England v Belarus Match Preview and Prediction – Wednesday, October 14, 2009
England wraps up its UEFA 2010 World Cup Qualifying on Wednesday, October 14, 2009. Neither team has anything play for as Belarus is out of contention for qualification and England has already clinched their ticket to South Africa. The match will be televised on ITV in the UK and Fox Soccer Channel in the USA. Here’s a preview of the match along with a prediction (video preview can be found here).
England v Belarus Match Preview
20:00 (8 PM) GMT (local UK time)
UEFA 2010 World Cup Qualifying
Wembley Stadium – London, England
England will be without Wayne Rooney who suffered a calf injury in Saturday’s match and Ben Foster has been called up to replace the suspended Robert Green (red card). Even without their stop scorer (Rooney), England will be the clear favorites heading into the match.
Belarus is 4-1-4 in qualifying with 13 points and currently 4th in the group. They have not qualified for the last four World Cups or European Championships. Their roster consists of players on clubs in Eastern European leagues. Playing at a packed Wembley Stadium and trying to get a win will be too much to ask from this club.
England is in great form and with Rooney being out, it will give a chance for other strikers to prove themselves such as Gabriel Agbonhalor, Carlton Cole, and Emile Heskey. Manager Fabio Capello is likely to have a similar lineup to previous matches and David James will probably fill in as goalkeeper. England will have no trouble winning this match as they are the better team by far.
Prediction – England wins 3-1
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