World Cup 2022: USA vs England early preview

Despite British rivals going head-to-head in the 2022 World Cup, the England vs Wales fixture isn’t the most anticipated matchup from Qatar’s Group B schedule. The United States of America and England will do battle, and both sides of the pond are eager to earn some bragging rights, as this meeting has been one of the most talked-about matches since Group B’s announcement.

Prepare the Revolutionary War references and begin the debates over football vs soccer, because the England and USA game will generate a lot of attention with countless headlines between now and its November kickoff.

England can’t overlook this game

Of course, the British newspapers have already placed England in the World Cup final round of 16, much like they did ahead of the Three Lions meeting with the USA in 2010. The tabloids quickly forget that we haven’t beaten the US in our last two World Cup meetings with them, and they’re already painting the picture that Group B is a walkover set of fixtures for the Euro 2020 finalists.

Whilst we’re likely to see an England squad reminiscent of the Euro 2020 team that reached the finals, England didn’t look overly impressive in the competition, despite reaching the final. A lack of goals was due to zero killer instinct, and the squad’s experience is also a concern.

The USA will see this fixture as the most important date on their “soccer” calendar, and although we defeated them in a friendly fixture in 2018, both teams look entirely different now.

The USA squad that could defeat England

Qualifying teams are yet to announce the 23-man (or 26) squads they’ll be taking to Qatar, but more than several US players are guaranteed to make the cut, and one of them is their star frontman, Christian Pulisic.

The Chelsea number ten has flourished in Europe and will be one of the biggest threats to England’s back four. And because he was born in Hershey, PA, fans can expect a significant following of sports bettors to back their hometown boy at the window.

Pennsylvania sports betting is one of the most successful wagering locations in the US. The plus-money value viewers are likely to see on Pulisic to score versus England would be a position worth backing.

The USA lineup looks like this so far: Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig), Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Tim Weah (Lille), Kellyn Acosta (LAFC), Yunus Musah (Valencia), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Sergino Dest (Barcelona), Zach Steffen (Manchester City) and Matt Turner (New England Revolution).

Outside the potential of injury, the 13 men above will be going to Qatar, as their talent speaks for itself. The other (10 or 13) squad positions are up for debate, but overall, the US is working with some serious talent.

Most notably, the firepower up front on the US squad looks stacked. England is likely to own a possession advantage in the match, creating a US counter-attacking mentality. With Pulisic, Reyna, Weah and Aaronson able to dart up the wing and equally take central roles if needed, England will need to be cautious.

Positivity in the US locker room    

Group B could become the ideal group for the probability of the USA reaching the final 16, as it’s far from being the most challenging group they could have drawn. They’ve avoided the likes of Brazil, France, Spain, and Argentina.

Of course, England and Wales are at a high difficulty level, but it could have been worse – like it was for Costa Rica, who drew Spain and Germany in Group E.

“It was amazing to get England in our group. I think that’s a game that always has a lot of attention around it because of England and their fans and their established place in soccer,” said the US manager Gregg Berhalter.

“Iran, in general, I think is going to be a great challenge for us. I’m a little bit nervous that the public or media may take Iran lightly. But it’s not a team to take lightly. It’s going to be a good opponent. So overall, it’ll be a strong group. When you add the European teams to it, it’s going to be a well-rounded group, and it’s going to be difficult to advance. But that’s a positive because I think everyone will be battling and… I think it will come down to the last game.” 

The editorial unit