England 3-2 USA: What’s your prediction?
A flying England will hope to follow up their goal frenzy against Iran with a similar performance against the USA in a tasty Group B clash.
England began their World Cup campaign with a bang with a dominating 6-2 victory over Iran on Monday and jumped to the top of Group B, while the USA had to settle for a disheartening 1-1 draw with Wales.
A stern test awaits Gareth Southgate's men who would have to be at the top of their game to go past USA as the stars and stripes have shown proficiency in the attacking side of things against Wales and would want to solidify their last 16 bid especially after Iran's win over Wales.
When?
26th November, 01:00 am, Bangladesh time
Where?
Al-Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar
Head-to-head
Matches 11
England 8
USA 2
Draw 1
Prediction: England 3-2 USA
Key stats:
* The U.S. returns to the World Cup for the first time in eight years after failing to qualify for the 2018 showcase in Russia.
* Defender DeAndre Yedlin is the only player in the U.S. squad with any World Cup experience.
* England had gone six competitive games without a win heading into the World Cup opener when they thrashed Iran 6-2.
* England have contested 16 World Cups but have won the tournament just once, in 1966
* England won eight of their 10 qualifying matches, scoring 39 times and conceding only three goals
Previous meetings:
* The two side have clashed 11 times with England dominating with eight wins, drawing once and losing twice.
Lineups
England: Jordan Pickford, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Kieran Trippier, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Mason Mount, Luke Shaw, Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling
United States: Matt Turner, Sergino Dest, Walker Zimmerman, Tyler Adams, Antonee Robinson, Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Tim Ream, Haji Wright, Tim Weah
Following is a statbox on England at the World Cup.
FIFA Ranking: 5
Odds: 7-1
Previous tournaments:
England will be taking part in their 16th World Cup since they made their tournament debut in 1950. Their best performance came in 1966 when they won the tournament on home soil after beating West Germany in the final.
Since then it has been a regular tale of overly high expectations not being matched by actual performances, although they have come close on a couple of occasions.
They reached the semi-finals in Italy in 1990, losing to Germany on penalties, then in 2018 they again reached the last four but went down to Croatia.
England failed to qualify in 1974, 1978 and 1994.
How they qualified:
England breezed through a World Cup qualifying group which included makeweights San Marino and Andorra, going unbeaten in 10 matches with eight wins and two draws to seal automatic qualification last year.
They wrapped up their qualifying campaign with a 10-0 hammering of lowly San Marino as captain Harry Kane finished top scorer in the group with 12 goals.
England's draws came away to Poland and at home to Hungary.
Form guide:
After securing World Cup qualification, England have suffered a spectacular collapse in form, going six competitive games without a victory.
They failed to win a match in their Nations League campaign in a group with Italy, Hungary and Germany.
England drew three and lost three -- including twice against Hungary -- to finish bottom of the group, suffering the humiliation of relegation to League B.
A 4-0 defeat by Hungary in June was England's worst at home in 94 years, piling pressure on manager Gareth Southgate.
There were signs of life, however, in their last match before the World Cup as they hit back from 2-0 down against Germany to lead before drawing a thriller 3-3.
Following is a statbox on the United States at the World Cup.
FIFA Ranking: 16
Odds: 100-1
Previous tournaments:
The United States have appeared in 10 World Cups. Their best performance was at the inaugural tournament in 1930 when they finished third. They reached the quarter-finals in 2002 courtesy of a 2-0 knockout win over Mexico in the last 16.
Their stunning 1-0 win against England in the 1950 group stage is among the greatest upsets in World Cup history. However, the success was short-lived and the U.S. failed to qualify for the next nine editions of the tournament.
How they qualified:
The pressure was on after the U.S. failed to reach the 2018 finals as they missed out for the first time in over 30 years.
Their latest campaign started slowly with draws against El Salvador and Canada before a 4-1 win over Honduras. They got the job done by scoring 21 goals in 14 games to finish third in CONCACAF qualifying behind Canada and Mexico.
Form guide:
The U.S. enjoyed a 3-0 romp over Morocco at home and held Uruguay to a 0-0 draw in June friendlies but their final two warm-ups raised serious concerns over their chances in Qatar.
They failed to produce a shot on goal in a 2-0 drubbing by Japan in September before Saudi Arabia held them to a 0-0 draw as the U.S. struggled to dominate their lower-ranked opponents.