England v USA - World Cup 2022
The World Cup is very much underway! England are sitting pretty at the top of Group B after the 6-2 demolition job of Iran. Next up, USA.[fixture id=9848 btn label="Book Now"]
The Al Bayt stadium plays host to the match on Friday evening as England look to qualify for the Round of 16 with victory over the Americans! 7pm on a Friday evening, there is no better place to be than in a We Love Sport venue to watch the game, celebrate an England win and get your weekend started!
Will England build on the Iran victory?
England were obviously favourites heading into the Iran game. Iran were known for their strong and rigid defence over the last 4 years. Despite this, England hit them for 6. Southgate dropped the five at the back and it paid dividends as the side's attacking prowess just was too much for Iran.
With Argentina and Germany losing their opening games to lesser opposition, England's win should be getting much more respect worldwide than it is. The United States are a strong team, and England shouldn't be underestimating them, but if they perform like they did Monday, a win is certain.
6 goals and none from star man Harry Kane is only a good thing. Goals all across the squad shows that the team is not a one man band, so it's not as simple as keeping the Spurs man quiet.
Amongst all of the glory and goals, people have seemed to forget that Iran did have a good few chances and a different team could punish them. However in this group, as proven, England will score a lot more goals than those weaker teams. In short, yes, they will.
How did the USA do in their opener? Promising for England?
USA should really be on 3 points as well as England. A fantastic first half performance meant they went into the break 1-0 up. Really, it should've been more. They played very well and Wales were struggling to deal with them.
They took it easy. The American team took their foot off of the gas and Wales put it on. Granted, it took a late penalty from Gareth Bale to rescue a point, but that's the type of game both sides needed to win. There weren't many clear cut chances for Wales but they brushed through the American midfield and just couldn't get the final ball off.
Ethan Ampadu and Aaron Ramsey didn't have that quality to play the ball through. Unfortunately for USA though, they're not playing against Ethan Ampadu and a finished Aaron Ramsey. It's Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden.
If England break through the midfield like Wales did, it could be a long night for America.
Team News
Harry Kane was on the receiving end of some late challenges from the Iran team, but after a scan midweek, the scare is over. He's fit. Manchester City pair Kalvin Phillips and Kyle Walker have had a few more days preparing in their bid to be fit, but they'll most likely get their starts against Wales if qualification is confirmed Friday.
James Maddison is yet to train, so it can be assumed he'll miss out again. Harry Maguire came off ill, but he's okay to play. With that, it can be expected that the 4-3-3 will stay and it'll be an unchanged XI, despite goals from substitutes Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish.
Weston McKennie and Yunus Musah both came off for USA v Wales, but both men are ready for the game vs England. Other than that, the entire squad are fit and ready to go.
Predicted line up (4-3-3); Pickford; Trippier, , Maguire, Stones, Shaw; Rice, Bellingham, Mount; Saka, Kane, Sterling.
[fixture id=9848 btn label="Book Now"]
Match Prediction We said last time out that it could be a difficult day for England. It wasn't. Southgate didn't play 5 at the back and they went out to cause damage. It can be expected they'll do the same against USA and qualify for the knockouts. England 3-0 USA We Love Sport x World Cup The World Cup is the greatest tournament in the world, and the greatest place in the country to watch it is in any We Love Sport venue. Our venues are incredibly immersive and will give you that feel of being there live, just without the £11.50 pints. Make sure you grab a table for this game and click here to book for any game of the World Cup!