2018 World Cup Betting Prediction: England vs. Belgium Odds

The top two teams in Group G are heading into the knockout round, but will either side go hunting for three points when it looks like second place in the group will have an easier path moving forward? That conundrum makes this game one of the toughest we’ve had to handicap to date.

World Cup 2018: England vs. Belgium Odds and Betting Analysis

World Cup Betting Odds: England +160

Date: Thursday, June 28, 2 p.m.

Oddsmakers opened with this one set as a virtual Pick ’em, seeming to suggest they really don’t have any better of a handle on each team’s intentions as the rest of us.

What we know from what we’ve seen is that these are two very dynamic football clubs and two that could be getting better by the match. They were pegged as the pick of the litter in this Group and they’ve lived up to the billing. Now though, this matchup which could have meant so much is clouded by the paths that lay ahead of them.

If you truly believe both sides really have no intent to go for the three points, take a hard look at a 0-0 draw at +800. Right now, under 2.5 total goals (-126) is seeing a good deal of action.  If you’re more optimistic, Harry Kane is expected to start for England and he’s at +110 to score anytime while Romelu Lukaku is at +130 to tally for Belgium.

England

Does Gareth Southgate dare to mess with a good thing? He’s pulled all the right strings so far and has an opportunity to win Group G here. Of course, a victory may also mean a quarterfinal date with Brazil, but that side of the bracket doesn’t look as daunting now that Germany didn’t go through. Besides, we haven’t really seen what England is made of yet. News that Kane is expected to start is a good indication that while Southgate will likely look to his bench with the starting 11 and subs, England wants to make a statement with this game.

Belgium

On the other hand, it looks as though Belgium plans to rest many of its regular starters for this one. Some reports suggest Belgium manager Roberto Martinez will sit everyone of his starters apart from their goalkeeper.
Kevin De Bruyne, Jan Vertonghen and Thomas Meunier are all on yellow cards and Lukaku is battling an ankle injury, so it’d be surprising to see any of them in the starting 11. The Belgium boss also indicated that he’d like to get his substitutes into real match action before the knockout stage to know what he has there moving forward. It all makes sense for a team as experienced as this.

England vs. Belgium Prediction

England 1, Belgium 0

Expect this to be a careful game from both sides, but if there’s one that has more incentive to keep its momentum, it’s undoubtedly England. If each squad was playing it’s top side things might be different. Then again, maybe this is the game that England grows up in a hurry.