clubs to have more control over their own revenue, and the ability to be competitive in European Competition. The Premiership has been successful in this aim, attracting some of the biggest names in Europe. However, far from benefiting the development of the national side, the Premier League has hampered its progress with foreign imports. Coach Fabio Capello commented, “I’m worse off than (Italy coach Marcello) Lippi. In the Premier League only 35 percent of the players are English, while in Italy it is around 72 percent.”

There is no escaping the fact that among the leading English clubs most goals are scored or made by foreigners, the best passers are foreigners and, with the exception of Rio Ferdinand, the best defenders are foreigners. It would help England if their footballers could play less often. Since taking over the squad Fabio Capello has been pressing the point that no other European country places so many demands on its players. The intensity of the game is as greater as it has ever been. The relaxation of the offside law, for example, means players have to cover more ground at a greater pace. In general, levels of fitness in English football have never been so high. It is just unfortunate that, when the England team needs the players to be at their peak, so many of them are battered, physically and mentally, by the labours of the previous nine months.

Fabio Capello has demanded that his England squad begin to show signs of improvement ahead of the World Cup qualifiers in September. The Italian, who officially took charge of the squad in January, will return to London on Monday and is already planning for the next England friendly, which takes place at Wembley on August 20th against the Czech Republic. England should qualify comfortably from European Group 6, but surely cannot be viewed as prospective World Cup winners, given the standard of the opposition.

Fabio Capello claimed something had been lost in translation after he was quoted as telling an Italian newspaper that he planned to retire after the 2010 World Cup finals, with two years of his England contract to run, but the manager threw up further confusion by sending out conflicting messages with regard to Frank Lampard and David Beckham. Capello suggested that his preference would be for Lampard, who is wanted by Inter Milan, to stay at Chelsea “because he would have less travelling to do that way”, yet he said that Beckham, the Los Angeles Galaxy midfield player, will continue to cross eight time zones to meet up with the England squad before each match. “For as long as he is at a level to play, he will play,” Capello said in an interview.

Originally written by Bet123.net, an online Betting Guide

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Bet365 have England at 1/4 to qualify and 11/4 to fail.

The Football Association has set England coach Fabio Capello the target of reaching at least the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup or Euro 2012. It is one of a series of ambitious aims set out by the FA in a wide-ranging review.  The governing body also plans to appoint an international performance director and has given the go-ahead to the National Football Centre. The review, believed to be the most extensive ever carried out by the FA, was ordered following England’s failure to qualify for Euro 2008.

Fabio Capello has only been at the helm for a short period, but the FA document “Vision 2008-2012″ makes it clear what is expected. England last reached a semi-final at Euro 1996, Terry Venables’ side losing to Germany on penalties. Capello must achieve at least as much in one of the next 2 major tournaments.

England’s fixtures for the qualifying stage of the 2010 World Cup
Andorra (Away) Saturday, September 6, 2008
Croatia (Away) Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Kazakhstan (Home) Saturday, October 11, 2008
Belarus (Away) Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Ukraine (Home) Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Kazakhstan (Away) Saturday, June 6, 2009
Andorra (Home) Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Croatia (Home) Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Ukraine (Away) Saturday, October 10, 2009
Belarus (Home) Wednesday, October 14, 2009

FA executives seem pleased with the chance of a “rematch” with Croatia, under new coach Fabio Capello, though whether Capello shares their view is a different story. Euro 2008 quarter-finalists Croatia’s 3-2 win over England at Wembley prevented them from qualifying and cost former coach Steve McClaren his job.

England, 6/5 favourites with skybet to win Group 6, kick off their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign on September 6th, away to Andorra. The crucial away tie with Croatia (13/8 with Paddy Power) is on September 10th.

