Round break again, Groups A and B, who opened the World Cup on Sunday and Monday, are the first to return to the stage. The meeting Qatar-Senegal (Group A) is worthy of attention between the two lost first matches. But the confrontation between England and the USA (Group B), both cultural and sporting, is certainly the most anticipated, isn’t it?
Program
11:00 am: Wales – Iran (beIN)
14:00: Qatar – Senegal (beIN)
17:00: Netherlands – Ecuador (beIN)
20:00: England v USA (beIN, TF1)
Poster: England – USA
How will the twelfth confrontation between the two peoples end? The last friendly match at Wembley, exactly four years ago, ended with a score of 3:0 in favor of the British. In head-to-head with their big cousins from across the Atlantic, the British lead quite broadly: eight wins, one draw and two losses.
However, the Americans have a favorable track record in the strict context of the World Cup: a 1-1 draw in South Africa (2010) and a 1-0 victory in the 1950 championship in Uruguay, passed down to posterity. That year, the English took the Americans, who were still amateurs, quite high, deliberately leaving their best player Stanley Matthews to rest and suggesting, through the voice of their coach, that they leave their rivals three balls ahead.
Times have changed and the Three Lions are determined to make it out of Group B without the slightest mistake, as evidenced by their 6-2 comeback against Iran on Monday. England tempted in attack with Sterling, Mount, Kane or Saka. As for Harry Kane, who suffered a right ankle injury against Iran, he will finally be able to hold onto his seat this Friday. But the turmoil caused by his case has highlighted England’s dependence on his striker and captain, who scored two assists on Monday. A real addiction: Kane, 51 goals in 76 appearances, has scored 35% of England’s goals in the games he has played since his debut in March 2015.
For their part, Americans believe in their stars. Absent from the World Cup in Russia (2018), the US took advantage of this time to rebuild the team. On Monday they got off to an encouraging start against Wales (1:1). Thanks to Lille’s Timothy Weah goal, they returned to the dressing room at 1-0 at half-time. After which the inexperience of many young players led them to retreat until they conceded a late game equalizer Gareth Bale penalty.
“We want to show that American football is growing and developing in the right direction,” says Tyler Adams, Leeds midfielder. (…) In a way, their game fits well with our strengths. We play very aggressively and create a lot of transitional situations. Let’s see if we can make some changes to what we usually do to benefit from these transitions.
Player to watch: Mehdi Taremi
With a double against England on Monday, the Iranian attacked the World Cup with a bang, but saw his personal success completely overshadowed by the situation in his country and the disastrous start of “Team Melly”, forced to redeem themselves this Friday against Wales. .
The 30-year-old FC Porto centre-forward, despite his messages of support for the demonstrators posted on social media, has not avoided the waves of criticism and even insults that have been heaped on Team Melli, which many Iranians accuse of not supports enough protesters.
Thus, his doppelganger went unnoticed, but only confirmed his incredible effectiveness, already proven since his arrival in Europe in 2019.
“If Taremi had come to Portugal at 24, he would be with one of the greatest players in Europe right now,” Carlos Carvalhal, his coach at Rio Ava, his first club in the Portuguese Liga (2019-2020), said last summer. He is a very high level player and proved it right away.
Moving to Porto after only a year on the Old Continent, Taremi scored 62 goals in 115 games for Drago in all competitions.
In the Champions League, he already has five goals this season, the same number as Haaland and Lewandowski, allowing Porto to reach the round of 16. In 2021, a spectacular acrobatic response against Chelsea earned him a FIFA nomination for the Puskas Goal of the Year Award. The Welsh have been warned.
Phrase: “He is a boy with a mind of steel”
Aliou Cisse, coach of the Senegal national team that lost 2-0 to the Netherlands to qualify for the World Cup, makes no secret of his team’s delicate position ahead of the Qatar-Senegal match on Friday. “In competitions of this level, from the moment you lose the first match, you find yourself with your back against the wall in the second. But (in) our collective experience (there are) other matches we have had to play that have been at this level of intensity, pressure, importance and demands. It is in our power to focus and remember everything we did in the past when we were backed up against the wall. (…). The group lives well, despite the defeat. There were many lessons. Senegal was not bad, we are now opposed to one of the best teams in the world with world-class players. So I’m very happy with my players.”
Cissé includes Édouard Mendy, guilty of a risky game against the Batavians: “He is a boy with a mind of steel. (…) Edward’s qualities are beyond doubt. I know he’s going through hard times, but I have no doubt. He has my full confidence, the full confidence of his teammates, and he will be on the pitch.”
Figure: 25%
Although sixteen out of 48 group stage matches have been played, four 0-0 matches have already been recorded, that is, exactly a quarter of the matches. It’s a lot. These are Denmark-Tunisia, Mexico-Poland, Morocco-Croatia and Uruguay-South Korea.
Source: Le Parisien
I have worked in the news industry for over 10 years. I have a keen interest in sports and have written for many different publications. I am currently working as an author at 24 News Recorder. I cover mostly sports news but also write about other topics such as current affairs and politics. I have a strong interest in social media and how it can be used to engage with audiences.
