England / Joe Dyer / 18 June 2010 / 6 Comments Free £25 Bet

Joe Dyer is blogging throughout England's second Group C match - a must-win affair against Algeria. Click here for betting updates as the goals (hopefully) fly in!

21:24
Some betfacts from the match...
England were backed at [1.22] to win, with the draw backed at [7.4]
One goal or more backed at [1.05]
Final score of 0-0 backed at [1.33]
England backed at [1.12] to win at least one half in the game
Algeria clean sheet was backed at [12.5]

21:20
England had a corner at the death but couldn't convert so the game finishes 0-0. Really, one of the worst performances I've seen in 24 years watching the national team. More to come...

21:19
One min left.

21:17
Three mins stoppage time to play. It ain't gonna happen.

21:14
Time is really beginning to run out here. A nil-all draw is highly likely - in fact it trades at [1.33].

21:11
Crouch on for Barry, Rooney moves to left and Gerrard is going up the middle in attack.

21:10
Those match odds are really shifting now - England are out [3.55] for victory.

21:07
With 10 mins left, these are the latest match odds - Eng 2.6; Alg 17.5; draw 1.72.

21:04
Defoe (on for Heskey) is causing problems. Wins another England corner but again it doesn't beat the first man.

21:01
First promising England attack in a while ends with a corner but the opportunity to build pressure is missed when the corner doesn't even get past the first man.

20:59
England labouring and it's so ugly. [2.56] to win. Unlikely.

20:58
Glad I'm not watching this in the pub, all that rage would be too much to take.

20:56
Heskey's deflected shot loops up and falls just over the crossbar. England corner, Gerrard heads but keeper gathers. Better, mind.

20:54
23 mins left.
Carragher misses the third group match by the way.

20:52
SWP wins a free-kick in the right corner, falls to Lampard but he's unable to control...

20:51
England touch evens to win. Algeria are [10.0], the draw is [2.44]. England have been backed at [1.22], don't forget!

20:49
Fab continues his bizarre love affair with Shaun Wright-Phillips, the Man City man is warming up. Meanwhile Lennon's cross just evades Roo's head. After that, SWP comes on for Lennon.

20:47
First England corner in a long time is saved by M'Bohli.

20:45
Carragher booked and Algeria have a FK on the edge of the area which goes narrowly wide. An upset is very, very much on the card. England have to change something.

20:43
Algeria corner... comes to nothing.

20:40
England making mistakes when untroubled. We could follow France into le merde at this rate.

20:39
A really promising break comes to nothing as the ball gets caught under Heskey's feet and rolls out for a goal kick. That's just awful.

20:37
Fab looks worried, Becks looks worried. They should look worried. England [1.72] to win.

20:35
This is set up to be a classic 'upset'. the [11.0] on Algeria is a silly price, England are lacking oomph and direction while Algeria look spiky and up for it. If it wasn't so unpatriotic I'd back the Africans.

20:33
Back underway.

20:19
***Latest odds update***
To Win: Eng [1.56], Alg [11.5], draw [3.6]
Over 2.5 goals: [4.7]
Under 2.5: [1.27]
Algeria +1.5 goals: [1.41]
Eng -1.5 goals: [3.3]

20:15
And that's it. First half finishes goalless and England are making a mockery of that [1.23] price at the off. If anything, Algeria have been the better team. Hugely dispiriting.

20:12
Heskey's touches and flick-ons are all going astray tonight, unlike last Saturday. He may not be on the pitch for the second half.

20:10
Haven't heard an England chant for a good 15 mins, tells you all you need to know. Nothing but vuvus on the audio!

20:07
And it's the same price for Algeria +1.5 goals...

20:06
You can now back England at [1.5]. Just thought you might like to know.

20:04
Barry falls over the ball, Alg counter attack and have a shot. Still uncomfortable for England out there.

20:02
Lennon crosses and Frank Lampard has a shot on target. Are England finally warming to their task?

20:00
That's better! Rooney and Gerrard combine and the Liverpool man unleashes a proper shot to ensure the keeper makes a save at least.

19:56
Algeria almost at their shortest price to win this match yet, currently backable at [11.0].

19:55
Mike Norman's back, and you can't disagree with what he has to say...
"Very disheartening that Algeria look better against England than they did against Slovenia."

19:52
Nervous England. This has been a disjointed first 23 mins. Algeria have their second corner, well claimed by James.

