TWO goals in the last five minutes saw England through to a 5-1 win over Kazakhstan over the weekend.

That result saw many punters, who were on the underdogs +3.5 goals handicap, scratching their heads and wondering what hit them when I dropped by at the betting shop yesterday morning.

'How could England win by four goals after going in 0-0 at half time?' asked regular punter Sam Tan.

'For 85 minutes, you never thought England could clear the handicap.

'Kazakhstan matched them for most of the game and even had chances to take the lead.

'In the end, England showed their superior quality when the visitors were running out of steam.'

Despite suffering losses over the weekend, Tan is adamant that Belarus can get something off England in tonight's clash.

'Belarus have prepared well over a week for this game and I expect them to come out firing,' said Tan.

'If England start the same way they did last Sunday, they will probably find themselves falling behind early in the game.

'Once so, it'll be difficult for them to get back into the game especially since Belarus are a much better side than Kazakhstan.'

Top of the group

Going into this game, England are top of Group 6 after three successive victories while Belarus are in fourth spot after losing their opening group fixture at Ukraine before recovering to beat Andorra in their previous game.

'Belarus' recent results are not fantastic but I think it will be terribly wrong to rule them out.

'They are certainly capable of claiming a shock win over England if you take into account results that saw them defeat Holland late last year and held Argentina to a draw recently.

'My main bet is on Belarus +1.5 and I'm also planning a small punt on them to pull off an upset at $9.20.'

Another punter, Joseph Yap, cautioned going against England citing the new regime under Fabio Capello is working wonders.

'From the three matches so far, I can see that England are focused on reaching the World Cup Finals,' he said.

'They don't want to miss out on another major tournament and they are looking to qualify early.

'For some reasons, England didn't perform well against Kazakhstan but still managed to win 5-1.

'Whether it comes down to experience, tactics or man for man, England are way ahead of Belarus. And for me, that means nothing less than a convincing victory for the English.'

But I'm not sure about that.

The writer is a freelancer.