📰 Table Of Contents
Accumulator of the day:
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England vs IR Iran
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England’s record in World Cup openers is not good, winning just three of eight since Spain ‘82, beating Paraguay in 2006 and Tunisia in both 1998 and 2018.
Amazingly, this’ll be just the Three Lions’ second World Cup game against Asian opposition, edging out Kuwait 1-0 40 years ago; Trevor Francis the scorer in Bilbao.
Many are concerned that Gareth Southgate’s pragmatic, conservative approach leads to England struggling to break down low-defensive blocks.
Speaking of low-defensive blocks, Carlos Queiroz is back in charge of IR Iran!
He led Team Melli at both of the last two World Cups, with their six matches producing a grand total of nine goals.
A 3-1 defeat to Bosnia & Herzegovina in Salvador skewing the data, accounting for 44.4% of these goals.
So, expect Iran’s games to be low scoring and this, alongside England’s lack of potency, has all the ingredients to produce an uneventful affair.
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Harry Kane is poised to become England’s leading goal-scorer of all-time, currently just two behind Wayne Rooney’s record.
Kane has also scored ten goals at major tournaments, level with Gary Lineker’s record in that regard.
The Tottenham striker picked up the golden boot in Russia, netting six times, before bagging four more at last summer’s European Championships.
Aside from Raheem Sterling and Kane, the highest-scorer in England’s probable XI is Harry Maguire, meaning these two will remain key to success.
United States vs Wales
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After 3,065 days of waiting, the United States are back at the World Cup.
The Stars and Stripes dramatically missed out on 2018, but, relatively comfortably, Gregg Berhalter’s side negotiated qualification this time.
The U.S. have brought with them the youngest squad at the tournament, with DeAndre Yedlin the only player to have been at a World Cup before.
The United States’ 14 qualifiers produced just 31 goals, a mere 2.2 per 90, which drops to 1.92 if the 5-1 home victory over Panama is excluded.
Both teams have scored in just 11 of USA’s last 36 competitive games, so don’t expect a goal-fest from this team.
The same can be said of Wales, who will end their 64-year World Cup exile in this game at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.
Rob Page’s side conceded just seven times in their last nine qualifiers, famously beating Ukraine 1-0 in June’s play-off final.
With so much on the line for both, and given that defeat could be catastrophic for both, a low-scoring draw seems the most likely outcome in Al Rayyan.
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When it comes to big moments in a Wales shirt, no one does it quite like Gareth Bale.
He scored all three of their goals during the play-offs, bagging a direct free-kick goal against both Austria and Ukraine.
Bale became Wales’ leading goal-scorer of all-time back in March 2018, with 34 of his 40 coming in competitive fixtures.
U.S. fans got a taste of what Bale is capable of earlier this month, when he scored a 128th minute header in MLS Cup FInal as his side, LAFC, beat Philadelphia Union on penalties.
John Charles, Ivor Allchurch and Terry Medwin are, to date, the only Welshman to score at a World Cup; Bale is surely going to join that list isn’t he?
Senegal vs Netherlands
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The big story ahead of this game is all about a man who sadly will not be involved.
Sadio Mané sustained a leg injury in Bayern Munich’s recent victory over Werder Bremen, so will miss the entire tournament.
This could be a massive problem for the Lions of Teranga, who really struggle to score goals without him.
Earlier this year, Senegal scored just nine goals in seven Africa Cup of Nations matches, winning the tournament on penalties after a goalless draw.
Mané was responsible for three of those goals and here, against a higher-calibre of opposition, his absence is likely to be felt.
On the flip side, Netherlands boast a very mean defence, conceding just ten goals in 13 competitive games since Lous van Gaal’s return.
In this period, Oranje have recored clean sheets against Norway, Poland and Belgium, so are doing so against quality teams.
Many are tipping Holland for a deep run in Qatar, and, if they do achieve this, it’ll be built on strong defensive solidity.
So, a Netherlands victory to nil could be on the cards at Al-Thumama Stadium.
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As discussed, Netherlands do have a solid back-line, but also boast a selection of talented attackers.
Memphis is, by far, their main man in attack; his tally of 42 international goal is just 21 fewer than the rest of the entire squad combined.
His first two goals for his country actually came at their last World Cup appearance, netting against Australia and Chile in Brazil.
He also scored twice at last summer’s Euros, with goals against Portugal, France, Germany and Belgium on his CV.
If Holland are going to go far, expect Memphis to be at the forefront of their goal-scoring.
