England needed a late winner from star striker Harry Kane to secure three points in its opening match of the 2018 World Cup. The Three Lions will look to all but guarantee their place in the Round of 16 with a victory on Sunday at 8 a.m. ET against Panama. England enters Sunday's Group G game as a -475 money line favorite, meaning you'd need to bet $475 on a English victory to win $100. Panama is an underdog at +1600 (risk $100 to win $1600), while a draw is +490. The Over-Under on total goals scored in this 2018 World Cup match is 2.5. England has 12-1 World Cup odds to win the entire tournament, while Panama is 5,000-1.
Before you make your 2018 World Cup picks, you need to see what European football expert David Sumpter has to say. Sumpter is an applied mathematician who wrote "Soccermatics," a book that explains how math works inside the sport. Together, with other experienced analysts, Sumpter developed the powerful Soccerbot model.
The Soccerbot reads current odds and all team performance data, calculates key metrics and predicts upcoming matches. In nearly three seasons since its inception, the Soccerbot is up an incredible 1,800 percent on bookmakers' closing odds.
The Soccerbot has already nailed draws for Argentina-Iceland (+385) and Brazil-Switzerland (+360). It also correctly predicted Iran upsetting Morocco at +275, just to name a few of its big calls. Anyone who has followed it is way up.
The Soccerbot has analyzed every angle of England-Panama and generated a strong money-line selection that is available only over at SportsLine.
The model knows England was saved from a disappointing start to its 2018 World Cup campaign thanks to a two-goal performance from its captain, Harry Kane.
Kane entered Russia 2018 in superb form, scoring 41 goals in 48 appearances for Tottenham last season. He will need to step up again on Sunday for The Three Lions, who will most likely be without Kane's Tottenham teammate, Dele Alli. The 22-year-old has missed practice with a thigh injury and is expected to miss Sunday's contest against Panama.
England made headlines when it apparently tipped its hand regarding its planned lineup against Panama. An assistant coach carried a roster at practice that was visible to observers and photographed. If accurate, changes would include a demotion of Raheem Sterling, who has gone scoreless in 21 straight matches. Also, Ruben Loftus-Cheek is listed as a replacement for Alli.
The model also knows a desperate Panama club is still looking for answers after it was held to just two on-target shots out of six total attempts in its 2018 World Cup debut. The Central American nation should be highly motivated to continue its World Cup run.
So which hungry nation wins Sunday? Or does it end in a draw? Visit SportsLine now to see the strong England-Panama money-line pick, all from a European football expert whose powerful model is up 1,800 percent in less than three years.
