Thursday, June 15, 2006

LONDON, England (AFP): British bookmakers said Wednesday they were bracing for the biggest betting mismatch in World Cup history, with only a handful of Scots backing Trinidad and Tobago to beat England.

While hundreds of thousands of pounds have been wagered on England to win Thursday's Group B match in Nuremberg, less than a thousand pounds has been bet on the unfancied Soca Warriors, said bookmakers Ladbrokes.

And their biggest backer -- who placed exactly 100 pounds (184 dollars) on them to win at odds of 11 to one -- is a computer-betting Scot living on the remote Shetland Islands.

"We're expecting a few pounds more on Trinidad and Tobago -- but to date we've taken over a hundred bets on England for every one we've taken on them," said Ladbrokes spokesman Robin Hutchison.

"This could be the biggest mismatch in World Cup history.

"The only money we've seen (for Trinidad) has come from north of the border unsurprisingly -- and even they're not too confident. We might buy Shetland to celebrate and move in next to the Internet customer if they win."

The bookmaker has taken just 11 bets totalling 20.20 pounds on the Soca Warriors winning 1-0 at odds of 20 to one.

Trinidad and Tobago are a popular team among Scottish punters keen to see the auld enemy humiliated -- particularly because they have a certain striker Jason Scotland, who plays for Scottish first division side St Johnstone.

Scotland's First Minister Jack McConnell has publicly refused to support England in the World Cup and has since been accused of stoking anti-English racism.

British bookies took around 350 million pounds during the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea and are expecting to do three or four times better for this year's tournament in Germany.

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