In what is one of the biggest fixtures in this year’s tournament, world powers England and USA are set to clash in this second round group B fixture. Both sides will be coming into the game with varying confidence level but both sides will have different reasons to be positive after their opening fixtures. You can check out the England USA prediction and tips by Overlyzer and so much more.
Form Guide: England
The Three Lions go into this game in great stead after getting the biggest result of the tournament so far with an impressive 6-2 demolition of Iran. Two fantastic Bukayo Saka strikes along with goals from Raheem Sterling, Jude Bellingham, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish saw Gareth Southgate’s men cruise to victory. Medhi Taremi was able to score two goals in the match but by then, England were out of sight.
Gareth Southgate was happy with the performance overall but also pointed out that there are improvements that need to be made in their following games.
“It was a sticky first half, lots of stoppages, but we were a threat throughout that, our pressing was really good, and our movement was really good, so I've got to be happy but we shouldn't be conceding two goals at that stage of the game.
“We'll have to be right on our game against the States. It's a great start but we're going to have to be better.
England did not go into the World Cup in the best of form. Their UEFA Nations League campaign ended without them getting a single victory in their six competitive games played (three draws and three losses) and significant questions were asked of the manager’s style of play as well as team selection.
This performance would have helped ease some of the pressure and settle the existing tension going into the tournament for all parties involved.
The argument could also be made that England beat a poor Iran team whose minds were possibly elsewhere due to the issues in their country but England were very comfortable against a team which are known to be defensively solid and that is all that matters.
They will be going into this game against the United States of America as favorites. They will also be aware of the fact that a win will all but seal their qualification for the round of 16 and see them become favorites to win the group as well.
Form Guide: United States
The United States will look back on their 1-1 draw with Wales on Monday night with mixed feelings.
On the one hand, they started the game on the front foot. Their aggressive and effective press made life very uncomfortable for Wales who struggled to play out of the back and their attempts to get their star man Gareth Bale on the ball proved futile. This was the theme of the whole first half defensively.
Offensively, they kept control of the ball ad kept putting pressure on the Welsh backline and they were rewarded for their efforts in the 36th minute after Christian Pulisic was able to find Timothy Weah whose composed finish past Wayne Hennessey gave the Americans a well-deserved lead.
On the other hand, they struggled to keep the same intensity in the second half. Defensively, they could not deal with the half time chance which saw Kieffer Moore come on.
The big striker was able to hold the ball up well for his team which got his teammates into the game more. Wales grew in confidence and eventually got their equalizer. Walker Zimmerman brought down Gareth Bale in the box and the Welsh talisman punished them from the spot.
After the game, USA coach Gregg Berhalter said that his team gave it everything they had and he was happy with the performance overall.
"It didn't look like a team playing in their first World Cup. They looked mature, especially in the first half.
“It was a hard-fought game. We left everything out there. I think we lost a little bit of power. But in the same sense Wales stepped up their pressure.
“And we had some good counter attacking opportunities. But I thought the guys dealt with it well. You know we kept going till the end.
“Well, what I'd say Wales went very direct in the second half. And they've got a big team. And they made it difficult.”
So, I think we managed a lot of our pressure well. But when they hit long balls and played for second balls it becomes difficult.”
USMNT will be underdogs when they face England on Friday evening but they will know that a repeat of the first half performance will cause the Three Lions problems.
Match Prediction
This may end up being an open, attacking game between an England side looking to impose their will on their opponents and a fearless USA team that will be no pushovers.
USA will give England a different challenge compared to Iran as the Americans prefer to press high and try to win the ball back as opposed to the conservative defensive style Iran employ. England’s composure on the ball will be tested.
As for the Americans, they will expect to have less of the ball I n this game against a technically superior England team and will try to force as many turnovers as possible in order to counter attack at pace.
In the end, England’s superior quality will shine through and the Three Lions will be victorious.
