Well, that was boring. Blame it on the heat, the shiteness of England or the utter lack of ambition from Hodgson, either way, it was not pretty on the eyes. It's a great result for England's chances of making it out of Group D. Here's how it affects the gambling market an hour before Sweden and the Ukraine kick-off.
France are a really nice 15/8 to win the group. That seems like a dead cert if you doubt the power of the Ukraine and Sweden. England come in at 9/4. Sweden, who'll most likely be top of the group in 2 hours are at 4/1.
The gambling markets have England and France as nearly sure bets to go through to the quarterfinals, with England at 4/6 and France 4/8.
If you like to lay, England are an overvalued 5/4 to reach the semis (if you figure they'll have to beat Italy, Spain or Croatia). France are at 7/5 to reach the semis. Also a decent lay.
You can get France at 10/1 to win the tournament, and the Rooney-less England are 6th favourite to win the tournament at 13/1.
Interestingly, given how poor Ukraine may be, Group D is an outside 3/1 to be the group with the most goals. If you think Sweden and France can hockey them, this is a solid bet.
