Friendly International, 5 Mar
Australia vs Ecuador
Australia will be with three debutants and many young players who have less than 10 NT appearances. Captain L. Neill, R. Williams (Middlesbrough) D. Carney and M. Zullo (from A-League) are notable missings in defense, then experienced M. Bresciano, A. Thompson, J. Kennedy and R. Kruse are attacking players who are out too. Promising midfielders B. Halloran (Dusseldorf) and C. Herd (Aston Villa) won't debut in this game though. Taking this into consideration, the team will be much weaker than in the last friendly game against Costa Rica (1:0 win). On the other hand, Ecuador will be without R. Ibarra (Vitesse) and J. Rojas(Cruz Azul), but captain A. Valencia (Man Utd), F. Caicedo (ex Man City), C. Noboa (Dynamo M) and J. Montero (ex Betis) are available. At the moment, Latinos look better than the Aussies and it should be mentioned that the game will be played in London. I really don't like to bet on friendlies, but I'll go with the lowest stake cause I've found a very solid prize at my local.
bet: Ecuador win
odds: @2.20
stake: 0.5/5