England will look to build on their impressive opening game at the 2022 World Cup on Friday when they face the United States.
The Three Lions couldn’t have asked for a better start to their 2022 World Cup, with goals from Jude Bellingham, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish and a Bukayo Saka brace securing a 6-2 win over Iran. After USA’s 1-1 draw with Wales in the other game of Group B, England sit top of the group.
Gareth Southgate’s side have received a boost ahead of Friday's game, with Harry Kane was declared fit to play following an injury scare against Iran. The last time England faced the USA was in the 2010 World Cup, drawing 1-1 in their Group Stage clash.
So, could England make it two wins from two and potentially secure a spot in the World Cup Knockout Stages on Friday? We simulated the game to find out.
We simulated England vs USA to get a score prediction
To run this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions. We didn't select a team to control, with the World Class AI playing against each other to get a score prediction.
We predict that England could line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up unchanged from the win over Iran: Pickford: Trippier, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Bellingham, Rice, Mount; Saka, Kane, Sterling.
We predict that USA could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Turner; Dest, Zimmerman, Ream, Robinson; McKennie, Adams, Musah; Weah, Sargent, Pulisic.
England were the team on top in the first half, but the United States did threaten on a couple of occasions, with Jordan Pickford being forced into a few important saves early on.
Gregg Berhalter's side had more shots than England in the opening 45 minutes, but it was the Three Lions who broke the deadlock just before the break.
Bukayo Saka picked up the ball on the right, after Kieran Trippier took a short corner, and the Arsenal winger curled an inviting cross towards the front post. John Stones met the cross brilliantly, and the defender flicked the ball across goal with his head and into the bottom corner to put England ahead.
The United States were playing a high line as they looked for a response, and this benefited England as the Three Lions found most of their success by hitting the Stars and Stripes on the counter-attack. And, with 70 minutes gone, England doubled their lead with a fantastic goal from Mason Mount.
As Southgate's side won back possession and started to push forward, Kane dropped deep, creating all sorts of space in behind the USA backline. Mason Mount charged into the space as Jude Bellingham picked out the Chelsea man, and as Mount entered the box, he fired past Matt Turner to make it 2-0.
A period of possession for USA saw Pickford called into action, and the 'keeper made some outstanding saves to keep England's lead at two goals.
As the away side kept pushing for a goal to find a way back into the contest, the game opened up, and England took advantage to make it 3-0 late on.
Tim Ream was caught sleeping as he pushed out of defence with the ball, and Bellingham's aggressive challenge on the defender saw the ball fall into the path of Mount just inside the box. After one touch out of his feet, the Chelsea man fired a powerful strike into the net to make it 3-0 to England.
USA made it 3-1 in the 88th minute when a cleared corner was volleyed back towards goal by Tyler Adams, and a wicked deflection off Declan Rice wrong-footed Pickford to wipe out the Three Lions' clean sheet. Nothing more came after the late goal as England claimed the victory.
FIFA 23 predicted score: England 3-1 USA
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 23 predicts that England could withstand a spirited USA performance, with the Three Lions' incredible attacking force proving too powerful in a 3-1 win. Jordan Pickford picked up the player of the match award in the simulation after making six saves to help England remain at the top of Group B.
FIFA 23 is developed by EA Vancouver and EA Romania and is now available worldwide on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Stadia, PS4, and Xbox One.
