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Last Friday, 32 nations discovered their fate as the draw for next summer’s World Cup took place in Cape Town. Never before has the draw received so much attention, with the media keen to identify ‘Groups of Death’, despite the fact that every team playing in the competition are there on merit (with the exception of South Africa).

A couple of bookmakers have already decided to offer a generous cashback special on the World Cup, with Sky Bet offering to refund all losing outright bets if England are triumphant. This is possibly an attempt to encourage less English people to back their own country, with many UK bookmakers likely to run up liabilities on Fabio Capello’s team ahead of the tournament starting.

Similarly, Boylesports are offering to refund all losing outright bets if France repeat their 1998 victory and win the World Cup for the second time. This is a reaction to the controversial way in which Ireland were eliminated from the play-offs by Les Bleus, although this is not a vintage French team, with Blue Square offering 16/1 that Raymond Domenech steers them to glory.

The bookmakers have already gone into overdrive with a wide range of markets on the 2010 World Cup, with every group match already priced up by the likes of Paddy Power and Sky Bet. In addition, betfair have set up the matches on their website, although it might be some time before there is reasonable liquidity. Paddy Power have also priced up correct score, double chance and HT / FT opportunities for each game, with each of these related to the match betting.

Coral, Sky Bet, Paddy Power and bet365 have also priced up a ‘Stage of Elimination’ market for 14 of the 32 teams, with England available at 9/2 (Coral) to go out of the competition at the semi-final stage. For those that think that Brazil might suffer in the ‘Group of Death’, Paddy offer 5/1 that the five-time winners go out at the group stage, although Portugal might be a more sensible bet with the Irish firm at 6/4.

Totesport have priced up a ‘Top African Team’ market and it’s no surprise to see Ivory Coast available at even money, although a tough group could see Ghana (9/2) or Cameroon (11/2) go further than their continental cousins. Totesport also offer ‘Top European Team’ which is naturally a competitive market, but will anyone get further than Euro 200 winners Spain (11/5)? It’s no surprise to see Europe a best price 4/9 (bet365) to be the winning continent, with South America next at 9/4 (Blue Square).

Finally, Blue Square have opened a market on which England players will make the 23-man squad that jets out to South Africa in the summer. Shaun Wright-Phillips is clearly a borderline decision at 10/11, with Gabby Agbonlahor an interesting price at 9/4. His Villa team-mate James Milner looks more likely to take a place on the plane, with his odds at 4/11 right now.

We now know the 32 teams who will contest the 19th renewal of the World Cup next summer in South Africa. France’s progress to the finals was heavily controversial, although Stan James offer a best price 16/1 that Raymond Domenech’s team repeat their success of 1998. The big surprise on Wednesday evening was the exit of Russia, although the bookmakers don’t rate Slovenia’s chances in their first ever tournament. Coral make them 400/1 outsiders, although they are there on merit after finishing second in a tough qualifying group.

Portugal managed to ease through against Bosnia despite missing Cristiano Ronaldo, although they are sure to have officially the world’s best player back for the finals. Sporting Bet offer 18/1 that Carlos Queiroz steers the team to glory, although they continue to lack a cutting edge up front. Meanwhile, the dream is still alive for Euro 2004 winners Greece, who landed a 1-0 win in Ukraine to go through this week. Otto Rehhagel’s tactics worked a treat in Kiev, although the bookies are less convinced that they’ll make an impact in South Africa. Victor Chandler offer 150/1 that they are triumphant.

Some people are suggesting that the 2010 World Cup winner is going to come from a select group of two. Spain proved during Euro 2008 that they are an outstanding team and Ladbrokes make them slight favourites at 4/1 to prove that they’re the best nation on the planet. Manager Vicente del Bosque is blessed with some technically brilliant players and it’s hard to pick holes in them at the moment. Similarly, Brazil have an excellent World Cup pedigree and Paddy Power are lifting their heads above the parapet by offering 5/1. The South Americans have featured in three of the last four finals and qualified easily. Perhaps backing both of these teams will prove to be a profitable excursion.

