QATAR WORLD CUP 2022 – Wales vs England, a Must-Win Group Stage Final Game

QATAR WORLD CUP 2022 – Wales vs England 0-3 Group Stage Final

After losing against Iran by 2-0, Wales will be looking for their first win in the tournament when they face England in their final group-stage fixture. Both teams have met each other six times, with Three Lions winning.

Talking about England first, they started their World Cup campaign in a style as they thrashed Iran by 6-2 but were held at a 0-0 draw against the United States in their second group stage fixture and now with four points in two games, they sit at the top of the table but haven’t qualified to the knock-out stages yet as a lot depends on their last group stage game against Wales.

Ahead of this fixture, Southgate has concerns over the fitness of his star striker Harry Kane who was pictured with his ankle bandaged up after the draw against the USA, where he picked up a knock against Iran.

England Probable Starting XI (4-3-3):

Pickford, Trippier, Stones, Maguire, Shaw, Rice, Henderson, Mount, Foden, Kane, Rashford

England Bench:

Pope, Ramsdale, Walker, Alexander-Arnold, Dier, Coady, White, Bellingham, Philips, Saka, Gallagher, Grealish, Sterling, Wilson, Maddison

On the other hand, Wales started their World Cup campaign against the USA with a 1-1 draw when their talisman Gareth Bale converted the penalty in the 82nd minute of the game and were beaten by Iran 0-2 in their second group stage fixture where they conceded both goals in the injury time before they lost their goalkeeper in the 86th minute after the keeper received the straight red card.

Hence, with just one point in two games, they sit at the bottom of the table and will go all in their last group stage game against England to secure all three points and register their first win in this mega event. However, even if Welsh manages to win against England, they’ll be relying on the other fixture of Group B between Iran and the USA to see if they have a chance to go through.

Wales defender Chris Mepham talked about their game against England by saying:

“Of course, we can beat England; we have repeatedly shown that when you write us off, we will prove people wrong. The picture is clear now; we have to beat England and be prepping for that. Hopefully, we can be in a position where we give a good account of ourselves and see where it takes us.”

It’s worth mentioning that Wales won’t have the services of their first-choice goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey after he received a straight red card in the previous game against Iran and will be replaced by Danny Ward.

Wales Probable Starting XI (3-5-2):

Ward, Mepham, Rodon, Davies, Roberts, Allen, Ampadu, Wilson, Williams, Bale, Moore

Wales Bench:

Davies, Gunter, Lockyer, Cabango, Ramsey, Morrell, Williams, Thomas, Levitt, Colwill, Smith, Johnson, Harris, James

Wales vs England Match Details:

* Location: Al Rayyan, Qatar

* Venue: Ahmed bin Ali Stadium

* Date: 29 November, Tuesday

* Kick-off Time: 19:00 GMT / 14:00 ET / 11:00 PT

Wales vs England Conclusion:

Gareth Southgate’s side will try to secure all three points against Wales to finish the group as toppers. On the other hand, Wales will go all in in the fixture to register their first win of the tournament and see their chances of progressing to the next round depending on the Iran vs USA results.

What is FIFA World Cup?

The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men’s national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA, the International Federation of Association Football), the sport’s global governing body. The tournament has been held every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War.

The format involves a qualification phase, which takes place over the preceding three years, to determine which teams qualify for the tournament phase. In the tournament phase, 32 teams compete for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over about a month. The host nation(s) automatically qualify.

homepage