Considering how some of the other groups have shaped up, England have been handed one of the better World Cup draws for South Africa next summer.
Their main rivals for a top-two spot are considered to be the USA, an improving force on the international stage over the last decade or so. There's also Slovenia to contend with, surprise victors over Russia in the play-offs and one of the African qualifiers, Algeria - who scraped through after a tense play-off defeat over arch rivals and current African champions Egypt.
Fabio Capello's side are the big fancies, and are 1-12 with Boylesports to go through from the group. They are also 4-11 with Sky Bet and Paddy Power to top the standings.
In terms of group form in the last three World Cup England qualified in second in 1998 and 2002, coming top in 2006. As a result of the draw England have been made third favourites behind Brazil and Spain to win the tournament, coming in to 6-1 with Coral - and 5-2 (Sky Bet) to make the final.
Much will depend on whether they can avoid injury to their most important players in the lead up to the tournament, although they should still have enough to come through. They have also beaten both the USA and Slovenia in friendlies within the last couple of years - while they have never played Algeria. Incidentally, England are also 8-1 to fail to go through with Sky Bet - which they have only done twice, in 1950 and 1958.
The USA are 4-6 (Sky Bet) to go beyond the group phase, and 5-1 with Bet365 to finish first. When qualifying through the group section in previous World Cups, they finished second in 2002 - and third in 1994, which saw them through to round two. They are rated at 80-1 (various) to win the trophy, and 28-1 with Sky Bet to reach the final. They should at least be capable of going through should they show the type of form which saw them top their CONCACAF group in qualifying.
They also have a clutch of top players in their side, including Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard, Fulham midfielder Clint Dempsey and playmaker Landon Donovan - club team-mate of David Beckham at LA Galaxy. The Americans also reached last summer's Confederations Cup final in South Africa - ending Spain's 35-match unbeaten run in the process. Sky Bet offer 11-10 they fail to qualify from the group - which despite their obvious strengths, could be a decent outside punt on previous World Cup finals form.
Of the perceived group outsiders, Slovenia - skippered by West Brom's Robert Koren - are 7-4 with Sky Bet and Victor Chandler to finish in the top two, and 12-1 (various) to finish first - which could be worth an outside shout should they continue to build on the form that saw them come through a group which included Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Northern Ireland and Poland. The 250-1 to win the World Cup with Expekt.com and Coral looks ambitious, and they are 2-5 (Sky Bet) not to qualify - they finished last with three defeats in their previous finals appearance in 2002.
We offer a number of World Cup Free bets here.
Algeria are 4-1 (Boylesports, Victor Chandler) to qualify and 25-1 (various) to come top - and 500-1 (various) to become the first African side to win the tournament. They are actually ranked above Slovenia according to November's FIFA rankings (28 compared to 33), and include British-based players Madjid Bougherra (Rangers), Nadir Belhadj (Portsmouth) and Kamel Ghilas (Hull City) in their squad. However, in terms of recent success on the international stage, they did not qualify for the African Cup of Nations in 2006 and 2008 - all eyes will surely be on how they fare come January when the next tournament takes place in Angola.
They are 1-5 on to finish third or fourth in the group with Sky Bet.
England finished as the highest scoring qualifers in European qualifying, while the USA did the same in their final CONCACAF group. Group C being the highest scoring group is third fancy, at 11-2 with Boylesports. Another group bet is for the World Cup winner to be from these four teams - Sky Bet offer 5-1.
There are several other group bets which could be worth considering. Sky Bet are offering straight forecasts including England first, USA second at 11-8; England/Slovenia 7-2; USA/England 9-2; Slovenia/England 12-1; and for an outside shout discounting England to go through, USA/Slovenia or Slovenia/USA are both being offered at 40s.
The same company are also offering dual forecasts and tricasts, with the following odds worth considering: England/USA qualification 8-11; England/Slovenia 5-2; England/Algeria 7-2; England top, USA second, Slovenia third 3-1; USA/England/Slovenia 9-1.
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