In recent months, one of the big market movers have been the Ivory Coast, with William Hill going as short as 20/1 that they become the first African nation to win the tournament. They very nearly beat Germany in a friendly recently and have arguably the world’s best striker in Didier Drogba. The Elephants will have plenty of competitive match action in the African Nations cup and are the continent’s best chance of success. While the hosts will obviously have home advantage, they looked to be a mediocre team during the Confederations Cup and Coral are prepared to lay them at 200/1.

One of the teams that has drifted the most is Argentina and the rumour on the grapevine is that the bookmakers are out to get Diego Maradona’s team next summer. Bet Fred offer a standout 10/1 about the Albicelestes, although they were slightly fortunate to qualify and having Lionel Messi in the team does not equal success. However, firms are reporting a brisk trade on the Netherlands and England to win next summer’s competition. The Dutch blew the opposition away in qualifying and have been cut to 14/1 (bet365), while England are 13/2 (Coral), with Fabio Capello fielding a weakened team against Brazil recently. It might be worth taking this price now as there will be a flood of patriotic money coming for the Three Lions by the time next summer comes around!

There will be plenty of nerves on display in Lisbon, Athens, Dublin and Moscow this coming Saturday, with eight teams battling it out for four World Cup places. These matches are sure to be popular as far as pre-match and In-Play betting is concerned, so we’ve taken a look at our favourite bookmakers to find some top promotions.

Over at bet365, they are running their usual Bore Draw Money Back offer, where correct score, HT / FT and Scorecast bets are refunded if a match finishes 0-0. We would say that these type of matches have a much stronger chance of finishing goalless, especially as the first leg games are bound to be tight and cagey. Teams will be afraid of conceding and you can bet that the likes of Bosnia and Slovenia will be setting up defensively against Portugal and Russia respectively.

Meanwhile, Paddy Power have come up with a typically crazy promotion for the Ireland v France match, which ties in with the X Factor! John and Edward are one of the favourites to be eliminated and, if they are evicted on Sunday, then your losing First Goalscorer, Correct Score and Scorecast bets will be refunded. The pair were close to being axed last week so this could be a popular promotion.

Meanwhile, although Ladbrokes don’t have any set promotions for the four matches, they are providing a unique type of bet. The Quatro enables to you to select a combination of the winning team and the amount of goals scored. For example, they offer odds of 2.50 that Ukraine win or draw in Greece PLUS there are two goals or less in the match. Similarly, Ladbrokes offer Goal Time Quatro, so for example you can back Republic of Ireland to score first PLUS the first goal being scored after the 27th minute. At odds of 4.00, it’s not a bad shout.

My personal hunch is that the matches are likely to be low-scoring. If you look at the previous first leg scores in the play-offs, there are often few goals involved and it could therefore be worth looking at the Under 2.5 Goals prices. Stan James are offering some great odds on this market, going best price for the Greece v Ukraine and the Ireland v France matches. Doing four lines of trebles on the quartet of games would return a profit if three involve two goals or less and the Bosnia manager has already stated his intention to pack out the midfield in Portugal.

Over at Unibet, they have priced up some goalscorer match bets, with Kevin Doyle being paired with Thierry Henry and Robbie Keane going head-to-head with Nicolas Anelka. Meanwhile, Canbet customers should be aware that you get a 10% bonus on any winnings from a multiple bet. Providing you include at least three selections and that your accumulator amounts to odds of at least 6.00, you can get 10% added to the pay-out.

Of course, all of the bookmakers we mention will be offering In-Play betting on the four World Cup qualifying matches, while bet365 will be streaming the games from Moscow, Lisbon and Athens so that you can watch and bet on the action!

