Betting preview ahead of England’s World Cup qualifier against Hungary

England continue their quest for qualification at the 2022 World Cup when they take on Hungary at the Puskas Arena on Thursday night.

This will be the first time Gareth Southgate’s squad will come together since their painful penalty shoot-out defeat to Italy in the final of Euro 2020 at Wembley back in July. The England players will still be hurting from that loss but it’s time to move on and focus on qualifying for the World Cup.

The Three Lions sit top of Group I having won all three of their qualifying games so far and they’ll be up against a Hungary team who sit two points adrift in second after securing two wins and a draw so far.

England reached the semi-finals of the last World Cup before making it to the final at Euro 2020 so Southgate will be desperate to go one better by lifting the World Cup trophy in Qatar next year.

They’ll be confident of taking another step towards securing qualification on Thursday but Hungary shouldn’t be underestimated as they held their own in the ‘group of death’ at the Euro’s having been pitted against France, Germany and Portugal.

Betting odds

Gamblers love to bet on sports but football is the most popular and there is expected to be plenty of action on the betting exchanges for England’s World Cup qualifier against Hungary on Thursday night.

The Three Lions head into the match as the 4/9 favourites with the bookmakers to claim all three points. Hungary can be backed at odds of 15/2 while the draw is available at 10/3.

This isn’t going to be an easy game for England but they should still have enough quality to get the job done. A 2-1 victory can be backed at odds of 7/1 and that looks a solid bet.

Harry Kane is expected to start up front despite not starting a Premier League game for Tottenham so far this season amid uncertainty surrounding his future. Kane is 10/11 to score at anytime in this match and that would be worth backing if he does start.

• England to win 2-1 at odds of 7/1
• Kane to score any time at odds of 10/11

Injury issues

Southgate has plenty of injury concerns to worry about as Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford is out following shoulder surgery while follow forwards Danny Ings, Ollie Watkins and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are also ruled out.

Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford could therefore get an opportunity to impress up front at some point. Manchester City attacker Phil Foden is ruled out along with Arsenal defender Ben White.

However, Bukayo Saka will be hoping to put his penalty miss in the Euro 2020 final behind him with a start in attack. Jack Grealish is another option for Southgate in the final third but Raheem Sterling and Mason Mount are expected to start.