Wales vs England
FIFA World Cup
Group B
29th November 2022
Ahmad bin Ali Stadium
Preview
For the Welsh, a win against “local rivals” England would be a must to have a chance of progressing. After the defeat by Iran, there is no general feeling that the Welsh have a realistic chance against the British. To do this, they would have to surpass themselves, which could well be possible. In any case, if the Welshman gained a point, the group would be completely mixed up. In the case of the British, however, the starting constellation is different. They top the group and want to stay that way after the Wales game. The second win in the third group game is needed for this, after only fabricating a goalless draw against the USA.
That result should have encouraged the Welsh side after clinching a point themselves against the Americans as Gareth Bale scored from the penalty spot. The Brits had started against the USA with the best players and started as they did in the thrashing of Iran. Trippier, Stones, Maguire and Shaw started in the back four. Bellingham and Rice again formed the high-class midfield of the British. On offense, Saka, Mount, Sterling and Kane whirled. Jordan Henderson came into play mid-game while Grealishand Rashford should enrich the British offensive. But nothing happened in this regard: 0-0 is certainly not optimal for Gareth Southgate’s team.
Wales
A win against England would probably be the surprise of the tournament, but not surprising given that the Welsh national team’s stars are certainly not lacking in heart or guts. After all, you’re playing the first World Cup ever – and then against England at the same time. A win would put Wales on four points in the table, level with Britain. In the same breath, one would have to hope that the USA and Iran would draw in the parallel game. Iran and Wales would then be level on points and goal difference could decide who runners-up in the next round. Ultimately, however, these are only theoretical scenarios. Gareth Bale in particular will of course try to score at least one goal again.
England
In the event of a win against Wales, England would be on seven points. It wouldn’t matter what the other teams produce in lockstep. Nobody would come close to these seven points. After the high victory over Iran, the performance against the USA slipped again, at least if you consider the end result. In this respect, they will want to step it up again against Wales. Maybe Gareth Southgate decides to make changes on the pitch more quickly in the last group game, because stars like Phil Foden, Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish and Callum Wilson have tended to come off the bench so far.
Wales vs England: Odds
Asian handicap: +1.5 wales @ 1.74 odds.
Double chance – first half: Wales @ 1.87 odds.
