ENGLAND VS CROATIA EARLY BETTING TIPS

It seems almost poetic that England's 2010 World Cup campaign can officially be confirmed against the team that scuppered their appearance at Euro 2008. In what was seen as a blemish on the face of the national game, England were eliminated by Slaven Bilic's Croatia on a rainy night in Zagreb. The image of Steve McLaren under that umbrella will be remembered for a generation. But now we're knee-deep in the Fabio Capello era and things look markedly different. England go into their match with the eastern Europeans as distinct 4/7 favourites against a very long 5/1 listed for the Croatians. The draw pays out at 5/2 and while this could certainly end up 1-1, I'm confident in an England victory. It may not be as emphatic as the one last year, where they thumped the Croats 4-1 with Theo Walcott notching a hat-trick and Wayne Rooney orchestrating the midfield like a philharmonic conductor. England on a (-1.0) handicap is enticing at 6/4 and Croatia (+1.0) are a mere 5/4, so that gives you an idea of the type of advantage England bring into the match. Additionally, Croatia have at least one key player who won't be lining up thanks to red cards in the previous match on Saturday. I'm also confident that referees eyes could be on Eduardo the entire match, as we'll be watching for a dive. I don't think he'll be able to win a penalty all night, and this will play to England's favour. In terms of the correct-score betting, the shortest price is on England 1-0 at 11/2. You'll find them at 6/1 for 2-0 and 1-1 while a 2-1 victory is 15/2. Should England pull off a 3-0 victory, you're looking at 11/1. Croatia 2-1 pays out at 25/1 while Croatia 1-0 is a very long 14/1. England are 11/8 to win both halves and I find those are very good odds. I'm also tempted to have a go on Croatia/England thanks to its very high 25/1 price. Wayne Rooney and Jermain Defoe are the favoured goalscorer for England at 11/8 anytime and 5/1 first or last. Carlton Cole, Peter Crouch and Emile Heskey are all available at 13/8 anytime and 6/1 first or last. Other notables include Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard at 2/1 anytime and 7/1 first or last. Aaron Lennon is worth keeping an eye on at 4/1 anytime and 14/1 first or last. Eduardo and Mladen Petric are favoured goalscorers for the Croatians at 11/4 anytime and 9/1 first or last. Jerko Leko is worth a look at 10/1 anytime while Dario Srna is a dangerous player at 6/1 anytime and 20/1 first or last.I'm confident that England will pull this one off, but I do fancy Croatia to get on the board- possibly with a shock early goal. The home crowd will keep England going should they get in trouble and I don't see them messing up their 100% qualification record just yet. Onwards to South Africa with a 3-1 margin with goals from Rooney and Defoe.