19:51
Plenty of red cards in the tournament so far - a sending off tonight trades at [4.0].
http://sports.betfair.com/Index.do?mi=100993969&ex=1&origin=MRL

19:49
First effort on target for the Algerians, a tame header however, easily saved by James.

19:46
England defence looking shaky in general, definite encouragement for the Algerians. Match odds latest - Eng [1.31], Alg [15.0], draw [5.8].

19:44
15 mins gone, nowt to report sadly. Still very much 0-0.

19:43
Eng corner. Barry delivers, Heskey penalised for climbing.

19:42
A fairly uneventful first 11 minutes all things considered though Johnson and James nearly combine to hand Algeria a chance...

19:40
Jamie Carragher - is this really the best replacement we have for Ledley King? The Liverpool man is just soooo slow that you cannot help but foresee mistakes and red cards later on in the tournament with him around...

19:37
Algeria have the first corner. Awful delivery, however.

19:36
much of England's attacking play has come down the left where Ashley Cole and Steven Gerrard are seeking to reform their on pitch understanding.

19:34
Counter attack from Algeria leads to a dangerous opening, but they cannot capitalise.

19:34
Gerrard's cheeky lob almost catches Algeria's keeper off his line...

19:32
First England attack leads to a free kick 45 yards out from the left wing. Heskey heads but it comes to nothing.

19:31
It's fair to say that England fans dominate the arena, for the first time you can hear a chant over the vuvuzelas. Algeria start the first minute brightly.

19:30
Algeria to ko...

19:27
For the record, here are the prices at kickoff...
Eng - [1.23]
Alg - [19.0]
Draw - [7.0]

19:24
The Algeria squad...
23 M'Bohli
02 Bougherra
03 Belhadj
04 Yahia Captain
05 Halliche
07 Boudebouz
08 Lacen
15 Ziani
19 Yebda
21 Kadir
13 Matmour

19:22
Cor! The match odds market has traded more than £15,000,000 already! This could be big, very big.

19:11
Going big on the bookings has been a profitable way of punting on the World Cup - 9pts and over (2pts for a yellow, 5pts for a red) is just [1.66] tonight...

19:08
BB Football and Golf contributor Mike Norman is chuffed as a badger - his US Open fancy Graeme McDowell has just gone two clear during the second round at Pebble Beach (view comments below), you see the spotrting world goes on even when the World Cup's on. How's my man Casey getting on, Mike?

18:59
The match odds of [1.23] won't appeal to all, it's a very skinny price given all the negative stuff we've heard about the England side. But if you were set on backing England to win and wanted bigger odds what could we offer you?
England -1.5 goals (you win should England win by two or more goals) is [1.8]
England win to nil is [1.7]
Eng/Eng HT/FT (Eng to lead at both halftime and fulltime) is [1.77]

18:40
So, can you guess who's fav to score first? Yep, it's Wazza.
The Man U man, without a goal in ages for the national team is a [4.0] shot to put the ball in the back of the net before everyone else tonight. Heskey partners him upfront but the Villa man's woeful scoring record sees him trade at [9.8], longer than Jermain Defoe (who isn't in the starting lineup!), Lampard ([7.8]) and Gerrard ([8.4]). I'm strangely tempted by the Heskey bet - he had opportunities in the first game and he's just got to score sooner or later, hasn't he?

18:34
There's money to be made here - but where? The cash has come for goals - over 2.5 going from [2.2] to [1.8]. That's a fairly major move in football betting terms. I'm not so sure it's the smartest bet though, any win would do for either and Algeria are expected to line up in a fairly defensive fashion. After recent goalfests, this could revert to earlier tournament form. We'll see in less than an hour.
PS - Keegan looking quite awful on ITV by the way, a Travolta-esque plunging neckline that'll scare the housewives...

18:28
Looking further afield, the Three Lions are strongly fancied to progress out of Group C, after Slovenia and USA drew 2-2 this afternoon.
Latest Group C qualification odds
Eng - [1.16]
US - [1.67]
Slov - [2.02]
Alg - [17.5]

18:21
Whether it's James in goal or just patriotic money, punters are coming for England. They're now just [1.25] to win, and [1.59] to keep a clean sheet, despite conceding in all but one of the last ten games...

18:12
Evening all. First things first, here is the England team to face Algeria tonight...
David James
Glen Johnson
Jamie Carragher
John Terry
Ashley Cole
Aaron Lennon
Frank Lampard
Gareth Barry
Steven Gerrard
Emile Heskey
Wayne Rooney

Tags: Algeria, England, Group C, live betting blog, World Cup