USA vs England. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats, and more
USA will meet with England in the FIFA World Cup 2022 match at the Al Bayt Stadium. The fixture will take place on Friday, November 26, beginning at 00:30 IST.
USA News & Current Form:
Team USA has become quite a threatening team in recent years and could easily qualify for the playoffs. The progress of the North Americans is primarily due to the fact that more and more players are leaving to play for European clubs. And some of them are in leading roles at top clubs: Christian Pulisic at Chelsea FC, Sergino Dest at AC Milan and Weston McKenney at Juventus FC.
The Americans started the World Cup with a missed victory over Wales (1-1). With some impressive dominant football in the first half, the Americans have managed to open the scoring thanks to the efforts of young prospect Timothy Weah. However, eight minutes before the end of regular time, Walker Zimmerman knocked down Gareth Bale in his penalty area, and the Los Angeles Galaxy attacker was certain to use such a chance to level the score from 11m.
It is not clear what had changed at the halftime break, but in the second part of the match, it looked as if another team entered the field. The North Americans started to allow too many chances in front of their own goal with the Welshmen using such a tilt to take dangerous shots from outside the box. Moreover, the Yanks conceded a penalty and miraculously did not allow ex-Real Madrid Bale to score in an empty net from the centre of the field at the very end. Given that England’s players are many times more skilled than the Welsh, such disorganization could be fatal in the upcoming encounter.
Now there is no way for the Americans to lose to the other team from the British islands, otherwise, their chances of getting out of the group will be minimized. This should give more incentive for the players to play more convincingly not only in defense but also in attack, where they are quite good at.
This will be the third time the U.S. will face England in the World Cup. In 1950, the Americans won with a minimum score, and in 2010 in South Africa, the teams parted ways – 1:1.
However, in the last ten games against European teams in World Cups the Red, White and Blues have never won – there were five defeats and five draws. And the last time the Americans did not concede from the representatives of the Old World, was just in 1950 in a match with the same Brits.
Since the last Mundial, the U.S. has produced a generation of exceptionally talented players who are already well-recognized in the European top clubs – Brenden Aaronson, Yunus Musa, Giovanni Reyna, Sergino Dest, Weston McKennie and Christian Pulisic. Even with this stellar crew, Gregg Berhalter had some struggles to qualify for the group stage of the World Cup.
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In qualification 14 rounds, the USMNT won only seven games and drew four more. Only thanks to a better goal difference did the Americans beat Costa Rica to finish in third place.
The lack of experience and non-optimal playing conditions of the team’s leaders, in particular, the captain – Christian Pulisic, had a huge impact. In the current EPL campaign, the 24-year-old attacker spent only 413 minutes on the pitch, and in 10 out of 13 games he came on as a substitute. Probably, he is not in top form for the upcoming tournament, however, playing under the native flag provides an additional boost for everyone, so maybe Pulisic will start to show his best football and become instrumental in this WC campaign to help his teammates.
Still, it should be underlined that in the opening match against the Dragons, the Americans have shown that they can control the narrative of the game keeping their rival in considerable suspense. Gregg Berhalter‘s charges showed effective attacking football but they didn’t seem to have enough cold-bloodedness to get the result, at one point the players began to make quite unnecessary mistakes. Fortunately, this could easily be put down to over-excitement due to the monumentality of the tournament, and the Americans will probably soon get used to it and be able to stay chilled out for the full 90 minutes of the match. Definitely do not underestimate them.
England News & Current Form:
Talking about the Three Lions’ road to the tournament, they had absolutely no problems in qualification. The Englishmen won eight games and drew twice. Harry Kane and Co. scored a combined total of 39 goals.
However, the men of Gareth Southgate have failed in the current UEFA Nations League afterwards. The depressing results raised really logical questions: how can the European Championship 2020 finalists play so badly? Just imagine, they did not win any of their six matches. Three encounters were finished in a draw. As a result, the British finished last in the group. Of course, the Nations League is not the most prestigious tournament, but still, leaving for League B hurts their image and many fans had remained worried before the start of the Mundial.
Nevertheless, the English got off to a strong start at the World Cup by beating Iran 6-2 in the first round of the group stage. Gareth Southgate‘s team not only broke their six-match unbeaten streak but also marked their biggest win in a World or European Championship start.
But even there, showing superb play upfront, they made a few mistakes in defense, which resulted in two missed goals. In the coming match, the opponents will clearly be more proficient than in the past so they could well break through the British defensive lines again and again. The fans of Three Lions hope that the gaffer and his charges are well aware of such issues and do their homework before the 2nd round kick-off whistle.
Talking about the emerging leaders of the team, it was youngster Bukayo Saka who was named England’s Man of the Match against the Iranians – the Arsenal winger scored a brace, leaving a great impression about his form.
The game of nineteen-year-old Jude Bellingham was also inspiring – the player of Borussia Dortmund not only scored England’s first goal in Qatar but also simply was dispatching the team’s attacks despite his young age. After the game, the young player absolutely deservedly received praise from legends of English football – Alan Shearer and Rio Ferdinand.
And these are not all honorable mentions as two other players that came on as subs – Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish – inspired hopes for a nice Mundial in the hearts of fans. Resuming the match performance it can be said that England’s attacking power is impressive. However, they need to be more reliable at the back too.
In the match against the USA, we may well expect a goal extravaganza from the English. Especially since a victory over the Americans will put Southgate’s team into the playoffs ahead of schedule. Still, taking the USA attacking threat into account – teams can engage in a real skirmish. It seems that it is the quality of defensive play that can decide the outcome. In the end, the better defending team will win. Interesting but both sides find this area to be vulnerable.
The English coach himself holds the record for the number of victories with the national team at major tournaments – Southgate has nine of them now. He will undoubtedly want to win his tenth in the match against the United States.
Another problem Southgate may face before the game against the U.S. is the loss of defense commander Harry Maguire. The defender suffered a head injury in the match against the Iranians and was replaced. If a concussion is confirmed, according to FIFA regulations the defender must miss at least 10 days.
Don’t forget about the main leader of the team, one of the key seniors of the squad – Harry Kane – who has a tremendous impact not only on the pitch but also in the dressing room. The fans are feeling confident if Harry remains in good form – this means that the team is unstoppable. His current play inspires some hope.
The Tottenham Hotspur striker shows decent performances this season. Over 15 games in the English Premier League, he scored 12 goals and gave one assist so far, this is really promising, especially taking in consideration his recent ups and downs. Kane had two assists in the Matchday 1 game against Iran (6-2) and now he is just two resulting shots away from Wayne Rooney’s record (51 vs. 53) for goals for the national team.
On paper, England is several times stronger than the United States. According to specialized sources, England has the most expensive squad of any team for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar – $1.26bn.
USA form guide: D-W-D-L-D-D.
England form guide: D-D-L-L-D-W.
USA vs England: Head-To-Head Record:
| USA | Draw | England |
| 2 | 1 | 8 |
Last 5 matches:
- September 07, 1994: USA 0-2 England (International Friendly);
- May 28, 2005: USA 1-2 England (International Friendly);
- May 28, 2008: USA 0-2 England (International Friendly);
- June 12, 2010: USA 1-1 England (FIFA World Cup);
- November 15, 2018: USA 0-3 England (International Friendly);
USA vs England Predicted XI:
USA’s possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Turner; Dest, Zimmerman, Ream, A. Robinson; McKennie, Adams, Musah; Weah, Sargent, Pulisic.
England’s possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Trippier, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Rice, Bellingham; Saka, Mount, Sterling; Kane.
Statistical preview of the match USA vs England:
- England’s First XI average age – 26.7 yrs.
- England is 5th in the FIFA ranking.
- USA’s First XI average age — 25.2 yrs.
- USA takes 16th place in the FIFA ranking.
- England has won only one of their last seven matches in all competitions.
- Five of the last six U.S. national team games have seen under 2.5 goals.
- England won three of their last five games against the U.S.
- Three of the five h2h games between the teams ended with a total of less than 2.5 goals.
- The teams have played two World Cup matches between them, and the English have not won any of them.
What has been said before the match:
Berhalter said:
“That’s the beauty of the World Cup. When does the World Cup go to plan? If we all wrote down all the results of all the Group games, how many would be right?”
“I remember that match in 2010 [match between USA and England during World Cup 2010], there’s a really close connection between England and the United States. We share a common language – although we speak it with a nicer accent! But I think it will be a great event, I think it will be a pivotal game again and it’s at the World Cup, so we are looking forward to it, for sure.”
Gareth Southgate said:
“Tomorrow we have to try to make history. We are good at talking highly of ourselves as a nation on the basis of very little evidence. We will play a highly motivated team and have huge respect for our opposition. We know the quality they have and we will have to be at our best. The risk is to think that because we played well the other day we can take it into the next game. I don’t think we are underestimating the USA team at all.”
“Tomorrow’s game will be very different to the first match. They are a team that presses the ball really well”.
USA vs England Prediction:
This evening brings together some very ambitious teams who will be fighting for all three points for sure. The Yankees looked very decent up front against Wales and are quite capable of upsetting the Three Lions goalkeeper on more than one occasion, feeling very motivated. These guys really have something to prove.
However, England also attacked almost perfectly in their first-round clash and will clearly try to repeat that success. They are looking to prolong their victorious run to well forget the frustrations of the past.
In all likelihood, we can expect open football from both teams, which will bring a lot of danger at both ends.
Although American “soccer” has undergone a great metamorphosis in recent years, England, in our opinion, are superior to the opponent in all respects and quite reasonably considered as the favorites of the confrontation. However, the Three Lions have some defensive problems. The two goals conceded from Iran are evidence of that. The John Stones – Harry Maguire linkup is not reliable, especially in view of the latter’s occasional clumsy play. Given the constructive football from the Americans in attack, we can expect a goal from their side.
Under certain circumstances, a draw in a head-to-head encounter would be satisfactory for both sides. A win for England is very probable; however, the USA will be more motivated to get all three points to prove that the draw in the last match was anything but a fluke. In addition, a defeat would practically ruin the team’s chances of continuing to fight in the Mundial. So there will be no easy walk for the British. Still, the Three Lions are clearly superior in class and there is every reason to believe that they can get one point at the very least calmly, while there is also a big chance for them to snatch a minimum victory and secure a play-off place.
Parimatch News staff prediction:
We say: England will not lose and both teams will score – Yes.
