Chris Boline
- Wales v England
- Tuesday, November 29, 2022, 14:00 ET
- At the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
It’s all on the line for Wales against England in their final Group game and they look like the value pick to win this match.
Who do Bettors Favor?
According to the best-rated online sportsbooks England are huge favorites to win this game and finish on top of Group A. Bettors have pushed them in to -245 with some bookmakers, while few people want to wager on Wales, even at odds of +700 and even the draw is a high price at +370.
| Wales v England |  |  |  |
| Wales | +735 | +660 | +700 |
| Draw | +375 | +370 | +350 |
| England | -233 | -238 | -245 |
World Cup Group B Betting Briefing
There was reason to expect that World Cup Group B would be a complicated one, with plenty of twists and turns and that’s exactly how it has turned out.
Going into the final round of games, England are on top of the Group, with four points, while Iran have three, the USA two and Wales one. All four teams can still qualify, and to add even more intrigue, both of the remaining games have an element of rivalry that goes beyond this tournament.
The last time Iran met the USA at a World Cup, in 1998, the Iranians pulled off a famous victory. That rivalry may not be as intense these days, but it is still there. And between England and Wales there is the obvious long-standing rivalry of national neighbors to add extra edge to their final Group B match. Wales have never won a World Cup finals game, so victory in this game would be particularly special.
Wales Has One Last Chance
Returning to the World Cup after an absence of 64 years, there were high hopes for Wales in Qatar, not least because their Group was a relatively good one. But two games into the competition, they have just one point and have been poor in three of their four halves of soccer so far.
Against the USA in their opener, they couldn’t cope with the pressing and energy of their opponents, until manager Rob Page switched things around at half time. And then, against Iran, they produced an awful performance, failing to break down the opposing defense and then conceding two late goals.
Since they claimed that point against the USA, they are not out of it, and have one last chance to pick up a World Cup win and possibly to get through to the knockout stages. To find themselves playing against England in these circumstances may help to provide extra motivation, but they will, quite simply, have to play better than they have so far if they want to have any chance here. In particular, they need their match-winner Gareth Bale to step up, along with fellow veteran Aaron Ramsey.
England Doubts Returned
That 6-2 victory in their opening game against Iran suggested that England had thrown off the shackles and were ready to unleash their attacking potential at this tournament. But all of the old doubts returned in a goalless draw against the USA.
Gareth Southgate, once again, took the blame for putting out what some supporters and pundits thought was an unduly negative team. But Southgate, a former international defender, knows the strengths and weaknesses of his squad very well, better perhaps than most fans. He knows that the 6-2 scoreline flattered England in their opener and he would have been concerned that they conceded twice.
The defense has been his concern since he took the job as England manager and that remains the problem four years on. From that perspective, there was some encouragement to be found in the way that Harry Maguire and the rest of the defense handled the lively USA in their second game.
It will be interesting to see whether, with qualification virtually assured, Southgate experiments a little for this game. Based on the previous history of his England tenure, however, that seems unlikely.
World Cup Group B Match Betting
If we look at this game purely from the perspective of how these two teams have played so far in this tournament, then England should be comfortable winners here.
That could be a mistake, however, particularly given what this game represents, both in terms of staying in the tournament and local rivalry. There is also personal reputation to think of. Gareth Bale is unlikely to play at another World Cup, and so far his efforts have fallen way short of what was expected.
Yet at his best, Bale is a match-winner and arguably the best player on both sides. England certainly won’t take him lightly in this game and although Southgate’s team looks the likelier winner, at the current odds, Wales are the obvious value selection in the Match Betting markets.
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