England and the Netherlands want to make it to the FIFA World Cup’s last 16 if they win against the United States on Friday. If England wins, they will be guaranteed a spot in the last 16, and the Netherlands may also make it to the knockout stage.
The team led by Gareth Southgate kicked off their campaign with a 6-2 victory over Iran, who will play Wales in the first game of Group B on Friday.No matter what the consequence of that match, England would advance by beating the Americans, yet should conquer a skilled youthful side and the heaviness of history.
One of the biggest upsets in World Cup history saw the USA knock England out of the 1950 tournament, and in 2010, they held a star-studded team to a 1-1 draw that was best remembered for an error by English goalkeeper Rob Green.
“At a World Cup, have we ever defeated the US? No.”We have to try to make history tomorrow,” Southgate said in a press conference before the game.
“On the basis of very little evidence, we are adept at speaking highly of ourselves as a nation.”We are aware of the extremely motivated team we will face. We won’t, in my opinion, underestimate the United States in any way.”
After losing the European Championship final to Italy on penalties last year, England is still looking for their first major tournament championship in 56 years.
Despite suffering an injury to his ankle in the match against Iran, captain Harry Kane was declared fit for the USA match.
Carlos Queiroz’s Iran will be out assuming they lose to Wales, who drew their opener with the US.
Mehdi Taremi, the forward who scored the team’s two goals against England, denied that the Iranian government had pressured the team to not sing the national anthem before their first game.
He stated, “We are not under any pressure, but I don’t like to talk about political issues.”
In their first World Cup since losing to Pele’s Brazil in the 1958 quarterfinals, Wales could put themselves on the verge of qualifying before meeting England with three points.
Gareth Bale, the captain, said of Iran, “They’re a difficult team and they’re at the World Cup for a reason.” Bale scored a late penalty against the United States.
– Dutch aiming for title: Louis van Gaal’s Dutch team could also advance from Group A if they beat Ecuador, but they would need to draw with Senegal and the hosts, Qatar.
In their first game, the Oranje defeated the African champions 2-0 thanks to goals from Cody Gakpo and Davy Klaassen in the final minute.
Since finishing third under Van Gaal in 2014, the Netherlands, who have finished as runners-up three times, are participating in the World Cup for the first time.
On the eve of the game, Van Gaal stated, “We are here to become world champions.”
Qatar are needing a reaction subsequent to drooping to a manageable 2-0 Loss to Ecuador in the Tournament curtain raiser which saw most of the group left before the last whistle.
The Asian Cup holders risk becoming only the second home team to fail to advance past the group stage after South Africa in 2010.
Felix Sanchez, Qatar coach, stated, “We hope that now we are free from all the pressure that we had in the opening match.”I hope we can compete and perform to the best ability.
With a controversial penalty kick in Portugal’s 3-2 win over Ghana on Thursday, Cristiano Ronaldo became the first man to score in five World Cups. My favorite Brazil got off to a strong start by beating Serbia.