England eased to 16-1
as punters snub Lions
IT is supposed to be a weekend of national celebration but England fans have shown such a lack of faith in Roy Hodgson's team that Ladbrokes and Hills are going 16-1 from 10-1 that the Three Lions win Euro 2012.
As they step out against Belgium for their final warm-up match without Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard and with Wayne Rooney suspended for their first two Group D matches in Ukraine, England look likely to head into battle at their biggest-ever price to win a major tournament.
Ladbrokes' Alex Donohue hopes the price, which the firm says it will guarantee to a maximum stake of £25 from 7am until 10am on Saturday, will sparksome interest from pessimistic home punters.
He said: "We are offering this price because so far the big patriotic plunge hasn't happened.
"There were enough question marks over their team even with Rooney andLampard and there are question marks over Roy Hodgson."
Hills' Tony Kenny said: "It really is a massive price and we definitely will not be able to offer this price forever."
There was plenty of support for Belgium on Friday as they were cut to 5-1 from 7-1 to emerge victorious from their date at Wembley.
Marc Wilmots' side have failed to qualify for this summer's extravaganza but have lost just one of their last 16 internationals.
Liverpool's Andy Carroll is set to lead the line for England as they make their final preparations for their opener against France on June 11 and BetVictor go 5-2 that the pony-tailed warrior can outscore the Belgians, who are 6-4.
England, who could be without Glen Johnson and Danny Welbeck, are 5-4 with Coral to head east with a clean sheet under their belt and are 12-5 to score three or more goals.
England are 9-5 with Boylesports to win Group D, where they will play Sweden and co-hosts Ukraine after facing Les Bleus.
They are 17-10 with Ladbrokes to be eliminated in the group stage and 21-10 with Blue Square to see their tournament end at the quarter-finals.
