USA vs Wales: Preview and Prediction
Wales returns to the global stage after 64 years and will lock horns with the United States of America at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar for a Group B FIFA World Cup 2022 fixture. Their opponents, the USA, meanwhile too return back to the mega event after missing the 2018 edition following a defeat in Trinidad & Tobago in their final qualifier match.
With an early win being very impactful in such a short tournament both teams will look to play to their strengths and pick all three points in the bag.
Current Form
A lot is being expected of the young and exciting US team this time around. In terms of average squad age, the US has the second youngest team behind hosts Qatar with an average age of 25 years and 215 days.
The team finished 3rd in the regional qualifiers and gained automatic promotion to the World Cup. The team have played aggressive football and is a high-pressing team, and Berhalter will become the first person to represent the USA at the World Cup as both a player and manager when he takes charge of the game and will hope they can continue their rich style of play.
While for Wales, the team hasn’t shown good form ever since their 1-0 win over Ukraine in the playoffs. The team has drawn one and lost five in the UEFA Nations League, and will look to turn things around quickly.
Their opponents have never registered a goalless draw in 33 World Cup matches, while that might be good news for Wales, this will be a fresh match with past results holding no real value.
Head to Head Record
The records show us that the USA and Wales have faced each other only on two occasions, both in international friendlies. The two sides first played each other in 2003, a game that ended 2-0 in favor of the USA, courtesy of goals from Landon Donovan and Eddie Lewis. The teams then met once again in 2017 with the game ending on a goalless draw.
Team News
Chris Richards and Miles Robinson faced injuries ahead of the World Cup and are ruled out, which puts the onus on the other defenders to step up and put up a show. The defence will be put to test when they face Wales who will be without Joe Allen who is uncertain for the opening fixture.
Predicted XIs
USA (4-3-3): Matt Turner; Sergino Dest, Walker Zimmerman, Aaron Long, Antonee Robinson; Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Brendan Aaronson; Gio Reyna, Jesus Ferreira, Christian Pulisic
Wales (3-4-3): Wayne Hennessey; Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rodon, Ben Davies; Connor Roberts, Joe Allen, Aaron Ramsey, Neco Williams; Gareth Bale, Keiffer Moore, Daniel James.
Prediction
In a group where England are the favourites, USA and Wales will be pushing for the 2nd spot and both teams will want nothing less than three points from this fixture. The Dragons will be hoping that Gareth Bale comes good for them, while the US will look to excite their home fans with a top performance as they soon prepare to host the world in four years’ time.