Key: B365 = Bet365, LB = Ladbrokes, PP = PaddyPower, EX = Expekt, BF = Betfair, bW = bWin,

Saturday 10^th October

16:00 GMT: Russia V Germany – B365, LB, PP, EX, BF

17:15 GMT: Ukraine V England – B365

18:00 GMT: Cyprus V Bulgaria – bW, EX

19:30 GMT: Czech Republic V Poland – B365, LB, PP, EX, BF

19:30 GMT: Greece V Latvia – B365, LB, PP, EX, BF

19:45 GMT: Belgium V Turkey – B365, LB, PP, EX, BF

20:45 GMT: Portugal V Hungary – B365, LB, PP, bW, EX, BF

23:00 GMT: Argentina V Peru - B365, LB, PP, EX, BF

23: GMT: Colombia V Chile – B365, LB, PP, EX, BF

23:00 GMT: Ecuador V Uruguay - B365, LB, EX, BF

23:00 GMT: Venezuela V Paraguay – B365, LB, PP, BF

23:00 GMT: Mexico V El Salvador – B365, LB, BF

Sunday 11^th October

03:00 GMT: Costa Rica V Trinidad & Tobago – B365, BF

03:00 GMT: Honduras V USA – B365, BF

21:00 GMT: Bolivia V Brazil – B365, LB, EX, BF

Conditions – As the old saying goes ‘you don’t get anything for free in this world’. Well, that’s not completely true. Betfair are certainly an exception to this rule as they will allow you to watch every game they stream absolutely free, with no bet nor cash in your account needed to watch their streams.

However, there are always going to be a few Scrooges. As far as I’m aware, Bet365 & PaddyPower will let you watch their streams free, also, although i can honestly say i haven’t used their streams for a while now, so don’t quote me on that. Ladbrokes should also follow similar guidelines as I’ve watched a game recently on there, free of charge!

Expekt & bWin do require that you have some form of cash in your account before you can watch their streams, although, I’m pretty sure that is all you need, just some cash in your account and not that you actually have a punt on the match you wish to watch.

Recommendations: I personally prefer to use Betfair, mainly because the coverage is shown on a slightly bigger screen and you can interact with fellow Betfair ‘forumites’ whilst indulging in a spot of footie watching. You need nothing but an account to watch their streams so if you’re strapped for cash and struggling to make the hours tick by, why not log in or simply sign up and watch some football on the net, via Betfair!

Must Watch – Portugal V Hungary & Argentina V Peru

Two giants of the footballing world are on the verge of collapse as both Argentina & Portugal cling on for dear life in a bid yo scrape through their respective groups. Although, from an English perspective anyway, the absence of both Christiano Ronaldo & Lionel Messi will benefit other countries chances of winning the tournament next summer, from a purist point of view, a World Cup without the two stand out players of our current generation doesn’t bare thinking about. Make sure you tune into both and see how the pair get on, with Portugal kicking off on Saturday evening and Argentina playing later that night.

While England are off to the Ukraine trying to keep their unblemished qualifying record going, the Republic of Ireland will be embroiled in a momentous game in Dublin against the Italians. Both games are of equal importance for all of the parties involved, and make up two of the most interesting games happening on Saturday in World Cup 2010 European Qualifying.

The Republic of Ireland need to beat Italy in order to stay in with a chance of claiming top spot from them. The incentive of topping the group will be drilled into them, by the Italian that is in the Irish camp, manager Giovanni Trapattoni. A win for the Irish would close the gap at the top to one point, and make for a cracking night on Wednesday, with that top spot up for grabs. As much as the Irish can do themselves a favour by beating the Italians, topping the group is something which may still be out of their own hands. They will require Italy to slip up in their final game on Wednesday, which is a home fixture against minnows Cyprus. Even if things do not go their way on Wednesday, by beating the Italians, the Irish will be safe in the knowledge that they have second place wrapped up. The Irish are at home to Montenegro, and will still be looking to pick up points to make sure they are among the best 8 of the 9 second placed teams which go into a playoff.

