Football betting: England 2010 World Cup odds

After Fabio Capello's appointment as England coach last week, the Three Lions are now 14/1 to roar to World Cup victory at South Africa 2010 and given the 61-year-old's unblemished coaching record those odds are well worth the investment.Even if things don't go to plan your investment can be laid off at a later stage, when everyone jumps on the perennial England bandwagon in the build-up to the tournament and the odds shorten to unbackable prices. If anyone can whip England's overpaid underperformers into shape it's the new overpaid overperformer at the helm, who has mustered nine trophies in his extraordinary 16-year coaching career at AC Milan, Real Madrid, Roma and Juventus. While £6.5m a year is simply an obscene amount of money to pay anyone for what is essentially a part-time job, Capello is the sort of character who will shake-up the national team by means of an iron rule. Impervious to pressure and used only to success, Don Fabio will unquestionably deliver World Cup qualification from a group including Croatia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Andorra. Paddy Power are going 5/2 about the defensive-minded catenaccio obsessive guiding his new charges through the campaign unbeaten and for bargain hunters out there it's worth remembering that this is a man who once steered his Milan side to 58 matches unbeaten. Pretty it won't be, but England will become hard to beat. Capello is also 8/15 with Bet365 to see out his dizzying four-and-a-half-year deal and 9/2 with William Hill to depart in 2010. The FA are still negotiating with their new man about the possibility of bringing in a young Englishman to learn from the man known in his playing days as 'Il professore' ('the teacher') - and Alan Shearer is 5/6 with Ladbrokes to be his pupil. The former England striker is also a 7/1 favourite with Hills to become the next permanent England manager, closely followed by Jose Mourinho, Martin O'Neill, Jurgen Klinnsman and Stuart Pearce. Verdict: 3pts England to win World Cup @ 14/1 (Betdirect); 3pts England to remain unbeaten in World Cup qualifying @ 5/2 (Paddy Power); 3pts England to win their World Cup group @ 4/5 (Paddy Power). Already advised: 2pts Gerrard to become England captain @ 4/1 (Ladbrokes) Other odds: Capello to see out four-and- a-half year contract (Bet365): 8/15 yes, 11/8 no. Next England manager (William Hill): 7/1 A Shearer, 15-2 J Mourinho, M O'Neill, 10 J Klinsmann, S Pearce. Games lost by Capello in 2010 World Cup qualifying (Paddy Power): 5/2 none, 6/5 one, 5/2 two, 9 three, 5/2 four.