England v USA World Cup 2022 Preview

Team USA started stronger than expected with a tie to Wales in the first match of the Qatar 2022 World Cup and we have everything you need to know about what will go down. Here’s the prediction for England v USA World Cup 2022.

England v USA World Cup History 

Of the eleven times which the England and USA national soccer teams have faced only two have been in the World Cup. Once, many decades ago in the 1950 World Cup, which the USA managed to win 1-0 with a goal from Joseph Gaetjens. The other, more recent game, ending in a 1-1 draw in the 2010 South Africa World Cup with goals from England’s Steven Gerrard and for the USA by Clint Dempsey.

The most recent time that England and the USA met was in 2018 for an International Friendly fixture in which England won with a score of 3-0 with Jesse Lingard, Trent Alexander Arnold and Callum Wilson getting on the scoresheet. Of the line-ups from that day only 9 of the line-up and reserves have been chosen for this tournament compared to the 6 which played that day from the USA. This in turn means that it is impossible to predict how the game will play out based on these games, especially with the improvement in youth players which have broken out throughout both teams.

England v USA World Cup Players to Watch

There are many talented players on show on Friday’s game from both sides, each with the ability to offer such different qualities to their sides. And following this I have compiled a list of three players to look out for in the match.

The first player for England to anticipate a good game from is 19-year-old Jude Bellingham. After making his England debut in November 2020 Bellingham has earnt 18 caps including one in his amazing performance in match one against Iran which he managed to score and hold down a strong midfield.

Bellingham’s style of play makes use of his physicality and technical ability in order to win the ball whilst still being able to play the ball in the build-up to attacks.

Due to the fact that Bellingham has played at a high level of men’s football since the age of 16 both in England and now in Germany means that he has developed a great maturity unlike anyone else his age and it is clear that he has a desire to progress further, playing against the USA in the world’s most prestigious tournament will definitely be time to prove the talent on

Bukayo Saka is another youth player with something to prove this tournament. After his penalty miss in the European Championship final loss to Italy Saka was sure to want to impress to redeem himself. From the first game in against Iran Saka was sure to do just that scoring two excellent goals and earning man of the match.

In his youth Saka played for the national team at U-16, U-17, U-19 and U21s before being called up to the First team in October 2020 at age 19 after a successful spell with club team Arsenal and with the attitude that Saka has shown has been one of England Manager Gareth Southgate’s most preferred players.

In terms of Saka’s playstyle and what to expect from him it is known that he is a very versatile player who is capable of playing many positions including full-back, winger on both sides and as a forward. To add to this, he is also very quick and has a great attacking ability to get past players to deliver crosses into the box or simple passes to build up the play

England captain Harry Kane is another player which is sure to cause problems to the USA defence. Despite blanking in the game against Iran, Kane still displayed a great game as a ‘playmaking’ attacker which allowed the team to attack more as a whole and provides a clear leadership role on the pitch and fills a role which the team has needed for decades and is proven to be successful.

Kane first played for England in March 2015 and since then he has accumulated 76 senior caps and 51 goals meaning that he is only two away from all time England leading top scorer Wayne Rooney who has 53 goals. This means that it is a possibility for Kane to break that record this tournament. Furthermore, this is Kane’s second World Cup as he was chosen for the 2018 World Cup, so it would be expected for him to help to mentor the other players nerves.

As for what to expect from Kane, he usually gets his goals by being clinical in and around the box, using his skill to turn defenders to gain space to shoot to great effect to then unleash powerful accurate shots which goalkeepers can rarely stop when Kane is even given a slight chance. As well as this Kane is known to play as a false 9 which means he drops into midfield to allow space for other to attack and help to break the shape of the opposition defence.

Christian Pulisic is undoubtedly The USA’s most well-known soccer player and with 21 career goals in 53 appearances at age 24, is tied with the seventh highest USMNT top scorer of all time with Bruce Murray. Pulisic is three-time winner of the U.S Soccer Male Player of the Year Award, winning in 2017,2019 and in 2021 and at 20 years and 63 days old became the youngest captain of the USMNT in a 1-0 defeat to Italy in 2018.

In the match against Wales Pulisic impressed with his assist to Timothy Weah for the opener and clearly showed why he is a threat in the USA attack picking up good positions and looking threatening throughout the game. This is exactly what people expected to see from Pulisic coming from a dry patch in his club football at Chelsea.

As for what he brings to the USA team, Pulisic knows the opposition very well with teammates Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling and Connor Gallagher in the squad, as well as playing in the same league as all but one of the England squad, this should come in handy to help to target any weaknesses.

Nine-time captain of the USMNT, Tyler Adams is another player familiar with the English team, playing his club soccer at Leeds United. Although not having any club teammates in the squad, Adams is sure to have a great understanding of the English style of soccer. Adams appeared in 13 of the 14 qualifies, starting 12, the most of any player in the squad, proving his importance in the squad.

In the match against Wales Adams was one of the best players on the field, looking in control and always ahead of the opposition he led by example and his tacking in the midfield was key to stopping the Welsh attacks and proving to be a key player to secure the USMNT’s first point in the group stage of the tournament.

Brenden Aaronson is a technical attacking midfielder or winger who also plays for English team Leeds United along with international teammate Tyler Adams. Aged 22 Aaronson is set to be a part of the future of the USMNT with the attacking skills that he has.

Aaronson made his USMNT debut at age 19 in a 1-0 win over Costa Rica in February 2020 and registered his first goal and assist in his second cap against El Salvador in December 2020. In 2021 Aaronson led all USMNT with seven goal contributions from three assists and four goals. In qualifying Aaronson appeared in eleven qualifying matches, starting seven.

In the match against Wales Aaronson came on for a total of 24 minutes and did very well under the pressure. He added something different to the team after coming on, turning well into space, creating opportunities and probably feeling as though it would have benefited the team if he had come on sooner.

What to Expect

From the game on Friday it is expected that England  will be victorious over the USMNT due to the generally more experienced and talented England squad which work together cohesively, proven in the European Championship last year and especially in the game against Iran on Monday which the English team appeared to be ruthless when on the attack, however there are areas which prove weakness, especially defensively.

Iranian striker Taremi was able to score two goals against the English side as a result of two moments of English defenders making vital, basic mistakes and becoming too relaxed when in the lead. With attackers such as Pulisic, Weah and Sargent all know for their fast build up and counter attacking, this could prove to be the way that the USA could catch out England.

Oppositely there is also the weaknesses that are expected from the USA side. Just like England, the USA defence is open to mistakes, especially like the one we saw against Wales which led to the penalty which in turn meant that a well-deserved win was turned into a draw and points vital to making it to the knockout stages were lost needlessly.

As always, anyone can win in soccer, however with England being the strongest team in the group, if not the entire tournament, the USMNT should be incredibly happy with a draw with the possibility to win the match seeming highly unlikely. From a USA perspective the game against Iran should be the game which decides who reaches the knockout stages.