England Vs San Marino
England Vs San Marino Thursday 25th March 2021 – 19:45
2022 World Cup Qualifier
Pick: No Goal Before 11:00 Minutes
Odds: 5/6
Bookmaker: Bet365
(All betting odds correct at time of writing: 22nd March 2021)
Preview: Gareth Southgate’s England ease themselves into Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifying with a home encounter with the world’s lowest ranked nation, facing a San Marino who succumbed to 5-0 defeats on their only two visits to the newer version of Wembley.
2022 World Cup Qualifiers Betting at Bet365
Table of Contents
England – Three Lions to go big?
The Three Lions begin a new season of international football with three matches inside six days, beginning with the least taxing fixture imaginable before more demanding assignments await in the shape of Albania away and Robert Lewandowski’s Poland at Wembley. Anything less than an emphatic margin of victory first time out would be a huge surprise meanwhile, bearing in mind the chasm between the sides.
At Wembley on Thursday, England will meet San Marino for the seventh time having unsurprisingly prevailed in all six previous duels. Gareth Southgate caused a storm in a tea cup when omitting Trent Alexander-Arnold from his latest 26-man squad, but it shouldn’t matter who the manager fields in defence for this encounter. England have only ever conceded once in this fixture, way back in 1993.
The winning margin when these sides have met has always been at least five goals, while the biggest scoreline accrued remains the 8-0 at Stadio Olimpico di Seravalle in a 2013 World Cup qualifier under Roy Hodgson. That was almost eight years to the day ago, and with England recently putting six and seven past Bulgaria and Montenegro respectively, there is certainly every chance that this team can surpass that.
San Marino – Another Wembley rout beckons?
UEFA’s lowest ranking member embark on their eighth World Cup qualifying campaign in their best form for quite some time, which isn’t saying much. Before a pair of goalless draws with Liechtenstein and Gibraltar in late 2020, San Marino had lost 40 successive games, 36 of these without scoring. In fact, they had only ever scored eleven times in 66 World Cup qualifiers (D2 L64, goals against: 310!).
Meanwhile, more than 18 hours have elapsed since La Serenissima netted on their travels, in a 5-1 loss to Azerbaijan in September 2017. There were some heavy defeats thereafter, none more so than 9-0 scorelines in Russia and Belgium during Euro 2020 Qualifying, but they did at least stop the rut in their latest outing. A goalless affair in Vaduz, Liechtenstein halting an 11-match streak of losing to nil away from home.
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England Vs San Marino Betting Advice
As a betting spectacle, this is drab. England will win, it is merely a case of by how many. The average winning margin in this fixture is six goals, however, even odds about the hosts with a -5.5 Asian Handicap are on the slim side (4/11 888Sport). Only once before, meanwhile, has England defied a seven goal handicap (so any win with a margin of eight goals or greater), yet are around evens to do so here.
England Vs San Marino – Key Facts:
- All six previous meetings were won by England who have never scored fewer than five goals against San Marino, winning the last two meetings held at Wembley 5-0.
- The opening goal in those aforementioned encounters in London didn’t arrive until the 25th minute and beyond, with both coming from a set-piece situation.
- England has won 11 of its past 12 home games, with their biggest scoreline a 7-0 rout of Montenegro and the most recent a 4-0 win over Iceland.
I’d be tempted to back a modest England victory, especially in the absence of creative midfielders such as Jack Grealish and James Maddison. It also wouldn’t be a surprised if Southgate kept a few of his big hitters back for Albania and Poland. It is also interesting to note that England didn’t make the breakthrough until the 25th and 35th minutes the last two occasion they faced a defence-minded San Marino on home soil.
Best Betting Odds – England Vs San Marino
England – 1/100 (Unibet)
Draw – 40/1 (Boylesports)
San Marino – 100/1 (Betway)
