Weekend Review: International break sees lull in action as England cruise to two 4-0 wins
Punters less active than usual as layers get the upper hand following draws for Euro winners Italy and World Cup holders France
The return of international football following this summer’s unforgettable Euro 2020 tournament went the way of the layers as overall betting interest dipped.
England (1/50) followed up their 4-0 demolition job of Hungary on Thursday evening by eventually brushing aside minnows Andorra (225/1) by the same score at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
A brace by Jesse Lingard, as well as goals from Harry Kane and fan favourite Bukayo Saka put the Three Lions firmly in control of their World Cup qualifying group ahead of their match against second-placed Poland on Wednesday.
5️⃣ wins from 5️⃣ in #WCQ! ? pic.twitter.com/CQHS0s5ZIp
— England (@England) September 5, 2021
Elsewhere, Euro 2020 champions Italy (4/5) were left frustrated after consecutive draws against Bulgaria and Switzerland (7/2), while France (31/50) could only muster 1-1 draws against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ukraine (9/2).
Kindred Group’s Ali Gill said: “International breaks tend to result in less action than a Premier League weekend and this one was no different, although all told it was one for the layers with a few shock results round the grounds.
“We managed to sneak a bit of profit on England’s win over Andorra as some very unappealing 1X2 odds sent punters searching for the more exotic bets.
“The highlight was France being held to a 1-1 in Ukraine, followed very closely by Italy being held to a stalemate in Switzerland with Denmark only managing to put one past Faroe Islands, all of which saw us finish way ahead of players,” he added.
Full-time! France and Ukraine play out a draw (1-1) #UKRFRA #FiersdetreBleus
Next match is Tuesday vs Finland ?? pic.twitter.com/GsOreuwgZX
— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) September 4, 2021
Ladbrokes’ Alex Apati told EGR the bookie was frustrated to see England breeze past their inferior opposition with ease.
He said: “Punters did get the better of us across both England games. We’d always prefer England to win by as small a margin as possible against the likes of Hungary and Andorra while conceding in the process. They did neither of those things this time out though.”
Elsewhere, in horseracing, Betfred’s Alan Firkins detailed Saturday’s action for EGR.
“Starman’s agonising near-miss at weekend just about summed up the battle between punters and layers, though the heavily supported success of Baaeed in Sunday’s Moulin balanced the books slightly,” he said.
Baaeed is the real deal! William Haggas’s colt wins the Group 1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp to remain unbeaten under @JimCrowley1978 for @ShadwellStud at @paris_longchamp… pic.twitter.com/HzsyIuK06D
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) September 5, 2021
“The QEII surely beckons for this gifted William Haggas-trained son of Sea the Stars.”
William Hill’s Rupert Adams added: “Saturday’s ITV horses was a bloodbath for punters as it was almost impossible to get a winner – so a cracking day was had by us.”