Spain vs England betting

Though they didn’t play too badly, England were simply outclassed by Spain who won 2-0 at a canter. Bad news for Fabio Capello’s resurgent England team but the game also served as a timely reality check of our true place in the football world. And, on the bright side, our back of Spain earnt us some money too.

An intriguing battle in prospect in Seville on Wednesday, albeit in a friendly, and I’m fascinated to see how Capello’s ‘new look’ England measure up against arguably the world’s best side.

Spain were thoroughly deserved winners of Euro 2008 last summer and they are still very much in-form under new coach Vicente del Bosque. Spain top World Cup Qualifying Group Five with maximum points from four games, as do England in Group Six we mustn’t forget, and clearly retain all of their undoubted ability.

Spain’s European Championship success was a result of a supremely talented team not over reliant on one man and their strength in depth was illustrated throughout. The fact that Cesc Fabregas, in such sensational form for Arsenal at the time, could not force his way into the starting line up was a measure of that but the Spanish midfield is just about as good as it gets, with Marcos Senna shielding the brilliant Barcelona pair of Xavi and Iniesta.

While doubts remain regarding the fitness of Liverpool striker Fernando Torres Spain still look more than useful going forward, with the excellent David Villa likely to be supported by Valencia team-mate David Silva, and the English defence is sure to face their sternest test for some time. John Terry and Rio Ferdinand are more than up to the task but they could be under pressure for sustained periods and it is asking a lot of a seemingly out-of-sorts David James to keep a clean sheet for 90 minutes.

While Spain were triumphing at Euro 2008 England’s players were enjoying their summer holidays, having failed to qualify, and although there is little doubt they have improved under Fabio Capello they still appear well short of top class. In fact, the squad on Wednesday looks devoid of much in the way of creativity and the importance of Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney, both unavailable through injury, could be ruthlessly exposed.

I’m delighted to see the likes of Ashley Young, James Milner and Gabriel Agbonlahor given the chance to impress, all have had a wonderful season for Aston Villa, but a rampant Spain on home soil will be a real test of their international credentials and it could just be too much too soon. Emile Heskey is likely to partner Agbonlahor in attack and I see England struggling to make much of an impact in the final third.

I’m not one for getting too carried away in friendly matches but Spain look big at around the 2.20 mark to prevail in a game that should be competitive. Plenty of the players involved know one another well enough from club football to add extra spice to the fixture and there is also enough recent ‘history’ between the pair to lead me to believe that those involved will be up for it.