FIFA World Cup 2022: Group B, Matchday 3
Recap
Wales vs Iran: Wales continued to underperform. They showed no signs of dangering Iran’s keeper and their defense continued to bend until it broke. Welsh goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey recieved a red card and it was all downhill from there for Wales as they fell 2-0 to Iran.
England vs United States: The United States’ defense held strong against England and managed to keep a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw. USA had numerous chances to put the ball in the back of the net, but once again had trouble scoring. Although, if you’re a soccer fan then you know a draw against a superior England side is pretty much a win.Â
LIVE TABLE: GROUP B
Group B |
GP |
Wins |
Draws |
Losses |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Points |
England |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
2 |
+4 |
4 |
Iran |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
-2 |
3 |
USA |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
Wales |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
-2 |
1 |
Iran (1W-0D-1L) vs United States (0W-2D-0L)
Date: Tuesday, 11/29/2022 at 2:00 PM EST
Pitch: Al Thumama Stadium, Doha, Qatar
Coverage: FOX
Moneyline: | IRN: +320 | TIE: +250 | USA: -115 |
Spread: | IRN: +1 (-120) | USA: -1 (+260) |
Total: 2.5 | Over: (+114) | Under: (-140) |
Head to Head Record |
|||
United States |
1-2 |
Iran |
6/21/1998 |
Betting Tips
- FIFA World Rankings: United States (16th) / Iran (20th)
- Odds to win 2022 FIFA World Cup: United States (+25000) / Iran (+55000)
- Odds to Qualify from Group B: United States (+100) / Iran (+400)
- USA must win to qualify for knockout stages / Iran qualify with win or draw
- USA have qualified for the knockout round every time they enter final game without a loss
The Word
Everyone came into this World Cup thinking that the downfall of the United States was going to be their defense, but the USA’s defensive strength has been on full display throughout the World Cup.
USA has only managed to score 2 goals thus far in the tournament so they will have to be aggressive in this match since a draw won’t advance them to the next round. The USA had plenty of chances against England and in my opinion were the better team that day. However, they weren’t able to finish, which is not an option against Iran.Â
The Iranians managed to pull themselves together after a 6-2 thomping to England. They showed a lot of quality against Wales in their 2-0 win. Iran had plenty of chances but were only able to put the ball in the back of the net after Wales went down to 10 players due to a red card.Â
The USa has a win probability of of 47.4%, while Iran’s win probability is 25%. Given that the USA are in a must win situation, I can see them coming out attacking on all fronts to gain the lead, then drop back to secure the 3 points.Â
PREDICTION: IRANÂ 0 – 1 UNITED STATESÂ
Wales (0W-1D-1L) vs England (1W-1D-0L)
Date: Friday, 11/29/2022 at 2:00 PM EST
Pitch: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan. Qatar
Coverage: FS1
Moneyline: | WAL: +700 | TIE: +350 | ENG: -250 |
Spread: | WAL: +1 (+190) | ENG: -1 (+125) |
Total: 2.5 | Over: (-118) | Under: (-104) |
Head to Head Record |
|||
England |
3-0 |
Wales |
10/08/2020 |
England |
2-1 |
Wales |
06/16/2016 |
England |
1-0 |
Wales |
09/06/2011 |
Wales |
0-2 |
England |
03/26/2011 |
Wales |
0-1 |
England |
09/03/2005 |
Betting Tips
- FIFA World Rankings: England (5th) / Wales (19th)
- Odds to win 2022 FIFA World Cup: England (+1050) / Wales (+100000)
- Odds to Qualify from Group B: England (-3000) / Wales (+115)
- Wales have lost 7 games in a row, with only one win in it’s last 10 matches
- England is 5W-0D-0L in its last 5 head to head matchups against Wales
The Word
England have won 10 of their 11 previous meeting with Wales with one draw in 1973. England sit on top of the table right now but are by no means comfortable. A loss against Wales could see them losing their top spot for the next round so I expect the pressure to be on this England team. England will have a near-fully fit squad for this matchup. James Maddison is back in training and Kyle Walker could return to the right-hand side of defense.
Wales on the other hand looked abysmal against Iran. Will they be able to bounce back and beat a superior England team? I don’t think so. Gareth Bale and Aaron ramsey were practically non-existant against Iran and number one goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey will be watching from the sidelines after receiving a red card in the previous match. England were able to net 6 goals against an Iranian side that the Welsh were unable to score against. I can see England running them off the field to get 3 points.Â
England have a win probability of 68.2% while Wales see their win probability at just 11.4%. I can see England having trouble breaking the back 5 of Wales for a large majority of the game, but they will eventually break through. If England get on the score sheet first I think things will begin to fall apart for Wales.