England Vs Ivory Coast
England Vs Ivory Coast Tuesday 29 March, 2022 – 19:45 (GMT)
International Friendly
Pick: England Win & Over 2.5 Goals
Odds: 6/5
Bookmaker: Betfair
(All betting odds correct at time of writing: 27 March 2022)
Preview: The Three Lions round off March with their maiden meeting against the Ivory Coast, who will have taken a great deal of belief from Friday’s display in Paris against world champions France ahead of Tuesday’s first visit to Wembley for the West African nation.
International Friendlies Betting at Betfair
Table of Contents
England – Improvement demanded from sub-par Swiss display?
Gareth Southgate named an experimental side for the first of two friendlies during the March international break, leaving several established names on the bench as he handed out as many as three senior debuts. It very nearly backfired, however. England fell behind midway through the opening half to Switzerland, who were comfortably the better side until Luke Shaw equalised on the stroke of half-time.
Goal number 49 in an England shirt for Harry Kane completed the turnaround for the hosts at Wembley. The captain emphatically slotting home a penalty to cap off an otherwise quiet evening. A third straight win for The Three Lions, complementing 5-0 and 10-0 demolitions of Albania and San Marino respectively last November. Thus preserving their unbeaten run (W6 D2) since losing the Euro 2020 final to Italy.
Key Stat: All five England victories prior to Saturday’s 2-1 win against Switzerland were games they didn’t concede in, while that is now 21 consecutive matches conceding no more than one goal.
Ivory Coast – Positives to be had from spirited Paris effort?
Nicolas Pepe has endured a difficult season in the club colours of Arsenal, featuring for just 595 minutes of the Gunners league campaign. With much of that coming as a substitute. However, on Friday the tricky winger delivered a reminder of his talents, netting the opener in the Ivory Coast’s 2-1 loss to France in Paris with a brilliant run and finish past Hugo Lloris which left the Parc des Princes stunned.
Despite a spirited performance in the French capital, in which they were the equals of the world champions, Les Elephants departed empty handed. They conceded twice from headers – something Harry Maguire and Harry Kane could profit from at Wembley. Aurelien Tchoumeni’s 93rd-minute winner dealing a cruel blow. Denying the African nation, quarter-finalists at the recent Africa Cup of Nations, a famous result.
Key Stat: Their recent 2-1 loss to France was Ivory Coast’s third in the past six games (W2 D1), as many defeats as they had suffered in their 18 previous contests.
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England Vs Ivory Coast Betting Advice
After seeing how they laboured through large swathes of the 90 minutes of Saturday’s contest here against Switzerland, it could be argued England are worth opposing at 4/9 to chalk up their fourth win in a row. Especially as opponents Ivory Coast gave an excellent account in Paris the previous night, taking a shock lead and being incredibly unfortunate to concede deep into second-half stoppage-time to lose 2-1.
England Vs Ivory Coast – Key Facts:
- Both teams are coming off 2-1 scorelines, albeit England were winners at this ground against Switzerland on Saturday. A day earlier the Ivory Coast were beaten late on in Paris by world champions France.
- That marked a third loss in six for the West African side, who do retain a decent record in front of goal. The Ivory Coast have only failed to score in two of the past ten matches.
- Five of England’s six previous wins were to nil, though. The Three Lions are out to extend their eight-match unbeaten sequence since losing the final at Euro 2020 last summer.
We can expect further changes to the starting XI from Southgate, furthering disrupting the chemistry which looked disorganised defensively and disjointed going forward last time out. Yet this is a side good enough to win games without playing all that well, as demonstrated against the Swiss. Ivory Coast are capable of causing problems, though, scoring in 8 of the past 10 matches and at least twice in six of those.
Best Betting Odds – England Vs Ivory Coast
England – 4/11
Draw – 18/5
Ivory Coast – 15/2
(All odds taken from Betfair)
