So Wednesday night saw England qualify for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa with two games in hand. A record that has never been achieved before by England.  With 8 wins from 8 games, you could say it was gr-eight stuff by England, for once the Three Lions fans will be able to enjoy the end of a World Cup campaign instead of sweating intensely. Remember the late late winner by Beckham against Greece and the heroic draw against Italy? Well Wednesday didn’t get the heart racing like those nights, in fact some people might call this England match ‘enjoyable’, yes I did say the words England,match and enjoyable in the same sentence.  It was a good performance by Capello’s men and it’s sure to get the English fans checking out the betting odds on England lifting the World Cup.

 With all that said and done, everyone’s attention will turn to who should Capello pick for the England squad.  The main talking point is to whether to bring the Becks, that’s David Beckham of course. There’s no doubting what positives Beckham can bring to the squad: great delivery from set pieces, experience at international level and someone Walcott and Lennon can learn from.  There will be alot of football betting at the World Cup, but it will be a brave person who backs Becks for aplace in the aquad.  Most people will argue that Beckham can do a job coming from the bench to either run down time or maybe to deliver that deadly ball in the last minute if the team is looking for a goal.  But the question that should be posed is, is Beckham good enough?  There are a number of players who can play on the right hand side of the midfield, Lennon,Wright-Phillips,Walcott and Milner although he’s played on the left hand side of the midfield (he has definitely pressed for his squad place). 

Also take into account Gerrard,Lampard and the return of Joe Cole, this doesn’t leave space for Beckham, who should get left out to make room for him? Pace is a key attribute in international football and this sis something Beckham doesn’t have, delivery is key but we’ve seen how pacey players like Lennon and Walcott can cause havoc for defences.  It’s a conundrum that will have to be contemplated by Capello, he’s always been a strong manager who doesn’t care about name or popularity, but can he and will he really leave out Golden Balls?

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So we say goodbye to Euro 2008 and although I didn’t tip Spain to win the tournament, I will admit they did deserve to win it in the end.  But don’t worry, you won’t have to wait over 40 years like Spain have, the Premiership will be back soon and I’ll be here to give my opinion on things(mostly wrong though!!). 

So if you enjoyed this blog, then check out >>>>www.premiershipbettingbanter.com<<<<, for articles on the latest football news, free Premiership, UEFA Champions League and International betting tips.  I hope to see you there!!

After weeks of watching Euro 2008 and everyone guessing who’s going to win it, two of the pre-tournament favourites Germany and Spain make the final.  I’m sure the bookies will be pleased about that!!!

Germany v Spain

The Spanish have played Germany 19 times, winning 5 games and losing 8.  In the big tournaments Spain have only beaten Germany once in 5 tries, losing 3 times.  Spain will be without David Villa, who looks likely to be replaced by Arsenal’s Fabregas .  Although Villa is a fantastic player, for me it was a blessing in disguise when Aragones was forced to replace him with Fabregas in the semi-finals.  Fabregas was the key to opening up the Russian defence and playing tomorrow will give Spain a more attacking threat from midfield.  Germany on the other hand may be without Ballack through an injury he picked up in training, a big loss as he’s one of the players they have really been relying on in this tournament.  Can Spain win the European Championship for the second time?  Or will Germany finish the job to add to their 3 Euro titles?  Spain are the favourites to win this match in 90 minutes at 2..4 odds and Germany are priced at 3.45 on Betfair.

Euro 2008 Final Betting tips:The Germans have scored 10 goals so far in Euro 2008 but their dodgy defence has conceded 6 and Spain have scored 11 goals in total.  Finals are usually very cagey and dull affairs but I will take a risk and back ‘Over 2.5 goals’ for the final at odds of 2.32.  To cover this bet I’m also looking at a 0-0 scoreline at halftime at odds of 2.52, just like it has been in the last three Euro finals, or if you want to take a little less risk go for the draw at half time at around 2.1.

