England’s World Cup betting guide
The World Cup in Russia is now just a few weeks away and, quietly, optimism surrounding the England side is increasing as fans begin to realise that the side heading to the tournament boasts a wealth of class.
Gareth Southgate’s squad is significantly different to the side that crashed out in the group stages in Brazil four years ago and he’s selected a number of younger players who can lead the Three Lions into a new era.
On top of it all is Tottenham striker Harry Kane, who has excelled in recent seasons with the Lilywhites and heads to Russia this summer with the England captaincy at the age of just 24. However, his international tournament experience is minimal.
At the European Championships two years ago, where England were shocked by Iceland, Kane exited the tournament without finding the net but his tally for his nation is decent; 12 goals in 23 appearances, with only three of those strikes being in friendlies.
One of the biggest criticisms for England’s all-time record goalscorer Wayne Rooney is that he was never quite reliable on the biggest stage, taking until 2014 to score his first World Cup goal, and Kane needs to excel in Russia to show he’s different to the Premier League legend.
While his return for England is so far impressive, he certainly hasn’t been able to replicate the fine form he’s shown at club level in recent years as he scored just four goals in qualifying for the World Cup, having scored just three in England’s qualification campaign for Euro 2016.
His tally in the past two years as England qualified for the World Cup with relative ease is overshadowed by a number of strikers in Europe, not all of whom are top-class, as Aleksandar Mitrovic, Konstantinos Mitroglou and Steven Jovetic all outscored him – and two of those players aren’t heading to the World Cup.
On a positive note, Kane enters the summer in a fine vein of form. His brace in a dramatic 5-4 victory over Leicester City on the final day of the Premier League season extended his impressive run to six goals in his last eight appearances.
The hope is that Kane now hits the ground running, starting with the final friendly at Wembley prior to the tournament against Nigeria for the side ranked 7th in the World Cup betting odds, which will give England a taster of what facing an African side will be like – something that is a new experience to Kane.
A clash with Central American outfit Costa Rica then follows, as preparation for the clash against minnows Panama in Russia, but the real work begins in just a few weeks time as England clash with Tunisia, Panama and Belgium in the group stage.
While Kane is tipped by many to clinch the golden boot in Russia, where he’d be the first England player to do so since Gary Lineker, it’s clear that it would prove to be difficult as the Three Lions have a difficult path ahead of them.
A positive campaign for Kane would be to immediately open his account against Tunisia or Panama, quickly overcoming the major hurdle that stood in front of Rooney’s England career, before building upon it.
If Kane can net a few goals and fire England towards the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time in 12 years, the summer will be a success and Kane should also target a push up the rankings of England scorers at the World Cup.
Remarkably, no England player has scored more than two goals at a single World Cup tournament since Gary Lineker in 1990. Since then, Michael Owen and Rooney are the biggest names to fall short – but Kane has a strong chance of eclipsing them both.