All of the teams finishing as group Runner’s-Up will have their results against the team which finishes bottom of their respective groups, wiped out, and any points gained therefore, taken away. This is because Group 9 only had five teams as opposed to the six in all of the others. Because the teams in Group 9 all played a game less, there weren’t as many points up for grabs. This is FIFA’s complicated way of levelling the playing field. It all boils down to, the more points the Irish can pick up against Italy, the safer they will be. Georgia are bottom of the group at the moment, who the Irish have beaten twice, so that technically puts them on 10 points, the threshold for Group 9 runner’s up Norway. However, if Montenegro lose against Georgia and finish bottom, then Ireland will lose only the 1 point gained in a draw against them, plus whatever happens on Wednesday when they play them.

Betting Tips:
Playing against Italy, even at home is going to be a tough ask for the Irish. The World Champions have been their usual efficient selves throughout qualifying, and will be hard to break down. They only need a point to secure top place in the group.
Ireland to win: 13/5 at Stan James
Draw: 2/1 at BetFred
Italy to win: 6/4 at Blue Square

Look for a Draw No Bet - Ireland 5/4 at SkyBet. It will give a little security on your money, while backing the home side.

England’s opponents, the Ukraine, need nothing less than a win to keep their hopes alive. They need the three points so that they can leap above Croatia into second place. With both Croatia and the Ukraine having easy last games, this is the Ukraine’s last chance to take advantage of the game they have in hand over the Croats. As England have proven throughout the qualifying tournament, they no longer appear to be a pushover under Capello. The English will go into the game as favourites, and striker Wayne Rooney, who is leading the goal-scoring charts in European Qualifying, has been public with his thoughts that the whole of England, as well as they players want to see them win all of their games. Capello does not seem to be the type of person who will sit back on laurels. The game can be watched live online with a funded account with Bet365.

Betting Tips:
England can score goals, they have proven that, and they have done so away from home. This one has the feel of a tight game, but an Asian Handicap of England -1 at 7/2 with Bet365 could offer a nice reward should they keep the goals flowing and bag two or more.

Ukraine to win: 9/5 at Stan James
Draw: 13/5 at William Hill
England to win: 6/4 at Bet365

Rooney anytime scorer: 11/5 at Coral
Lampard anytime scorer: 7/2 at Paddy Power
Andrei Shevchenko anytime scorer: 13/5 at Paddy Power

Fabio Capello has made some changes to the England squad ahead of the World Cup Qualifiers against the Ukraine and Belarus. Not being one to dish out the experimental cards too much, there have been some necessary changes because of injury. England travel to the Ukraine on Saturday for what could be tough test of their mettle and reserve. The Ukraine desperately need a win, something which would likely secure them the runner’s-up spot in Group 6 of European Qualifying.

There are only four games between now and the announcement of Capello’s preliminary World Cup squad, and so the pressure is still on the players to perform, even with qualification already secured.

Goalkeeper: David James, after his summer surgery and all the turmoil going on down at Pompey, comes back into the squad in place of the yet-to-really-prove-himself Ben Foster. It is likely that Robert Green will continue his stint as starting goalkeeper though.

Defence: The most notable returnee, is Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, who comes back into the international fold after injury. This is good timing as they will need his experience in the harsh environment of the Ukraine. Ferdinand, despite a frustrating penchant for delivering aimless long balls forward, has been everywhere and done it all, and if England are to keep that 100% record going, then his presence could be vital. The defence is bound to come under a lot of pressure at some point in the game. It will certainly be better to see him sliding in alongside captain John Terry, than it will be seeing Matthew Upson, who is an apt replacement, but isn’t in the same class.

Midfield: The squad stays the same with familiar faces. From an attacking point of view, Aaron Lennon and Shaun Wright-Phillips are definitely a welcome sight, as it gives impetuous on the team going forward. Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Gareth Barry and David Beckham are all there, with bit part players such as James Milner and Michael Carrick as back-up. With Chelsea’s Joe Cole just returning from his long lay off, he will need more time to work his way back into the squad, but it will be good to know that he is on the back-burner, waiting to reclaim his spot.

