STAR PREVIEW: England v Iceland (Euro 2016 Monday)
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]t last, some punting success last night with the Belgium HT/FT bet coming up trumps.
Italy upset the holders Spain earlier and England will need to be on their guard against an Iceland side who are playing on sheer momentum and have been the story of the tournament so far.
The pair last met in 2004 when there was a convincing 6-1 success for England – Rooney grabbed two goals that night.
For all their success so far, Iceland have conceded one goal in all three of their games so far and with respect to Portugal, Austria and Hungary face their toughest rivals to date. Although Portugal are still in the tournament, they are looking a lot poorer than what we’ve witnessed previously.
England, like Iceland, have one win and two draws to their name so far and Roy Hodgson’s decision to rest some players ahead of tonight may yet prove an inspirational move despite the criticism he received at the time.
England’s starting XI is:
1 Hart
2 Walker
5 Cahill
6 Smalling
3 Rose
20 Alli
17 Dier
10 Rooney
15 Sturridge
9 Kane
7 Sterling
As expected, Raheem Sterling, Dele Alli, Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane, Kyle Walker and Danny Rose have all been restored to the starting line-up.
Manager Roy Hodgson said: “Every result is significant when you are a coach but it is most significant for the team and the country first and foremost. We desperately want to stay in the tournament. We think we are good enough but we must get a result. It’s win or lose.
“I’m fortunate to have a lot of possibilities on the bench to make changes. We loaded up with front players and that will be to our advantage as the tournament goes on.
“We have to accept the title of favourites. We know perfectly well that it is going to be a very difficult game for us.”
England v Iceland
UEFA EURO 2016 Round of 16
20:00 ITV / ITV HD
HEAD TO HEAD RECORD
(Maximum 10 matches)
Jun 2004 INTERNATIONAL England 6-1 Iceland
I can see there being plenty of goals tonight and am interested in over 3.5 goals at around 3/1 with Star Sports.
RECOMMENDED BETS (scale of 1-100 points)
BACK OVER 3.5 GOALS 65 points at 3/1 with Star Sports
Euro 2016 Profit/Loss: -196.00 points