Only a fifth of England fans are backing the Three Lions to win the Fifa World Cup, despite Thomas Tuchel’s squad being among the favourites to lift the trophy.
This figure places England significantly behind several European rivals when it comes to domestic support for their national team, according to new data from leading bookmakers.
Betting analysis from Entain, the owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, sheds light on the extent of “patriotic punting” ahead of the men’s football tournament, which kicks off on Wednesday.
Portugal leads the pack with a remarkable 57 per cent of all domestic bets placed on their national side.
France emerges as the second most patriotic nation in terms of betting, with 29 per cent of home market wagers backing their team.
They are followed by Austria at 25 per cent and Germany at 24 per cent. In contrast, England’s 20 per cent home backing highlights a notable lack of confidence among its own supporters.
The sentiment is even lower north of the border, with just nine per cent of all bets placed in Scotland backing their team, who are currently priced at 300/1 to win.
The data from Entain covers bets placed up to and including 3 June, with figures relating to the percentage of slips and stakes placed by betters in each market on their respective home nation.
The betting stakes from Entain’s global markets shows Spain in the lead as the most-backed team overall, followed by France, while England and Portugal are level at third.
Despite confidence among rival countries, Spanish punters are less patriotic with 16 per cent of bets placed backing the home nation.
The data also revealed that there is limited cross-border support with 8 per cent of Scots putting money on England to win, and just 1 per cent of English betters backing Scotland to lift the trophy.
Tom Ritzema, group trading director at Entain, said the stakes show that “football loyalty and betting logic don’t always go hand in hand”.
“England fans are passionate, but years of near misses have made them think beyond their own country,” he said.
“Portugal clearly stands out as the most patriotic market, with fans firmly backing their team, while countries like France and Germany also show strong belief.
“What’s striking, though, is in the global picture Spain remains the most popular choice across our markets, showing that when it comes to this World Cup, neutrals and patriots alike are looking beyond national borders for their winner.”
