2022 World Cup: Wales vs. England Preview, Odds, Prediction

Wales needs a miracle against its nemesis, England, to reach the knockout stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The Dragons are in a terrible position, sitting at the bottom of group B with only one point and a negative goal difference, while England has four points, with six goals scored and two allowed. Though, we all know the mentality of this unit and their will and desire to win. And especially when they have England across the field, which is a major motive in much less severe situations than this.

Preview

Wales (+750) lost to Iran 2-0, allowing goals in the stoppage time. On top of that Wayne Hennessey received a red card, the first one at the World Cup, and won’t be playing this one.

Overall, the Dragons showed nothing against Iran, being passive and allowing the rivals to set up the tempo and pace in accordance with their desires and will. We didn’t see anything worth mentioning, which eventually resulted in them losing the contest.

The second half of the clash against America was supposed to be the guideline for the Welsh crew, but that didn’t happen. Simply, Bale and Ramsey were both cut off, and pretty much all the other players were left helpless.

England (-250) has a lot of luck in Qatar for the moment. They opened the championship perfectly, beating Iran 6-2, but if you remember, the whole universe was against the Iranian team in that one with all the problems, jinxes, injuries, and stuff coming down upon Querioz’s crew.

After that, they met with the careful Americans who didn’t want to risk anything and played to keep a point, with them and the Three Lions presenting without a doubt the dullest and the most boring game at the World Cup besides Poland vs. Mexico.

An encouraging fact is that England kept a clean sheet following four consecutive games and only the third time in the past ten games. Maguire played well despite what many think.

Latest News

Wales won’t have Hennessey, and the starting goalkeeper will be Leicester’s, Danny Ward. We don’t know about the injuries or whether the Dragons have any before this matchup.

Gareth Southgate might make some rotations, but since England isn’t 100% in the knockout stage, we believe he might make one or two changes in the lineup, not more.

Head to Head Games

The rivalry between these two sides is massive, and one of the most intense in the world. Though, in the past six games, England won. The most recent was in 2020 when they beat Wales in a friendly international, 3-0. Prior to that, they played at the European championship in France, where England took down Wales, 2-1.

Prediction

England will close, and use defensive-minded tactics, while Wales doesn’t have the quality to cause any trouble on the other side of the field. For us, this is under 2.5 goals, and we are sticking with that pick. Right now, the odds on that are +105, which looks solid. Also, if you want to bet on the full-time result, go with England winning, as Wales might be the weakest team in the entire championship, along with Qatar.

Pick: Under 2.5 goals