Football betting: Euro 2008 qualification

With crucial football betting on Euro 2008 ties coming up in the next week William Hill believe it is an odds-on shot that Scotland and England will miss out on qualification for next year's event in Austria and Switzerland, and offer odds of 4/5 that both fail to go through. Patriots can take William Hill's 9/1 that BOTH England and Scotland will make it through to the finals, while it is 3/1 that England get through while Scotland miss out, and 7/2 vice versa. Scotland play Italy and need to beat them at Hampden Park to progress. If they lose however they will miss out on Euro 2008 qualification. The Scots are 12/5 to beat Italy, who are even money to win the game with Hills who make the draw a 2/1 chance. England qualification for Euro 2008 is out of their hands. Their best hope of getting there is to finish ahead of Guus Hiddink's Russia. But if the Russians win in Israel this Saturday - 1/2 shots with William Hill who make the draw a 13/5 chance and Israel win 9/2 - they will be one point ahead of Steve McClaren's side with one match to play - and that match is away to rock-bottom Andorra, who are on a run of 28 consecutive Euro qualifying defeats. If Russia lose in Israel, then England need only to draw against Croatia in their final Euro 2008 qualifying match to qualify. If Russia draw in Israel, then England will need to beat Croatia at Wembley to go through, given that a Russia win against Andorra is all but certain. England are 4/7 to beat Croatia who are 4/1 with the draw 5/2.There is one other glimmer of hope for England. If Croatia lose in Macedonia, then an England win over the Croats by a three-goal margin will put them above their rivals. A 2-0 win would also be enough, but a two-goal margin in which England have conceded a goal (eg 3-1) will not be enough. As a result of the task facing England William Hill offer 6/1 that McClaren will no longer be England manager by midnight on November 21, the day his side play Croatia. "Some believe that McClaren will be sacked if Russia win in Israel, but few believe that he can survive if England fail to qualify and the reaction of the Wembley crowd during the Croatia game could easily influence whether he jumps before being officially pushed," said William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe.