The stage will be set on Friday when England and the USA resume hostilities at the World Cup, and it will make for unmissable viewing.
A bright start for England
England got their World Cup off to an impressive start earlier this week as they demolished Iran 6-2, with Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka helping to pull the strings.
In contrast, the USA would have been hoping to have got more out of their match against Wales, but they let things slip, and they had to settle for a point in a 1-1 tie.
Naturally, there will be plenty of attention on England v USA, and here are a few takeaways from their opening group games:
- Jude Bellingham became the second-youngest World Cup scorer for England when he netted the opener against Iran.
- The victory was England’s 30th in 70 World Cup Finals matches.
- England equaled their six-goal haul which they managed against Panama at the World Cup in 2018.
- Timothy Weah eclipsed his father, George, by making his World Cup Finals debut and scoring too.
- The USA have only won two of their past 11 clashes with England.
As you might expect, there will be myriad US online betting sites that will have a raft of betting lines for bettors to tuck into.
And ahead of kick-off, we have handpicked a few tips for you to consider adding to your betting slips.
England to have few problems
While there was much to admire about England from an attacking point of view against Iran, Gareth Southgate is under no illusion that the defense will have to tighten up if they are going to get something against the USA. In many respects, England switched off defensively against Iran, and they will have been disappointed not to have kept a clean sheet given that Iran struggled to fashion out many chances from open play.
Perhaps the major difference between England and the USA, is that England have more game-changers that can come off from the bench. When you can bring on Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish, and Phil Foden with 20 minutes or so to go, the Three Lions will have fresh legs that can run any opposition’s back line ragged.
USA coach Gregg Berhalter will have a game plan in place, and he will look to release Weah at the earliest moment as he boasts blistering pace, and he took his goal against Wales with aplomb.
For England, a victory will all but punch their ticket to the knockout stages, and they shouldn’t slip up here. Southgate’s troops could well win to nil against the USA, a price that is available at a tempting-looking +140 with BetMGM.
Bukayo Saka to add to his tally
Bukayo Saka is the darling of the nation. A little over a year ago, Saka missed a penalty in the European Championships final against Italy, but he is certainly on the road to redemption.
Against Iran, Saka produced a dazzling display with his quick feet and he helped himself to a double, the first of which was a sumptuous volley that went in off the underside of the bar. In doing so, he became the youngest player at 21 to score more than once for England in a World Cup game. The Arsenal playmaker is a joy to watch when in full flow, and he will be looking to add to his tally against the USA.
He could be hard to contain, and he may well end up hitting the target. If you like to venture into the goalscorer section, then you can locate odds of +210 with DraftKings for Saka to score anytime, which may be worth following up on.
Cards to be dished out
Given the history between these two countries, you could well expect to see some feisty challenges across the park. In their previous World Cup clash in 2010, the referee cautioned six players.
It’s fair to say that nothing will go unnoticed by the match official and he won’t be afraid to dish out any yellow cards should they be warranted. If you are a fan of the total over/under section, you can see odds advertised by FanDuel of there being Over 4.5 bookings to be awarded during the 90 minutes which might be worth considering.
