England vs USA

England face perhaps their biggest threat in Group B on Friday when they take on the USA at Al Bayt Stadium in Qatar.

Southgate’s side get their 2022 World Cup campaign off to a positive start by putting six goals past Iran on Monday – two more than they did throughout all six of their Nations League matches. Victory for England would see them guaranteed to progress to the knockout stages of the tournament before they face Wales on Tuesday but they’ll likely find the USA tougher opponents than Iran based on their impressive first half performance against Wales earlier in the week.

The will be the USA’s 11th World Cup appearance since first qualifying in 1930 when they reached the semi-finals. They endured a good run throughout the 90’s and onwards, qualifying for seven consecutive World Cup tournaments with their last being in 2014 which was held in Brazil after failing to make it to Russia 2018.

The USA came third in the CONCACAF third round of qualification, finishing level on points with Costa Rica but with a superior goal difference. They won 50% of their matches during the qualification period and lost three of their 14 played.

Being 100/1 to win the World Cup pre-tournament, the USA are very unlikely to challenge for the trophy. However, they definitely do have the players to cause teams problems and Southgate will know this.

Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Weston McKennie (Juventus ), Giovanni Reyna (Borussia Dortmund) and Sergino Dest (Barcelona) are just a few notable players in their squad who all have experience on the big stage and will be relishing the chance to impress at the highest level.

These two sides met in the first round of the 2010 World Cup in Brazil when England were held to a goalless draw. They ended up finishing second in the group behind the USA on goal difference which meant that the Three Lions were forced to face long-standing rivals Germany in the Round of 16 rather than Ghana who the USA were paired with. That shows how important finishing top of the group often is in these competitions and Southgate will surely remind his squad of that fact heading into this crucial game.

Despite the USA being team that has the potential to produce some upsets, I fancy England to pick up another three points. Despite having a horrid Nations League campaign, finishing third in the 2018 World Cup and second at the Euro’s shows that they’re capable of progressing in big competitions and this year should be no different for them.

Southgate’s men will be full of confidence after their comfortable win against Iran and that should surely help them in the final third of the pitch.

If they’re playing near their best, England should take away three points from this game but they should show some USA some respect as they had moments when they looked dangerous against Wales.

Despite eight goals in England’s match against Iran, I’m not expecting half that in this game. Southgate will be more cautious of Friday’s opponents but they should be able to avoid an upset and pick up maximum points again.

England to win at 10/17 is probably good enough for a single but I think there are a few more interesting markets I’d rather look at for a main bet.

With Bellingham, Saka, Sterling, Grealish and Rashford all getting on the scoresheet on Monday, there are plenty of players who will be confident in front of goal in this game. I’m certainly not expecting England to put six past the USA but I do think they’ll get on the scoresheet more than once.

I’m torn between 2-0 and 3-1 and going for the latter given that Iran weren’t a proper test for England’s defence and given how dangerous USA looked in the first half against Wales, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them pinch a goal.

I think this is a 50/50 market and that is proven with the bookies offering 19/20 on either outcome. It’s not a bet I’d take up in this game.

England’s match against Iran has thrown a number of players into the mix for the first goalscorer. One player that stood out to me in that game was Bukayo Saka who played extremely well and looked very dangerous. He’s 17/2 to net first and would be my pick of the bunch.

England will be more cautious of USA and so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Draw/England. However, given their confidence after the first game, England/England is my selection.

When a team like England, who often attempt to control the game via possession, are favourites, it can be a good strategy to back the underdog to receive the most cards since they will be chasing the ball. Although I do think USA are far more likely to pick up the most cards in this fixture, I’m opting to back ‘Under 3.5 Cards’. I can’t see this game being as feisty as England vs Wales is expected to be and would expect fewer cards to be dished out.

England expected starting lineup:
Pickford; Trippier, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Rice, Bellingham; Saka, Mount, Sterling; Kane

USA expected starting lineup:
Turner; Dest, Zimmerman, Ream, A. Robinson; McKennie, Adams, Musah; Weah, Sargent, Pulisic