England v. Portugal World Cup betting odds

England anticipated to be small favorite v. Portugal in "must see" World Cup match up Saturday July 1
 

Miami Beach, FL (PRWEB) June 26, 2006 -- Sports911.com, the leading online gambling news and information website, has announced England v. Portugal World Cup betting odds.

SportsInteraction.com - odds can be found here: http://www.sportsinteraction.com/sportsbook/bonus.cfm?prid=6592 - was expected to list England around even odds or -110 while Portugal would likely have odds of 2 to 1 come Monday afternoon (press time).  These odds were subject to change.

While perhaps not viewed as exciting a match as an England v. Holland showdown, Portugal is looking red hot right now and was capable of putting the Dutch away at a significant disadvantage in terms of players on the field through much of the game.  At one point, Portugal was down two men less than Holland.

"SportsInteraction.com was being cautious in setting odds on England v. Portugal," commented Sports911.com President, Christopher Costigan.  "Any game involving England is likely to take in over a billion dollars, most of which will go towards the English team."

Potential injuries to key Portugal players must also be monitored and can change the whole face of this game.

As already reported on Sports911.com, bets on England are promising to bury the British bookmakers.

England winning the tournament would be the worst possible financial result for the UK's bookmakers, who estimate they would lose an industry-wide £15m if the Three Lions really do roar this time around.

The stakes are high because the gambling industry predicts UK punters will place more bets on this year's World Cup than on any previous sporting event.

"Companies like SportsInteraction.com do not stand to lose as much should England manage to win the 2006 World Cup since this online gambling establishment is more North American focused," Costigan said.  "You'll have a better balance even though a significant number of bets are still likely to be placed on England, especially against Portugal."

Widely criticized prior to the World Cup, nobody is criticizing England's David Beckham these days. 

David Beckham produced a long-overdue piece of free-kick magic to sink Ecuador and book his team into the last eight.

Nevertheless, there are many who believe England has not been overly impressive compared to other teams making up the Round of 16.  Portugal, on the other hand, has looked solid for the most part.  The only concern here being potential injuries.

Portugal match-winner Maniche said his team's superior spirit had finally proved the difference in their 1-0 World Cup second-round win over the Netherlands which finished nine-a-side.

Maniche latched on to a Pauleta pass to fire the game's only goal after 23 minutes before it fell into near anarchy with four red cards being shared by the teams and eight other players also booked by referee Valentin Ivanov, a World Cup finals record.

England v. Portugal should prove an exciting matchup.  The game goes off Saturday July 1 at 11 am EDT.