England and Wales will do battle in a decisive World Cup 2022 Group B match on Tuesday evening with places in the knockout stages in Qatar up for grabs for both teams.
England’s path to the last 16 looks the much simpler of the two as they only need to avoid defeat by four or more goals against their British rivals to secure a place in the second round. The Three Lions will have their eyes on topping the group however, which they would achieve with victory over a side they haven’t lost to since 1984, while a draw would likely also be enough providing Iran don’t beat the United States.
Not everything is rosy in the England camp though, with Friday’s frustrating 0-0 draw with USA seeing the team come in for plenty of criticism. Boss Gareth Southgate has some selection headaches and is unlikely to name an unchanged starting 11 for the third game running after his team were overrun in midfield by the US. Southgate has also admitted he needs to manage the fitness of some of his players, saying: “We cannot roll out Jude Bellingham for 90 minutes every game. We’ve got to look after him and Jordan Henderson has been training really well. It wasn’t a gamble to play Harry Kane, either. He’s had a whack on his foot so there is a bit of discomfort when he’s striking the ball but we are not talking about taking any risk with him.”
Wales’ World Cup hopes are hanging by a thread after an opening 1-1 draw with USA was followed by a disheartening 2-0 defeat to Iran, where two late goals following Wayne Hennessey’s red card cost them dearly. To qualify for the last 16 at their first World Cup since 1958, Robert Page’s men - led by the talismanic Gareth Bale - need to beat England and hope for a draw between the US and Iran. Alternatively, an unlikely four-goal victory over their neighbours would also secure a place in the knockouts.
Follow all the build-up to the crunch England vs Wales clash with our lie blog below:
