The final match of the FIFA World Cup on Friday sees England looking to build on their emphatic opening win when they take on USA in a game that has plenty of interest in Group B of the competition.
England know that a win in this match will take them into the knockout stages as group winners and they will be all out to get it. USA already know that they will be in contention to qualify whatever happens here but their fate will be in their own hands if they avoid defeat.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the ITV 1 channel in the UK where the build-up in Qatar begins at 6.05pm ahead of the match kicking off at 7pm.
England
There was no shortage of caution and doubters over this England side heading into the tournament, from fans back home at least if not those involved in the game, but they were blown out of the water in emphatic style in the opening match when England looked as good as they have done in a number of years in taking Iran to the cleaners. Even then those who still questioned what they beat were put in their place when Iran won the opening game on Friday.
There was a lot to like about England in that opening game. They kept the ball incredibly well, moved it on quickly and with a good tempo and looked a million dollars in attacking areas. There were questions over them defensively as they conceded two goals against Iran although the second came via a dubious penalty and you would expect England to improve in that area anyway as Harry Maguire starts to get a run of games.
USA
There was all sorts of talk about how USA couldn’t afford to lose their opening game against Wales so in a way they will be pleased that they didn’t lose the match but given how dominant they were in the opening period they should have come out of it disappointed that they didn’t win it. Unlike with England, there are question marks about how good USA were even in that first half because Wales were absolutely atrocious and haven’t exactly franked the form since then.
USA went into this tournament with doubts over their coach and they certainly wouldn’t have gone away during that opening game. The positive for them is that they play with a positive, modern style high press and an intensity that should be enjoyable to watch. The problem is that they don’t really have the class to ensure they are not left exposed and in defensive areas they are guilty of some questionable decision making.
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Team News
There were doubts over the fitness of Hary Kane and Harry Maguire after they picked up issues in the opening match but they have both been passed fit. That isn’t the case with James Maddison so England could be unchanged here.
USA surprisingly left Gio Reyna on the bench in their opening game against Wales but the Borussia Dortmund ace will be hoping to be involved in this one. Brendan Aaronsen was another who didn’t start against Wales and he’ll be eager to be involved.
Betting
I’ll go with a couple of bets for this match. The first one is for England to cover a -1 Asian handicap line. There will no doubt be all sorts of 1950 and 2010 references during the build-up to this match but this is 2022 and England look a cut above the Americans to me. I wasn’t particularly enthused by USA going into the tournament and I didn’t see anything to suggest they can get anything out of this one unless England have an incredible off day. USA are going to play with intensity and press high but this England side have the class to play around that and when they get into attacking areas I expect them to have a lot of joy. USA aren’t helped that their best attacking threats will occupy wider areas as England tend to defend better through their full-backs. England know a win here will see them through as group winners and I expect them to achieve that with a fair bit in hand.
The other bet I like in this match is for Harry Maguire to score anytime. I was waiting for this match to come along because I noticed going into the tournament that USA are a really small side by modern standards and we saw how Kieffer Moore dominated them for 45 minutes in the first game. England are going to have a lot of joy from set plays here with Harry Maguire potentially a huge threat. He hit the bar against Iran but caused them problems from every set play and with the delivery England send into the box I don’t see anything changing here. You can get 12/1 on Maguire to score at any time in this match and that looks way too big to me.
Tips
Back England (-1AH) to beat USA for a 4/10 stake at 1.87 with Bet365
Back H.Maguire to score anytime for a 1/10 stake at 13.00 with Bet365
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