2010 World Cup Qualifier Betting - England vs Belarus

England host Belarus tonight in the final round of qualification for next year`s World Cup in South Africa. It is a qualifier in name only, as England have qualified already and Belarus no longer can. However, the teams are not without incentive with England desperate to show that last weekend`s defeat to Ukraine was a one-off and Belarus hoping to earn a memorable victory at Wembley to lift the countries` football fans.

Group-topping England go in as heavy favourites for the match at 1/6 (bet $60 to win $10 profit). Belarus, who have never qualified for a World Cup or European Championship are long shots at 20/1. The draw is priced at 13/2. England are yet to draw a game in qualifying for this competition, and the loss in Ukraine ended a run of eight straight competitive wins.

The bookies seem to think a solid England win is on the cards, pricing 2-0 to the home side as 11/2 favourite, just ahead of 3-0 at 13/2. 1-0 to the hosts is at 8/1 and 4-0 at 12/1. Of the scores that include Belarus scoring, 2-1 to England is most likely at 11/1, followed by 3-1 and 4-1 both at 14/1. A shock 1-0 win for the visiting minnows is priced at 45/1, and a 1-1 draw is 16/1.

Following Wayne Rooney`s withdrawal from the squad through injury, Peter Crouch is favourite to score the first goal of the match at 9/2. Emile Heskey is next at 5/1 but it is worth noting that he has only scored seven goals in his fifty-seven appearances for England. Carlton Cole and Gabriel Agbonlahor follow Heskey at 6/1 and 7/1 respectively. For Belarus, Kornilenko and Rodionov represent their best chances of opening the scoring, both at 16/1.

England to be winning at both half-time and full-time is priced at 4/7. Belarus to keep it level until half-time but succumb by full-time is 9/2 and England to throw away a half-time lead and draw the match is 33/1. Draw/Belarus is an unlikely 50/1.

England are among the favourites for the World Cup and are rated by the bookies as the third most likely team to triumph in South Africa behind Brazil and Spain, priced at 7/1. Belarus cannot qualify for the competition but will look to end their brief campaign with a bang tonight.

England vs Belarus betting odds

World Cup 2010 betting odds