The Three Lions to roar past Montenegro
England take on Montenegro in Podgorica on Monday evening in the second game of their Euro 2020 qualifiers and it should yield a three point haul for the Three Lions.
England’s superb record
In international tournaments, last summer’s World Cup in Russia aside, England have a pretty dismal record yet this cannot be said of their recent qualifying campaigns.
Euro 2016 was another forgettable competition for the Three Lions as they whimpered out in embarrassing style to Iceland in the first knockout round. This came as a massive shock for sure and part of the reason for this was their superb effort during the qualifying campaign.
In the 10 matches England played in Group E they won each and every one of them while only conceding three goals in the process. Needless to say they topped the group and were comfortable throughout even with a tricky Swiss side to contend with.
Heading into the Euro 2020 qualifiers, England should have no concerns especially after their showing in Russia. The hardest potential challengers look, on paper, to be either the Czech Republic or Bulgaria yet both of these nations will find it hard to beat a Three Lions side brimming with both quality and confidence.
Ignore the patchy past
If you look at the games in which these two nations have faced each other in the past it is easy to be concerned if you follow England. Although the Three Lions have never lost to the Montenegrins they have only beaten them once in four match-ups.
That was in a 4-1 victory back in October 2013 in a game that saw Wayne Rooney, Andros Townsend and Daniel Sturridge all find the net for England. The other three games against the nation from the Adriatic were all drawn yet this is a completely different England team.
Gareth Southgate has done something that other managers have not been able to do for the national side and that is get the fans believing again while picking those who deserve to play rather than big named individuals.
His approach has worked a treat. He has done for England what the Kitkat Chunky did for the Nestle mainstay and reinvigorated the brand.
Young guns
This is an exciting time to be an England fan. The plethora of talent that Southgate has to call upon is not only surprisingly good but also surprisingly youthful. Jadon Sancho, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Callum Hudson-Odoi are all too young to have played a Playstation 2 let alone remember their current manager missing a crucial penalty in Euro 96 – exciting times indeed.
Betting tip
With England’s reinvigorated, youthful side heading into the qualifiers full of confidence and guided by a genuine, waistcoat wearing guru it is hard to see the Three Lions getting anything less than a win. With that in mind, backing England to win by three goals at odds of 8/1 seems a pretty fair thought for a flutter, you’d be foolish not to.
