THE PREMIER League is having a weekend off, leaving us with one of those much-loved international breaks to give us our fill of football over the next few days.
The Three Lions match against Brazil is the stand-out fixture on Saturday. Although a friendly fixture, it’s a clash that should command the attention of football fans across the nation.
England boss Gareth Southgate has a history of playing his strongest XI in the first of back-to-back friendlies. So we can look forward to seeing the likes of Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham taking on the famous yellow shirts at Wembley.
Elsewhere, the Republic of Ireland take on Belgium at the Aviva, and we get a chance to see if the Germans have improved on recent results when they visit Lyon to take on the French.
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Although all our selections are friendly matches, we’ve still picked out a Saturday international treble that pays £92.25 from a £10 bet. Add our Sunday selection, and the four-fold pays £242.16.
The bet can be placed with any of our top football sites.
???? Republic of Ireland vs Belgium: Belgium to win (21/20)
In their last home friendly, the Republic drew 1-1 with New Zealand. They also suffered one-goal defeats at the Aviva to the Netherlands and France in their failed Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.
The poor run of form saw Stephen Kenny lose his job, and he has now been replaced by former Man Utd and Sunderland defender John O’Shea on an interim basis.
This is the first match of an Irish reboot, and they’ve picked tough opponents in Belgium, who have one of those so-called golden generation of players.
Like John Terry, David Beckham, and co, we’re still waiting for Belgium's golden generation to come good. And it’s fair to say they’re now at an age where they are drinking in the proverbial last-chance saloon.
But they did come through Euro qualifying with relative ease, and in fairness to the golden generation, they have been refreshed with the likes of Jeremy Doku, Arthur Vermeeren and Johan Bakayoko.
The visitors should have too much for an Irish team in transition.
⚽ Back Belgium to win at 21/20 with bet365 ⚽
???? England vs Brazil: Jude Bellingham to score or assist (6/4)
The football world seems to have turned on its head in recent times.
England has two leading contenders to win the Ballon d’Or, and they are also the odds-on-betting favourites to beat Brazil in their national sport.
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What has happened?
Assuming Lionel Messi doesn’t win it again for signing an autograph in 2010, one of Harry Kane or Jude Bellingham really does have a chance of winning the Ballon d’Or this year. And such is the depth of talent Gareth Southgate has at his disposal, England is now expected to beat Brazil.
Jude Bellingham has now become a global superstar since his move to Real Madrid. Just think, if he had signed for Man Utd instead of Borussia Dortmund back in the day, he could be sitting on Erik ten Hag’s bench next to Anthony every week.
Instead, he’s setting records at the Bernabeu for Real Madrid. Expect Bellingham to influence this match.
⚽ Back Jude Bellingham to score or assist at 6/4 with bet365 ⚽
???? France vs Germany: France to score over 1.5 goals (4/5)
When the French get going, they look like an unstoppable force. The sheer number of players they have to pick from looks second to none, and thankfully for the rest of Europe, they can only call on so many at one time.
As for the Germans, they are entering their home tournament in the worst shape they have been in for years. Bizarrely, one of their most recent wins came against the French in September 2023. Since then they’ve beaten the USA, drew with Mexico, and lost to Turkey and Austria.
The players are there. It’s just that Julian Nagelsmann is struggling to get a tune out of them.
Anything could happen in this match, including a possible hammering for the visitors. But just in case they put in a performance, we are going for France to score two or more goals.
⚽ Back France to score over 1.5 goals at 4/5 with bet365 ⚽
Add the following bet from the Ecuador vs Italy match to make it a four-fold acca.
???? Ecuador vs Italy: Both Teams to Score and Over 2.5 Goals (13/8)
Except for their match against Ukraine last November, Italy no longer do 0-0 bore draws.
Long gone are the days of trying not to concede, and hoping to sneak one on the break. Under the leadership of Luciano Spalletti, this Italian team looks to attack and score goals.
The Euro qualifier match at Wembley against England was a case in point. It’s hard to remember a time when an Italy team came to these shores and was so open.
The Italians have chosen a different option as they warm up for their defence of the Euros. Instead of playing European opposition, they have instead decided to head to the United States and take on South American nations in two friendlies.
In their opening match on Thursday, they defeated Venezuela 2-1. And when they face Ecuador in New Jersey’s Red Bull Arena on Sunday, we can see a similar scoreline to either team.
⚽ Back both teams to score and over 2.5 goals at 13/8 with bet365 ⚽
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