Podolski will be doing everything he can to score today, if he does he will come level with David Villa with 4 tournament goals and he’ll share the golden boot.  Back him to score at anytime at odds of 3.85 on Betfair.

For a bit of fun, back Schweinsteiger and Fabregas in the First goal scorer market at odds of around 17.5 and 13.0. 

So you probably want to know who I think will win today?? Well if I you really want me to make a decision…..then I’ll be backing Germany to win it outright, but don’t blame me if they don’t!!

Remember if you haven’t already, claim your FREE £25Bet from Betfair and William Hill today so you can bet on the final and hopefully make some money!!!  Just click on the banners, sign up and deposit £25, then you’ll get your free bet, easy!!!

UPDATE:  (Germany 0-1 Spain)  It was Spain all the way in this final and the ordinary German team looked like they ran out of luck in the end.  The 1 goal doesn’t tell the story of the final, Spain were in control and their defence were never troubled by Germany.  Unfortunately none of the tips came off in this final, making me feel as sick as a German football fan!!!  But don’t worry just like Spain, I’ll hopefully shed my under achiever tag soon..!! 

Thursday sees the remaining semi-final match played.  Before the customary pre-match write up, Euro2008Banter.com can give you exclusive news about the UFO sighting in Wales earlier this month.  Experts at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) have confirmed that the UFO was ‘NOT’ the missing World Cup Italia ‘90 match ball from Chris Waddle’s missed penalty kick.  Quoting an MoD source ‘We categorically deny any rumours that this UFO sighting is connected to the missing match ball,  there have been no sightings of the ball since it entered the stratosphere over 17 years ago’. 

Russia v Spain

The teams have played each other 9 times, with Spain winning 5 times and Russia only the one time.  The latest victory for Spain of course came in Euro 2008 with a 4-1 win.   The 1 time Russia beat Spain, was in 1971 with a 2-1 victory.  There’s no doubt that Spain have the more experienced side, Russia have the youngest squad in the whole tournament, averaging at 26 years old.  So these two teams meet again, will this be a repeat of the group game? Or can Russia turn it around?  Russia have improved as the tournament have gone on, whereas Spain have been consistently playing well.  The Russian defence will always be a little suspect to me, especially with the strike duo of Torres and Villa up front for Spain.  But this this match will be different, Arshavin will play and I’m sure Hiddink will try to correct the defensive problems he saw when they last played.  I think that this match will be much closer than before.

Euro 2008 semi final betting tip:  Spain are at quite big odds to win the match at 2.16, considering they beat Russia 4-1 already over a week ago.  I would of thought the odds of over 2.5 goals in this match would be pretty low based on the attacking and free flowing football both teams have played so far, but you can get odds of 2.3 for over 2.5 goals on Betfair.  My heart says to go with Russia the team I backed at the start of the tournament, but my head tells me that Spain will be the ones that qualify at the end of the night….which do I listen to?  Anyone who has backed Russia to win the tournament may want to trade out to get a guaranteed return, or lay Russia to qualify so they don’t lose too much if they go out today.

I’ll be following my heart and backing Russia, surely a quick route to the poor house!!  A small bet on Pavlyuchenko  to score at anytime odds of 3.65 on Betfair.  Also go small on Russia to be winning at half time, odds of 4.8. Although I think it will be a tight game, lets go with over 2.5 goals as it looks value at odds of 2.3.

UPDATE: (Russia 0-3 Spain)- Spain come out deserved winners in this game and were just too good for the Russians.  Russia never came out to play like they did against the Dutch, getting to the final was one step too far for this young squad.  In hindsight I should of traded out my bet of backing Russia to win the tournament to get guaranteed profit, I hope you took my advice!!   The to score at anytime bet never came off and neither did the Russia to lead at half time bet.  Luckily over 2.5 goals were reached and we covered the losses on these fun bets.  A lesson to learn, don’t let your heart rule your head when betting.