Over £1bn will be spent on World Cup betting

They may have been hit by the recession, but bookies are already rubbing their hands at the prospect of cleaning up next year. As with every World Cup year, 2010 will be represent a bumper harvest for the British betting industry, not least because it knows it will effectively be granted a license to print money by the good old English punter.

The same pattern repeats itself every four years: England qualify for the tournament, the press and media talk up their chances of clinching the trophy in the months leading up to the big event, the nation gets swept up in a wave of overoptimism and puts its hard-earned cash on an England victory. Then, unfailingly, they get knocked out in the quarter-finals, invariably on penalties by Portugal or Argentina. Though they should know better, England fans just can’t resist the patriotic urge to back their boys to come home with the trophy even though it hasn’t happened for 44 years.

England probably have a better side than they did in Germany in 2006, when they lost to Portugal on penalties in the quarter-finals, have been drawn to play in a very easy group and the colder climes of South Africa, where it is midwinter in June, are likely to suit. But the fact is the cornerstone of any World Cup success is founded on a decent defence – and England are weak in that area – particularly when it comes to having a half-decent goalkeeper. They also can’t keep the ball for toffee.