England are into their first World Cup semi-final for 28 years after beating Sweden in Samara this afternoon. Mike Norman brings us the latest odds in the battle to lift the Jules Rimet trophy…
“The Betfair Exchange market has France as the marginal favourites in the World Cup 2018 Winner market, currently available to back at [3.2], while England and Belgium can’t be split at [3.85]. Croatia trade at [7.2], with hosts Russia the outsiders at [24.0].”
It’s destination Moscow for Gareth Southgate‘s men after they came through a potential banana skin quarter-final tie with flying colours, winning 2-0 over a hard-working, but ultimately not quite good enough Swedish outfit.
After a very pedestrian start to the game it was Harry Maguire who broke the deadlock with a powerful header from Ashley Young’s corner, remarkably scoring England’s eighth set-piece goal of the tournament.
The Three Lions were backed into [1.92] favourites to win the game before kick-off, and arguably should have gone a long way to landing those odds before the half-time whistle had blown, but they failed to make some intense pressure count with Raheem Sterling guilty of missing the best chance.
Pickford proves why he’s England’s number one
Shortly after the interval Jordan Pickford came to England’s rescue when diving left to superbly stop Marcus Berg, and just minutes later the Three Lions deservedly got a second goal when Dele Alli arrived unmarked at the far post to head home Jesse Lingard’s perfect cross.
England were now in cruise control, and Southgate’s men looked in the mood to score a third goal every time they hit Sweden on the break, but all eyes were back on Pickford midway through the second half when he produced one of the saves of the tournament to prevent Viktor Claesson from reducing the arrears.
It was a case of game management thereafter for the Three Lions, and although the game ebbed and flowed as Sweden pushed men forward, the outcome was never in doubt as England eased their way into their first World Cup semi-final since losing to West Germany at Italia 90.
The 2-0 Correct Score was matched at a high of [9.6] in running, with an England victory touching a high of just [2.06] when the scoreline was still goalless.
Tight at the top of the Winner market
Southgate’s men will face Russia or Croatia in Wednesday’s second semi-final in the Luzhniki Stadium, while in Tuesday’s first semi-final Brazil’s conquerors Belgium will face France in Saint Petersburg.
The Betfair Exchange market has France as the marginal favourites in the World Cup 2018 Winner market, currently available to back at [3.2], while England and Belgium can’t be split at [3.85]. Croatia trade at [7.2], with hosts Russia the outsiders at [24.0].
Source: Betfair World Cup
