San Marino v Belgium
Friday 6th September 1945hrs
Football – International – Euro 2020 Qualification
Pick 1st half to be highest scoring
Bookmaker Boylesports
Odds: 6/5 (odds taken 19.00 GMT, Wednesday 4 September)
 |
1 | X | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 97/1 | 77/2 | 1/1000 |
* (Betting Odds were taken from 22Bet on September 4, 2019 at 19.00)
The FIFA Rankings suggest this is the best team in international football against the worst as Belgium travel to face San Marino on Friday. There are already 12 points between the two after four games and it could be a long evening for the hosts.
Euro 2020 Qualifiers Betting at Boylesports
San Marino Preview – Can San Marino do the unthinkable and get something from Belgium?
Ranked 211th according to FIFA – San Marino are officially the worst team in international football. It’s no surprise considering how small the principality is and they continually struggle to make any sort of impact in these campaigns. Their story so far of the Euro 2020 qualifiers is similar to what has went before in that they occupy bottom spot and have had a dismal time of it. Four games in and they have conceded 20 without scoring a single goal. The standout defeat was a 9-0 thrashing away to Russia which is their joint heaviest competitive defeat since 2011. It makes the 5-0 loss to Cyprus and 4-0 defeat last time out against Kazakhstan seem almost trivial. It has been a difficult start to proceedings, especially as three of their first four games have come away from home.
San Marino’s only home game so far in this group was also their best performance and result. That is if you can consider any defeat as a decent result. The 2-0 loss to Scotland may sound routine but they troubled their opponents in that game and were n it for long spells before the Scots found a second clinching goal in the second half. Their struggles are there for all to see, however, indicated further by the fact they have not scored a home goal since 2013.
Belgium Preview – Are Belgium set to show their class and assert further control at the top of Group I?
The Belgians have strolled to the top of this section without breaking sweat. Roberto Martinez’ men have maximum points from their first four games and are already looking good for a place at next summer’s finals. When the draw was made it was always likely to be them setting he pace and a 3-1 win at home to Russia in their first game was the perfect start. The Russians are ranked closest to Belgium but they are still very much inferior. A routine 2-0 win away to Cyprus was next up before June’s double-header against Kazakhstan and Scotland. Belgium saw off both those teams 3-0 and now hold a three point lead at the top of Group I.
A slight issue for Belgium coming into this game and more importantly Monday’s match away to Scotland is the absence of the Hazard brothers. Thorgan and Eden are both injured and will not play any part of this month’s fixtures. It should not be overly concerning for them however, as they possess one of the best group of players in world football. Martinez will be only too well aware that if his team can take six points from these two games then they will practically seal qualification.
Key-Facts – San Marino v Belgium
- San Marino are considered to be the worst team in international football and have already conceded 20 goals in this campaign
- Belgium were always likely to be a class above their group opponents. That’s the way it’s turned out with maximum points from four games
- Three of Belgium’s first four games in this section have had more goals in the first half
San Marino v Belgium Betting Advice
It could literally not be anymore of a one-sided contest on paper. There are 210 places between these nations in the ranking. Nothing we’ve seen so far in this group suggests we’ll see anything other than a comfortable win for the visitors. If San Marino are looking for some positive it’s that they have scored the last twice Belgium have visited. Unfortunately, the most recent of those games was 14 years ago – Belgium have improved considerably since.
Whilst the Belgians may be missing a couple of their stars the players who come in will feel they have a point to prove ahead of the game with Scotland. There is a number of ways you could play this game in terms of goals. My preference is for there to be more goals in the first half. Three of Belgium’s first four games in this section have contained more goals in the opening 45 minutes. With another game to come on Monday they will likely want to finish this one early.
