England World Cup 2010 Qualifier Betting

England (1/25) raised the expectations of their supporters with an impressive 4-1 win away to Croatia last month and will be under pressure to bag another three points against (28/1) Kazakhstan at Wembley this Saturday. The national side was castigated following failure to qualify for Euro 2008 under Steve McLaren, but new boss Fabio Capello has a 100 per cent record so far in the qualification campaign, with England's team of Premier League performers available at 8/1 to win the coveted trophy for the first time since 1966.

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England - a 5/1 shout to record a comfortable 3-0 victory over a side ranked 120th in the world - have a near-spotless competitive record at the new Wembley, with the 3-2 defeat to Croatia in the Euro 2008 qualifiers their only blemish so far. In a match which should have goal poachers rubbing their hands together with glee, England's highest active top scorer, Michael Owen, was not chosen in Capello's squad.

That leaves the goal-scoring responsibility firmly in the hands of Wayne Rooney - who is 3/1 to score first after ending his goal drought last time out. He is likely to be accompanied by either Jermain Defoe (7/2) or Emile Heskey (5/1). Capello's other option Peter Crouch has four in three games for club Portsmouth and is priced at 4/1 to open the scoring here. Capello is said to be toying with the idea of playing misfit pairing Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in central midfield, despite Gareth Barry's polished performance in Zagreb.

Lampard says that he does not know the reason why the two seasoned Champions League stars have not clicked yet: "If we are both honest - and Stevie is a very honest man in the way he speaks about things - we both haven't played as well for England as we have for our clubs." The pair are both known for their goal-scoring prowess, with the ability to break forward from midfield. Gerrard recently registered his 100th goal for Liverpool while Lampard already has 14 international goals to his name - the midfield maestros are both 6/1 to break the deadlock. If England can score early on against a young Kazak team which has recently seen its former captain Nurbol Zhumaskaliev and goalkeeper David Loria shorn from the side, all eyes will be on the record 9-0 mauling inflicted over Luxembourg in 1992.

John Terry's class of 2008 are 40/1 to equal the record and 66/1 to go one better with a 10-0 thrashing. A more realistic target would be to repeat the 5-0 win over Andorra in the Euro 2008 qualifiers - this eventuality can be backed at 6/1. Can England run-up a rugby score at Wembley?

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