Croatia coach Slaven Bilic insisted that he hoped to avoid England, despite his country’s recent success against them. He pointed out that it is a testing group, given the presence of both England and Ukraine, and warned against focusing on the group winners coming from just England or Croatia.
However, Bilic is delighted that Arsenal striker, Eduardo Da Silva is recovering well from the double compound leg fracture he sustained in February and may well be fit to join his club for pre-season training. At 22, Luka Modric has already been capped 29 times by his country and represents the future of Croatian football. He was the creative genius in Croatia’s midfield and possesses a strong ability to easily outplay opposing midfielders despite his size. Following Croatia’s defeat of Germany in at Euro 2008, Croatian coach Slaven Bilic regarded him as the best player in Europe.

Following England and Croatia, Ukraine (15/2 with William Hill) cannot be discounted lightly. With a highly motivated team of young players, Ukraine are the “dark horses” of the group and seem certain to have some say in its outcome. Despite finishing only a disappointing 4th in their Euro 2008 qualification bid, they possess some skilful players, including powerful striker Artem Milevskiy, from Dynamo Kiev.

Belarus (100/1 with William Hill) have produced players of great skill in their recent history and it might prove foolish to dismiss their chances of qualification completely. Amongst their current crop of players is the dynamic midfielder, Alexander Hleb, who has recently moved to Barcelona.

Kazakhstan (1000/1 with 888sport) and Andorra (10000/1 with sportingbet) simply make up the numbers in Group 6. Both teams will struggle to compete against the other nations, because of the lack of quality in terms of players and highly uncompetitive domestic leagues.

Fabio Capello needs to get the most out of his squad of talented under-achievers. Many “experts” are of the opinion that powerful physique and effort are taught in preference to technical expertise in youth teams, resulting in players with insufficient technical skill to compete at the highest level. A successful team is a blend of these attributes and it can only be hoped that the new coach finds the correct combination as soon as possible. England should qualify with a minimum of fuss, as Group winners, given the opposition with which they are presented.

Bet365 have England at 1/4 to qualify and 11/4 to fail. Even if the English side slip up and finish second, there is always the “playoff” route by which to qualify. However, provided England don’t throw points away as they have been prone to do, the qualification path looks pretty straight and smooth. With a fresh outlook and some fresh faces, hopefully at this time two years from now, Fabio Capello will be due for toasting, not roasting.

All odds correct at time of writing. Please click here for the latest odds

Originally written by Bet123.net, an online Betting Guide

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HISTORY OF THE FIFA WORLD CUP

Since the first competition in Uruguay in 1930, FIFA’s flagship event has grown in popularity. In the 1920s, Jules Rimet led a group in bringing together the world’s top national teams to contest a World Championship.
Upon its resumption, following WWII, the World Cup rapidly advanced to its status as the world’s greatest sporting event. From 1958, the finals were held alternately in Europe and the Americas. The Executive Committee’s resolution to award the 2002 renewal to co-hosts South Korea and Japan was a ground-breaking decision. 18 tournaments have seen only seven different winners. However, the World Cup has also been interspersed with dramatic upsets that have helped create footballing history. These include the USA defeat of England in 1950 and Cameroon’s opening match defeat of cup-holders Argentina in 1990. Today, the World Cup has tens of billions of viewers worldwide, and several million fans attending the matches. South Africa 2010 sees the 80th anniversary of the FIFA World Cup, but the focus remains the same, the glistening trophy; the embodiment of every footballer’s ambition.
The 19th World Cup starts on 11th June. It will be the first time that the tournament has been hosted by the Confederation of African Football, leaving only Oceania never to have hosted the event. As hosts, South Africa qualifies automatically, but they will participate in World Cup qualifiers, as these serve as the qualifying tournament for the 2010 African Cup of Nations.

NOTABLE PREVIOUS WINNERS

HUNGARY – 1953
England faced a Hungarian side at Wembley in November 1953 and was expected to win. However, they were destroyed 6-3 by Ferenc Puskás and company. The Hungarian side was unbeaten in 33 games between May 1950 and July 1954.

BRAZIL -1958
Brazil struggled to beat Wales 1-0, Pelé describing his goal as the most important he ever scored. He added a hat-trick against France and a further brace in the final against Sweden, giving the young side a title they thoroughly deserved.

