2022 FIFA World Cup
Sunday 4th December 2022
Kick off at 7pm GMT
Venue: Al Bayt Stadium
Match Preview:
It’s the business end of the World Cup now and that means there can be no margin for error. Gareth Southgate’s England have been one of the leading nations of the past four years reaching the semi-finals of the last World Cup and were runners up at Euro 2020 which of course had to be played only last year. This England side have looked exciting but at times can be equally frustrating. What are we to make of their poor form in the UEFA Nations League where they finished bottom of their group? Is it simply that the Nations League means very little against the back drop of a World Cup? It seems so, and these players seem highly motivated in the bigger competitions.
We have seen some impressive performances in the group stages, the 6-2 win over Iran and the 3-0 defeat of Wales, however if truth be told both sides were very weak opposition, but at the end of the day you can only beat what is in front of you and scoring 9 goals in the group stages is still a huge positive. However squeezed in between that was the 0-0 draw against the USA, and England put in a very average display and indeed USA were unlucky not to walk away with a win. However this is the knock outs now and no doubt with the talented squad that Southgate has at his disposal they will be switched on 100%. Indeed Southgate has a headache with a lot of quality in attacking areas and midfield. Will he pick his trusted first 11 including the likes of Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and possibly Jordan Henderson making a call. Or will he go for youth and attack in the likes of Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford, all have impressed and all look fearless and it will be interesting if Southgate reverts back to experience.
Senegal were in a harder group than England and their campaign started off with a 2-0 loss against the group favourites Netherlands. But they were able to bounce back and beat Qatar 3-1 and then impressively overcame Ecuador 2-1 and the Ecuadorians had earlier forced Netherlands into a 1-1 draw. In the end Senegal reached 6 points and only finished a point behind Netherlands.
Team News:
England: Kalvin Phillips and James Maddison have some fitness issues and will be assessed otherwise there are no concerns presently in the camp.
Senegal: Idrissa Gueye is suspended after receiving two yellow cards. Cheikhou Kouyate could be assessed but remains a major doubt with an ankle injury.
England vs Senegal Head to Head:
This will be the first meeting between the two nations.
England vs Senegal Prediction:
England will be expected to win this game and with all due respect to Senegal it would be seen as a shock if England were to exit at this stage. England have a great record over African sides and have actually never lost a game in over 40 different meetings. Senegal have quality in their side of course in the form of Ismaila Sarr, Boulaye Dia and Edouard Mendy however any nation would feel the loss of Sadio Mane who was ruled out just before the competition kicked off.
We expect a high intensity game and Senegal will need to bring that if they have any aspirations of producing a shock, the African side who are of course the champions of Africa will need to dictate the pace and that looks a difficult task to do.
Take out the Iceland defeat at Euro 2016 and England have become world leaders in how to see out potential tricky games and we believe that this will be one of them where we may see an effective and professional display over an all out attacking one. That could well happen of course if England can score early and certainly the teams that England have faced in Iran and Wales haven’t shown much, so it is up to Senegal to turn up for this game and not let it pass them by because despite how good Senegal can be England must be respected and they should be sharper, quicker and have more tactics in their bag of tricks.
England vs Senegal Betting Tips:
England to beat Senegal at 1.50
Anytime goalscorer: Harry Kane at 2.20
Half Time Correct Score: 0-0 or 1-0 to England at 2.50 and 3.25
The 'PLACE BET' button will take you to BetUK.com, where these selections can be found. Please gamble responsibly, 18+ BeGambleAware.org
© Copyright topfootballtipster.com 2019
