Football betting tips: International Friendly
2.5pts England to win and under 3.5 goals at 10/11 (General)
England’s penultimate game before the 2026 World Cup sees them play New Zealand at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, before they take on Costa Rica on Wednesday in their final fixture.
This clash with the All Whites kicks-off at 4pm local time - 9pm in the UK - and it will give us valuable insight into how the Three Lions are going to fare in the Sunshine State heat.
If England top Group L at the finals, they’ll play their round-of-32 clash in Atlanta, round-of-16 game in Mexico City, Miami for the quarters, back to Atlanta for the semis before returning to Miami for the third place play-off. Sorry, I mean the final in New York.
Presuming England top the group that is, and go on to win all of their knockout games, but the point is it’ll be hot in the majority of those knock-out Stadia.
So, getting acclimatised to the heat seems a sensible move from Thomas Tuchel ahead of the tournament and it is expected to be around 34 degrees when Saturday’s game kicks-off.
This will be the first look at the national team since a disappointing couple of friendlies in March.
A heavily rotated Three Lions side drew 1-1 with a heavily rotated Uruguay side, conceding a 94th minute penalty. Then, a slightly stronger eleven lost 1-0 to Japan.
As with any friendly, not much stock can be put into those results.
Harry Kane didn’t feature at all and Jude Bellingham didn’t start either game. James Trafford and James Garner were handed their first senior caps and Phil Foden and Cole Palmer featured in both games but neither are in the World Cup squad.
How much experimenting Tuchel does in terms of team selection for this clash remains to be seen but his XI is expected to be comparatively stronger for Saturday's match then those March line-ups.
The Three Lions have a clean bill of health but will be without Arsenal quartet Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke following their involvement in the Champions League final.
ENGLAND breezed through qualification without conceding a goal in eight games and six of those matches saw the Three Lions WIN AND UNDER 3.5 GOALS click.
At 10/11, it is an angle which appeals here.
New Zealand will be the lowest ranked nation competing at the World Cup according to FIFA’s rankings (85th). And they only have a pool of around 60 professional players to pick from.
Much of their hopes for the summer hinge on record appearance maker and top goalscorer Chris Wood.
Although the Nottingham Forest forward is expected to start on Saturday, he has only started 14 Premier League games and one international qualifier this term.
The All Whites' confidence ahead of the finals was knocked in the 4-0 defeat to Haiti in Florida on Wednesday. Haiti are ranked 81st in the world.
At 1/10 generally in the 1x2, there’s a chance England rack up a similar scoreline but ultimately I think the heat is going to have a huge impact on the tempo of the game.
Odds correct at 12:10 BST (05/06/26)
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