Forwards: Up front, Jermaine Defoe has had to pull out of the squad because of injury, and that sees the return of Villa’s Gabriel Agbonlahor, who is on a run of good form himself, finding the back of the net in each of his last five outings for the Villains. While the spark of Defoe may be missed coming off the bench, it still doesn’t really resolve Capello of the quandary about which striker to throw on as a sub if needed. With competition coming from West Ham’s Carlton Cole, and Spurs’ Peter Crouch, it will likely be Agbonlahor or Cole who gets the nod if England need to find a goal. There will be no Michael Owen as he’s picked up another injury. Don’t expect him to feature in the World Cup Squad next year with the crop of hungry youngsters pushing hard. Like Joe Cole, Theo Walcott is another name who has yet to appear back in the squad. He scored on his comeback in the Premier League for Arsenal, but Capello has chosen not to include him, probably waiting for him to get more games under his belt.

England squad
Paul Robinson, Robert Green, David James, Ashley Cole, John Terry, Glen Johnson, Wayne Bridge, Joleon Lescott, Wes Brown, Rio Ferdinand, Matthew Upson, James Milner, Frank Lampard, David Beckham, Stephen Gerrard, Gareth Barry, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Michael Carrick, Aaron Lennon, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Emile Heskey, Peter Crouch, Carlton Cole, Wayne Rooney

REMEMBER: The only place to see this game live, for free, is with Bet365. All that is needed is a funded account with them, to enjoy the exclusive live stream. You have to pay in other places, but with Bet365, as long as you have funds in your account, then you can take advantage of their excellent betting services, and the stream.

Ukraine to Win: 9/5 at Stan James
Draw: 13/5 at William Hill
England to Win: 6/4 at Bet365

October 10th sees another step forward in England’s World Cup 2010 qualifying campaign. Thank to a 100% record so far in their first eight games, Fabio Capello’s side have already qualified, thanks to a thumping 5-1 home victory against Croatia. Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard netted two-a-piece, while Wayne Rooney rounded off the scoring after a comical miss-kick by the Croatian keeper. England will be keen to see out the qualifying process and maintain that perfect record, something the Dutch did (albeit playing two games less) and only the powerhouse of Spain can achieve this same feat now. This will be a big feather in England’s cap, and why their odds have been cut to lift the trophy in South Africa next year, and are 11/2 at Bet365 to do it.

The match against the Ukraine holds a lot of importance for the Group, not for England themselves clearly, although they will be keen not to let up on their current excellent run of form, but to see who clinches that all important runners-up place. Croatia are in second place in the moment, two points ahead of the Ukraine, but having played a game more. Things would have been a lot closer if the Ukraine had managed better than an away 0-0 draw in Belarus in their last match, while England was doing them a favour by hammering Croatia. They could not take advantage however, and now face the task of needing to beat England to keep themselves in with a chance.

Ukraine’s final game is away against the whipping boys of the group, Andorra, so it should be a given that they will pick up maximum points there. So, in order for them to stand a chance of taking second place, they will need to beat England. Things would be made a lot easier for them, if Croatia were to suffer an embarrassment against Kazakhstan in their final group match, but that is something that they cannot rely on. The Ukraine need to go all out to beat England, and in the end, if they can secure the two wins they need, then it won’t matter what Croatia does.

This is an interesting match, and it will be drawing a lot of attention. Fabio Capello will hopefully keep the team together in order to build some stability ahead of World Cup. The planning starts now, and the competition for places in the starting eleven should hot up, especially with the Premier League getting into the swing of things. England are in free scoring mode at the moment, as so the permutations for placing bets are both intriguing and challenging. In game live betting is always an attractive option for following the action, and with Bet365 you can have the very best of both worlds.

Bet365 offer a comprehensive betting service, and along with that, they provide live streaming of games, for a one stop online shop for betting and watching. They stream over 4,000 live events per year with this service. But only users with funded Bet365 accounts will be able to enjoy the live stream of the game, as the broadcast for the Ukraine v England game is exclusive to Bet365, and no other bookmaker or TV channel has the privilege to show it. This is a major coup for Bet365 and makes a grand statement about their place in the competitive Bookies market.

