World Cup predictions, picks: How to bet USA vs. England in Black Friday showdown

We saw both the high ceiling and low floor of the US Men’s National Team in a 1-1 draw against Wales in Monday’s World Cup opener. The Yanks were dominant in the first half, making good use of the ball and were putting the Welsh backline under a ton of pressure.

But a couple of shrewd adjustments from Wales at halftime threw the Americans off their rhythm and had them chasing the game for the last 45 minutes.

In other words, the USMNT didn’t really answer any questions we had about them in the first 90 minutes of this tournament.

Now, they face the daunting task of taking on England as +500 underdogs on Friday afternoon.

While the USMNT had an uneven start to their Qatar adventure, Gareth Southgate’s England couldn’t have scripted a better opening chapter to their campaign. The Three Lions pasted Iran, 6-2, and got goals from five different players.

England’s midfield pivot of 19-year-old Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice worked wonderfully as Bellingham was able to unlock the Iranian defense with line-breaking passes and runs into the box.

Bellingham and Rice were dominant against Iran, but the USMNT midfield is one of a few outfits outside of the elite teams that can contend with England’s partnership. The trio of Yunus Musah, Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie should be able to, at the very least, contend with Rice and Bellingham in a way that Iran just could not. That should make things a little trickier for the Three Lions.

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Defensively, both of these teams have issues. England’s centerback pairing has been called into question for an entire year thanks to the form (and health) of Harry Maguire, while the fullbacks have been inconsistent and Kyle Walker is doubtful to play. You can run at this England defense and the Americans have the type of attackers that can have success in a match where they won’t have the ball.

The question is whether or not the USMNT will be able to score enough to keep up with England. The American centerback pairing of Tim Ream and Walker Zimmerman didn’t cover itself in glory against Wales and now will need to find a way to cope against an England attack that features several elite attackers.

But it is fair to wonder if England’s attack will be as fluid as it was against Iran.

Under Gareth Southgate, England have a tendency to play a more pragmatic style when they go up against teams that can threaten them going the other way, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Three Lions play be a little cautious and focus on keeping the USMNT at bay, rather than letting their talent shine.

If that is how this game goes, it will make it a lot easier for the Yanks to hang around and turn this contest into a coin flip. And that’s all you’re looking for out of an underdog at this price.

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