World Cup FIFA 2022: With England facing Iran earlier in the day, and likely to come out on top, these two teams will have that in mind going into the game at the Ahmad bin Alli Stadium, Al Rayyan. The United States have qualified again for a World Cup after their last appearance in 2014. They finished third in their CONCACAF qualifying group, behind Canada and Mexico.
Similarly, Wales will make their first appearance at a World Cup finals in 64 years and qualified after an emotionally charged 1-0 World Cup qualifying playoff win at home vs Ukraine. Manager Robert Paige will again look to the leadership of LAFC’s Gareth Bale, a legend playing his last World Cup.
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Kick-off: 0:30am (IST), 19:00 (GMT)
USA Form: W D W D L D
Wales Form: W L D L L L
Players to Watch
Gareth Bale
The The Welsh legend has given his country countless moments of magic on the pitch of the biggest stages. However, the 33-year-old is coming to the end of his glorious football career after winning multiple Champions his league and league titles with Real Madrid. After announcing his intention to retire if Wales failed to qualify, he attempted to score his final points before retiring from top-flight football forever.
Christian Pulisic
The Chelsea winger has not had the best time adapting to the English Premier League in his league due to limited playing time at the club. But having contributed to his 19 goals in the last 23 qualifiers in his home country, he has always denied big events in his home country and hopes to keep that form in Qatar.
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Team News
Key team players for USA, Weston McKennie and Sergio Dest have been declared fit ahead of the clash on Monday. A behind-the-scenes preparation game was played against Qatari Al-Gharafa SC and a 6-0 win. Luca Del Torre is an injury doubt.
For Wales, Joe Allen’s fitness is a major point of contention for the Wales manager, and hopes his hamstring issue will be sorted out before the game.
USA Predicted Lineup (4-3-3): Matt Turner; Sergino Dest, Walker Zimmerman, Aaron Long, Antonee Robinson; Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Brendan Aaronson; Gio Reyna, Jesus Ferreira, Christian Pulisic
Wales Predicted Lineup (3-4-3): Wayne Hennessey; Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rodon, Ben Davies; Connor Roberts, