Chris Boline
- USA v England
- Friday, November 25, 2022, 14:00 ET
- At the Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
The USA suffered frustration in their opening game but they can pose a goal threat against England and a high-scoring match is the best pick.
Who do Bettors Favor?
According to the best-rated online sportsbooks this is a one-sided game, with England rated as the overwhelming -175 favorites among bettors. Despite their strong first-half performance against Wales, the USA are not given much hope here and can be backed at up to +520, while the draw is rated as a +320 chance with most bookies.
| USA v England |  |  |  |
| USA | +525 | +490 | +500 |
| Draw | +320 | +320 | +310 |
| England | -175 | -177 | -175 |
World Cup Group B Betting Briefing
The top two ranked teams in Group B go head to head in a crucial game and both have the chance to seal a spot in the knockout stages here. Despite England’s poor performance in the Nations League this year, they are still a strong team and they had no trouble in blowing away Iran in the first game.
The USA will not be intimidated by these opponents. They have beaten England in the modern era, although not since 1993 and overall England has won eight of their eleven meetings with the USA in all competitions. Their last meeting came in a game to celebrate the Wayne Rooney Foundation, back in 2018, which England won 3-0. With a winnable game against Iran coming up, Wales might be looking on hoping for an England win here, and that is clearly what World Cup fans are betting on.
A Tale of Two Halves for USMNT
Although the USA are regarded as a strong contender in this Group, a lot of that positive opinion is based on potential rather than achievement. Their struggles to qualify for the tournament indicated that there was more work needed for Gregg Berhalter’s team and there was more evidence of that in their opening game against Wales, which was the traditional tale of two halves.
In the first half, the young USA midfield dominated the game and should have led by more than one, but in the second half, they were unable to cope with the tactical switches made by Wales’s manager Rob Page and were pushed back, eventually succumbing to a Gareth Bale penalty.
The USMNT is a young squad and although England’s team is also one of the youngest in the tournament, many of these players have been playing at the top level for a number of years now.
Christian Pulisic is the highest-level star in the USMNT line-up although he has been in relatively poor form for Chelsea, but there are several players in this team capable of stepping up and putting on a world-class performance, and that very unpredictability makes them dangerous opponents.
England Aiming for Perfect Start
Before the tournament started, England were favorites to win all of their Group B matches and move to the Round of 16 as Group winners and they made a strong start in their opening game, beating Iran 6-2 on Monday. In preparing for their second game, they will be hoping to emulate their performance from 2018, 2006, and 1982, when they won both of their opening World Cup matches.
The USMNT will obviously pose a much stronger test than was the case with Iran, and Gareth Southgate will be disappointed by the fact that his team conceded two goals despite dominating their opening game. Nevertheless, that win blew away some of the doubts about England and put an end to suggestions that Southgate was too negative or that the creativity of the England players was being stifled. A win here would take the pressure off the Wales game and give England a perfect start.
World Cup Group B Match Betting
As a former defender, Gareth Southgate may have been hoping for a clean sheet as well as a victory in England’s opening game, but a high-scoring win was just what the team and the fans needed to blow away some of the negativity that has lingered around the team for several months.
That said, Southgate will know that this USA team is not to be underestimated. England’s crop of young players has shown that, when given the chance to express themselves, they can rise to the occasion, and there is always an element of unpredictability with younger footballers that can cause an upset.
The USMNT is not quite the massive underdog that the betting markets would suggest and in a tournament that has already produced some surprises, they will be hoping to add another. They can certainly score at least one here, and even though they are likely to be eventually overwhelmed by the depth on the England bench, I’m betting on the USA to make this a high-scoring game.
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