World Cup 2010 Qualifier Betting: Kazakhstan v England

Internationals / Tareq Quiroz / 05 June 2009 / Leave a Comment

Kazakhstan are minnows and England's stars should dispose of them with a maximum of ease, says Tareq Quiroz. However, football doesn't always work like that - so could the home side give Fabio Capello's men a hiccup on the road to South Africa?

England are only halfway through their qualifying campaign but they will already be confident of finishing top of their group. Five wins from five games leaves them clear at the top of the table and already trading at a remarkable [1.09] in the Group Winner market. Fabio Capello will be desperate to keep the players feet on the ground but even he must secretly think that qualification is in the bag.

It has been a little while since Capello had his squad together, many of the players have tasted delight and despair as the domestic season drew to a dramatic close and some will be suffering little from fatigue. Not just because of the large amount of games played but also there will be some level of come down from the highs of the big games.

Capello has called upon plenty of the usual faces for this game but he has suffered a couple of injury blows. David James would certainly have kept his place in goal and it is a tough one to guess who will replace him. I would go with Robert Green but my gut feeling is that Fabio will opt for Scott Carson. The England chief is faced with the same dilemma in central defence following Rio Ferdinand's withdrawal from the squad. Gary Cahill has got a deserved call-up but he won't feature in the starting line-up. I would be surprised if it wasn't Joleon Lescott who partners John Terry but Matthew Upson will also fancy his chances.

Truth be told, these slight changes to the England starting line-up really shouldn't make much difference. Kazakhstan are ranked 132nd in the FIFA world rankings, just ahead of the world force that is New Caledonia. A superpower like England really should sweep these minnows aside without problems.

However, when the two sides met at Wembley last October the final result in no way reflected the tension that was around the ground at half-time. Until Ferdinand finally broke the deadlock seven minutes into the second half there were mumblings of discontent. And even then Kazakhstan had the temerity to score a goal which reduced the arrears to 2-1. The 5-1 final score does not tell the full story.

For Kazakhstan this game is not about qualifying for the World Cup - that simply isn't possible this time around. This is about one of the biggest footballing nations coming to play in their country. This is about the occasion for Kazakhstan and they will be desperate to put on a good show. The build-up to the game has been all about England - even the Kazakhstan media have not really concerned themselves with their own team. Incidentally should you deem it worthwhile then the Kazakhstani team news is that their captain Ruslan Baltiyev is a major doubt with a knee injury.

Kazakhstan started off their campaign with a 3-0 win over Andorra but that is where the positives stop. They are true minnows and this England team should really put them away with some ease. I really hope that Capello shows some intent to attack and plays Ashley Young and Theo Walcott on the flanks. The pace and trickery of those two would destroy Kazakhstan and put this tie to bed early. I fear the tactical Italian may go with a slightly less aggressive strategy but England should still have far too much for Kazakhstan and are a fair price at [1.18].

Anytime that a powerful side plays a world minnow the talk inevitably turns to the amount of goals that will be scored. The simple facts are that every one of Kazakhstan's qualifiers have had at least three goals and all but England's opening day effort in Andorra have also had at least three goals. Belarus hit five goals here in April and I can't see what has changed since then. Kazakhstan will undoubtedly be well up for this match but it won't be enough to stop the goals and I would get involved in the [1.6] about Over 2.5 Goals.

For those of you looking for a bet not related to the scoreline then I would head to the Bookings Match Bet market. There is no real reason for the England players to go diving in or getting unnecessary bookings. Conversely you can see a few of the Kazakhstani players wanting to make a name for themselves or getting frustrated and getting into trouble. I think that the [1.8] about Kazakhstan to get more Bookings than England is a cracking bet.

The good aspect about playing at the end of the season is that Capello has been able to get his players together for a longish period of time. They have been out in Kazakhstan for some days acclimatising and there can be no excuses. Expect a few nervous moments but in the end another comfortable England win and more importantly three valuable qualification points.