You too can have access to the live streamed game, by opening an account with Bet365 and depositing some funds. That’s all it will take, but not only will you get to enjoy the game, by opening a new account you will also reap the benefit of a 100% Initial Deposit Bonus. Just make that deposit of £20 or more and you will be given back a 100% on your initial deposit, up to a maximum of £200. Remember, that the streaming of the England game is free on Bet365, as opposed to certain newspapers, which are charging around £15 to watch a live stream. For that money, you can put it towards your Bet365 deposit, watch the game, and hopefully pick up some winnings too.

England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland are all in World Cup Qualifying action Wednesday, and all facing mixed fortunes heading into their respective matches. Scotland have the most crucial game of all home nations, as they are the brink of missing out on South Africa 2010. They need a positive victory at home against Holland as they go seeking a runners-up spot in their final qualifying match. They received a big boost on Saturday as they beat Macedonia 2-0 at Hampden to set themselves up with a chance. It is not an easy chance as the Dutch won the group convincingly, but the Scots are there and only a victory will genuinely preserve their World Cup lifeline, along with results going their way in other groups.

The qualifying situation is a little complicated, because Group 9 (Scotland’s group) only has five teams in it. Technically the Scots only need a draw against the Dutch to secure second place in the group. However, not getting a win may put them at risk of being the second placed team with the worst record. The qualifying from Europe breaks down as this, and shows why Scotland rightly are still in with a chance of four Home Nations making it to South Africa (as Wales have already been eliminated from qualifying except in some far fetched numerical theory). Point three below will clarify Scotland’s situation a little better…

• Nine group winners will automatically qualify
• Eight of the nine second placed teams will progress
• The second placed teams will have their records against the bottom team in their group wiped out. This is because Group 9 has only 5 teams, whereas all the others have 6. Doing this will ensure that all second placed teams will be based on an equal amount of games played.
• A random draw will be done to determine two-leg qualifying fixtures from which four teams will qualify

The maximum points the Scottish can finish with is 13 as a second placed team. However, Hungary in Group One are already on 13 in second place, and in Group Two Greece and Latvia are tied in second and third respectively on the same number of points. With them playing more games than Scotland in the run in, they could lose some of those points when all matches have been played. For example, Hungary have beaten bottom placed Malta twice already, so that will mean six points off their total if they finish second, so technically that puts them behind Scotland. All a little complicated as opposed to FIFA simply putting another team in Group 9 to start with, but that’s the way it goes.

The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland both sit in second place in their respective groups. Both are closing in on the leaders, but also have the threat of teams catching up from them behind. The Republic of Ireland are chasing Italy, but they aren’t in action again until October. They will be hoping that the Italians fail to beat Bulgaria, and that Bulgaria don’t pull off a win either as they are in third place. A draw will suit the Irish to a tee. Northern Ireland are in a crunch match with table topping Slovakia. If Slovakia win, they’ll all but guarantee their place at the finals, but a win for the Irish will position themselves wonderfully for a runners-up spot, as they have played one more game than Slovakia.

England could clinch the group with a draw if the Ukraine can’t manage to beat Belarus, but that’s a little unlikely, but the win for Capello’s men will seal the group regardless. It could also put Croatia’s World Cup hopes on ice, as the Ukraine would be level on points with them with a game in hand, if both they and England win.

Group One has all kinds of permutations ahead of Wednesday’s fixtures, but the most prominent one is if Hungary beat Portugal, that will pretty much be the end of Cristiano Ronaldo’s chance of showing up on the world stage, as Hungary will only need one point from their remaining games to doom the Portuguese to a summer of golf. In Group Two, Switzerland can put themselves in very strong pole position with a win, although no-one can actually book a qualification place as the group is tight. Germany and Russia are the only ones playing with any interest in Group Four. Again neither can qualify, and the winner of this group will likely be the winner of the clash between the two in October. Group Seven has one of the exciting matches of the night between first placed Serbia and second placed France, who are four points behind the leaders. Serbia win, they will join Holland in South Africa, France win, they’ll close within a point.