ENGLAND, 1966
On 30th July 1966, Sir Alf Ramsey’s “gladiators” faced Germany at Wembley Stadium in front of 100,000 fans. A goal down after 12 minutes, Geoff Hurst equalised seven minutes later. After 77 minutes, Martin Peters scored. In the final minute, Wolfgang Weber levelled at 2-2, forcing extra time. After
11 minutes, a Hurst shot hit the crossbar, bounced apparently on the line and was cleared. Referee Gottfried Dienst consulted linesman Tofik Bakhramov and awarded the goal. In the last minute, Kenneth Wolstenholme called the most famous goal ever, “and here comes Hurst, he’s got Ball to his right…Some people are on the pitch, they think it’s all over – it is now!
It’s four!” Hurst confessed to trying to hoof the ball as far as possible into the stand, but ended up with a hat-trick.

MEMORABLE EVENTS

Gordon Banks’ “Save of the Century” – 1970
In the 1970 World Cup, Pelé’s downward header seemed a certain goal, until Banks, diving to his right, produced a save of miraculous proportions, regularly referred to as the “save of the century”. England lost the group match 1-0.

Maradona’s “Hand of God” – 1986
A poor interception in the ¼-final played the ball between England ‘keeper Peter Shilton and Argentinean Diego Maradona. Maradona got to the ball first, and punched the ball into the net. He claimed the goal was scored, “A bit with the head of Maradona and another bit with the hand of God.”

2010 BETTING

Outright Winners
4 teams from 10 qualify in South America, and despite a slow start to the qualifying campaign, Brazil are favourites at 5/1 with William Hill.
Argentina, with 11 points from their opening games, are next best at
11/2 with vcbet.

The European challenge is headed by Euro 2008 champions, Spain, 9/1 with sportingbet. Holders Italy, 11/1 with skybet, should qualify, with only Bulgaria and Ireland as serious competition. Germany, 12/1 with Paddy Power, invariably do well in the “big time”, only have Russia to worry about and look worth a small interest. England, 12/1 with sportingbet is drawn in Group 6 with Euro 2008 nemesis Croatia.
France (16/1 with William Hill) beat Romania to top spot in Group 7.
Holland (16/1 with Ladbrokes) look a good bet at this early stage, with only Scotland as viable opposition in Group 9. Of all the fancied European sides, Portugal (25/1 with Stan James) have the trickiest draw, with Sweden, Denmark and Hungary in opposition.

The lowest-priced teams from elsewhere are African teams, Cote d’Ivoire
(50/1 with skybet) and Cameroon (66/1 with the same firm), while Mexico are
66/1 with William Hill.

“Golden Boot” Winner
The “Golden Boot” trophy is awarded to the top goalscorer in the World Cup finals, with some online layers offering each-way ¼ the odds a place the first 4. In seeking a potential “Golden Boot” winner it is essential to select from a team which is fairly certain to reach the quarter-finals. The next step is to narrow down the players to the potential high scorers. In 7 of the last 10 World Cups, 6 goals have been enough to secure the trophy.

Originally written by Bet123.net, an online Betting Guide

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EUROPE

Eight groups of six teams and one group of five were drawn on November 25 2007. The nine group winners qualify automatically. The best eight of the nine runners-up will play a two-legged play-off, hoping to be one of the 13 UEFA qualifiers. Qualifying begins in August 2008.

GROUP 1
In a very competitive group, Portugal is Evens favourites with sportingbet, while Sweden (5/2 with William Hill) and Denmark (4/1 with William Hill) do battle again after meeting in Euro 2008 qualifying. Hungary (33/1) is an improving side. Albania (500/1 with William Hill) and Malta (2500/1 with Ladbrokes) are the “whipping boys” of Group 1.

GROUP 2
A good draw for Greece (11/8 with Paddy Power) who should win the group at the main expense of Switzerland (13/8 with William Hill), though Israel (9/2 with skybet) may have a say. Latvia (50/1 with William Hill), Moldova (200/1 with 888sport) and Luxembourg (5000/1 with skybet) are no-hopers.

