England continue their World Cup campaign when they take on the United States of America at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor on Friday night. The Three Lions got off to the perfect start with a hugely impressive 6-2 demolition of Iran on Monday afternoon. Youngsters Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham starred during the victory, while Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford also got their names on the scoresheet.
It was certainly a statement of intent from Gareth Southgate’s side, especially when you consider some of the shock results we’ve seen already in Qatar, so they should be in confident mood heading into this game. However, Southgate admitted after the game he was disappointed to have conceded twice against Iran so he’ll want to see England keep a clean sheet on Friday.
The USA on the other hand were held to a 1-1 draw by Wales in their group stage opener. A late Gareth Bale penalty shared the spoils after Timothy Weah had opened the scoring in the first half. England have won eight of the last 11 meetings between the two sides and another victory on Friday would all-but secure safe passage to the knockout stages.
Betting odds
The World Cup is expected to attract a huge amount of interest in the betting markets as it’s always one of the most anticipated sporting events of the year. Therefore, betting sites will be vying for your business with enticing offers so it’s important to look at the best online casino reviews before deciding on which bookmaker to use for placing your bets. England are currently priced as the 7/1 joint-second favourites along with Spain and France to win the World Cup. Brazil are the 3/1 favourites to go all the way in Qatar.
The Three Lions are also the 11/20 favourites to beat the USA on Friday night. You can get odds of 5/1 on the US if you think there will be another shock, or 16/5 on the draw. Harry Kane drew a blank against Iran and also picked up a knock, but the Tottenham hitman is still the 11/4 favourite to open the scoring against the USA. A 2-1 England win is priced at 13/2 and if we combine that with Kane opening the scoring, we can get odds of 30/1 with some bookmakers.
Rice starts again
West Ham star Declan Rice put in another solid performance at the heart of England’s midfield against Iran. The 23-year-old has firmly established himself as a regular under Southgate and should keep his place in midfield against the USA. Bellingham was outstanding alongside Rice in the middle of the park and the Borussia Dortmund star should also keep his place as they’re forming an excellent partnership. If Southgate wants to freshen things up, then Mason Mount could be the man to drop out with Jordan Henderson, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden all options. James Maddison is still struggling with a knock so he may miss out once again but Kane is expected to be fit to start up front after recovering from an ankle injury.
As for the USA, Chelsea attacker Christian Pulisic will be the main threat along with Timothy Weah.
Prediction
The last time these two met 12 years ago it ended in a draw and the US shouldn’t be underestimated. However, England showed against Iran they have the quality to be a real force at this World Cup and they should have too much quality for the USA on Friday night. England 2-1 USA - Ed