GROUP ONE outright
Denmark – 1/8 at BetFred
Sweden – 7/1 at Bet365
Portugal – 28/1 at Coral
Hungary – 100/1 at 888Sport

GROUP TWO outright
Greece – 4/1 at Boylesports
Switzerland – 1/3 at Bet365
Lativa – 16/1 at Totesport

GROUP THREE outright
Slovakia – 4/11 at BetFred
Czech Republic – 12/1 at Totesport
N. Ireland – 12/1 at Coral
Poland – 16/1 at Bet365
Slovenia – 20/1 at SkyBet

GROUP FOUR outright
Germany – 1/3 at BlueSquare
Russia – 5/2 at Victor Chandler

GROUP FIVE outright
Spain – 1/200 at BetFred
Bosnia – 28/1 at BoyleSports

GROUP SIX outright
England – 1/80 at PaddyPower
Croatia – 16/1 at Bet365
Ukraine – 66/1 at Totesport

GROUP SEVEN outright
Sebria – 2/5 at BetFred
France – 5/2 at Bet365

GROUP EIGHT outright
Itlay – 1/6 at BetFred
Rep. of Ireland – 5/1 at Victor Chandler
Bulgaria – 40/1 at Totesport

Wednesday, September 9th
8.00pm Kick Off at Wembley

England midfielder David Beckham could be back in a different kind of England shirt in the summer, this time one of the English Premier league club shirts. His season for LA Galaxy finishes in November, and Becks has stated that he has options to come back to England. Last year Becks was loaned out to AC Milan, who, reportedly are keen to have him back. He’s clearly not stating any names of clubs involved in taking him on loan until he returns to LA for March, but he knows the importance of keeping up his full fitness during the MLS off season. The World Cup is just around the corner, and a fit Becks is a bonus to have on the bench.

Beckham has leadership and experience, and will be somewhat embittered by the failure to qualify for Euro 2008 when the Croats beat them in the last qualifying game at Wembley. That game has been much talked about in the run up to Wednesday’s clash, but coach Fabio Capello has been keen to dismiss talk of the players being single mindedly out for revenge. Taking a cool approach, Capello pragmatically stated that the disastrous defeat for England had no bearing on current events. It was in the past and that is where it should stay, and that watching videos of that game now will not help the current English position. Instead Capello has been studying the most important games of the Group 6 Qualifying matches, including Croatia’s struggle to overturn Belarus, and how successful England were when they defeated Croatia 4-1 earlier in the campaign thanks to an Aaron Lennon hat trick.

Croatian team coach Slaven Bilic has been spouting a little bit of rhetoric ahead of the match, as he initiated the role of being protagonist in the mind games. He insisted that under Italian Fabio Capello, England had lost some of the English-ness that had always made them difficult to play against. One can only assume he will be referring to the physical force of past English teams which relied on long balls and a big physical presence up front. That certainly is not the Italian’s way, as England displayed at times in their friendly match against Slovenia on Saturday. There were passages of creative midfield play, that were slick and decisive, and with Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard at the heart of the team, there is a good balance of both power and finesse. John Terry and Wayne Rooney certainly won’t be pulling out of any physical challenges.

After thanking former West Ham and Everton defender Bilic for saving him the trouble of a thinking up a team talk, Capello’s main headache before the game has been who will be the second striker. Will he stick with Heskey up front to create room for Rooney, or will he start with the red hot Jermain Defoe who has netted five times in the last three England games? The coach knows, but he’s just not telling yet. The other main position up for contention is in Beckham’s position on the right wing. With the former Captain starting on the bench, the position will be filled by either Shaun Wright-Phillips or Aaron Lennon. Guesses will be that it will be Heskey and SWP lining up for kick off.

The only positive thing that came out of that night in 2007 in the 3-2 defeat, was the fact that it meant Steve McClaren was no longer going to be England manager. The history and disappointment of that Wembley night will still be on the minds of the few participants who were there though. Only Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry are likely starters on Wednesday from that rainy Wembley line-up. Motivation for the English should come simply from the fact that there is a World Cup place with the nation’s name on it. That is something Capello recognises as being more important than revenge.