GROUP 3
In a tough group, the Czech Republic are 4/6 favourites with Paddy Power with Poland at 7/2 with William Hill.
Northern Ireland (14/1 with Paddy Power) has been in good form, while neither Slovakia (16/1 with William Hill) nor Slovenia (33/1 with Ladbrokes) can be entirely dismissed. San Marino (10000/1 with 888sport) might as well stay at home

GROUP 4
Germany (4/9 with skybet) and Russia (5/2 with skybet) seem certain to contest the guaranteed qualifying place. Finland (20/1 with William Hill) and Wales (33/1 with sportingbet) face tough tasks. Azerbaijan (500/1 with skybet) and Liechtenstein (10000/1 with sportingbet) will consider scoring a successful campaign.

GROUP 5
A very competitive group, with Spain (1/2 with William Hill) as worthy favourites, following Euro 2008. Turkey (3/1 with vcbet) will be no pushovers and Belgium (12/1 with Ladbrokes) could well play a part. Bosnia (40/1 with William Hill) face an uphill task, while Armenia (250/1 with William Hill and Estonia (500/1 with 888sport) have no chance.

GROUP 6
In a difficult group, England, 6/5 favourites with skybet, meet Euro 2008 qualifying nemesis Croatia (13/8 with Paddy Power). Ukraine (15/2 with William Hill) should not be under-rated. Belarus (100/1 with William Hill), Kazakhstan (1000/1 with 888sport) and Andorra (10000/1 with sportingbet) make up the numbers.

GROUP 7
France (8/13 with Paddy Power) should see off improving Romania (11/4 with skybet) for the top spot. Serbia (11/2 with William Hill) is a tough opponent, particularly at home, and could cause an upset. Austria (80/1 with William Hill) Lithuania (150/1 with William Hill) and the Faroe Islands (10000/1 with skybet) are also-rans.

GROUP 8
Italy is 1/3 favourites with Paddy Power to win the group. However, Bulgaria (8/1 with Ladbrokes) and Ireland (10/1 with William Hill) are fancied to upset the Azzurri. Cyprus (66/1 with skybet), Georgia (100/1 with skybet) and newcomers Montenegro (250/1 with 888sport) make up the group.

GROUP 9
Holland is 1/2 favourite with sportingbet and looks the likeliest winner. Scotland (11/2 with William Hill) seems on the upgrade and looks a good bet to beat Norway (6/1 with William Hill) to the play-off place. They may even trouble the favourites. Macedonia (66/1 with Paddy Power) and Iceland (150/1 with skybet) will do well to make any impression at all.

SOUTH AMERICA

All 10 teams in the group play each other home and away and the top 4 teams qualify automatically for World Cup 2010. The fifth placed South American team will play off with a team from Concacaf (Caribbean, Central and North American Confederation).Qualification is well under way in the South American group, having commenced in October 2007. With 6 games from 18 played, Paraguay (6/1) surprisingly leads the group with 13 points, followed by Argentina (Evs) with 11 points, Colombia (20/1) and Chile (25/1) with 10 points each and Brazil (6/4) with 9 points. Prices quoted are Stan James’ offers on winning the group. Brazil has been slow to start, drawing with Argentina, Colombia and Peru, along with a surprising 2-0 loss to Paraguay. However, it is way too soon to start panicking, with only a third of the games played. Ricky Kaka should be returning from surgery in the near future. Coach Dunga’s job seems under threat, but this seems premature. The only potential “banana skin” in Brazil’s remaining fixtures is an away tie to Argentina. This is not till September 2009, so there is plenty of time for the team to find its form. Winning the group will probably rest between Argentina and Brazil, the remaining qualifiers being Paraguay, with Colombia, Chile and Uruguay fighting for 4th and 5th places.

All odds correct at time of writing. Please click here for the latest odds

Originally written by Bet123.net, an online Betting Guide

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