England – 8/13 at Bet365
Draw – 11/4 at BetFred
Croatia – 11/2 at William Hill

Betting Tips. England should win, and the bookies recognise that. With the home crowd and vital points at stake, it should be a done deal. It will probably be worth backing up the England win bet with some other tasty tempters such as these…

First Scorer: Frank Lampard – 8/1 at Labdrokes. Big Frank can pop up at any time. If Rooney’s able to win a penalty again when it matters, this truly would be an awesome pick.

England to win 1-0 – 11/2 at SkyBet. A sensible bet. It’s unlikely this is going to be a high scoring match, with England not wanting any slip ups, and the fact that the late goal conceded against the Slovenians, was down to incredibly lazy defending, should have been driven home by Capello.

World Cup Qualifying

Saturday 28^th March

Holland v Scotland

I thought I’d get this pick in early as I am certain that the price of the bet will fall before kick off on Saturday

George Burley’s Scotland face the daunting task of attempting to get a positive result against a Dutch side who have a 100% record thus far in qualifying. The away side, however, have had a mixed bag of results with only a single victory from their three games played to date, which also included a disappointing home draw with Norway, last time out.

Burley comes into this game with a depleted squad. Stephen McManus, David Weir and Kirk Broadfoot look certain to miss out whilst Paul Hartley and Kris Commons have also pulled out of the initial squad. These call offs come are even more disheartening when you take into consideration the players who have been missing for a number of weeks and would almost certainly have played. James McFadden, Shaun Maloney, Barry Robson and Lee Miller would almost certainly have been included in the squad but for long term injuries.

The Scots should be able to call upon captain Barry Ferguson and Kenny miller. The Rangers duo had been doubtful but are both expected to start on Saturday night. Scotland look likely to adopt their favoured 4-5-1 formation which brought them much success in the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign under Walter Smith and Alex McLeish. Miller will be deployed as a lone striker with Ferguson, Scott Brown and Darren Fletcher playing as a central 3 in the middle of the park.

Burley has made the decision many expected by deciding that Rangers keeper, Allan McGregor will start in place of Craig Gordon who has not played since February. McGregor is an able deputy but this will be his first competitive start for his country and it is probably one of the most difficult fixtures he could have wished for.

Dutch coach, Bert Van Marwijk only has the one absentee to date. Atletico Madrid defender, Johnny Heitinga will miss out for the home side but there are numerous replacements waiting in the wings in what is a squad packed full of talent. Four players from Real Madrid join a quintet of players from the English Premiership. Aside from Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Edwin Van Der Saar, it is a similar squad of that which was very impressive at Euro 2008.

The Amsterdam ArenA will play host to this fixture and it is a stadium which will hold few good memories for a lot of the Scottish side. The last time the national team played there, they were crushed 6-0 by a rampant Dutch side in the play-off for Euro 2004. This Dutch side may not have as well known names as the team back then, but it is certainly not lacking in quality. Klaus Jan Huntelaar has found his scoring boots recently after a January move to Real Madrid. The striker has notched 8 goals in 11 appearances for Madrid, including a brace in his last outing. He will be raring to go and will want prove himself as a worthy successor to the now retired Van Nistelrooy. Liverpool duo, Ryan Babel and Dirk Kuyt will also be full of confidence after their clubs recent exploits.

Even if Stephen McManus does recover in time, Holland will have far too much for the current Scottish squad. An expectant home crowd will be expecting an early goal from their heroes and for them to build upon that. With the pace of Arjen Robben and the ability of midfielders Van Der Vaart and Snijder,  a comfortable win for the home sides beckon.

The Evens of offer at  Paddypower  for Holland – 1 on the handicap*, should not be missed.

My selection – Holland -1 to beat Scotland

*Handicap betting means one team begins with a goal meaning the other team starts with a deficit of a goal. In this case, Scotland have an imaginary 1 goal lead at the start of the game which means Holland need to win the game by at least two goals for the bet to be a winner.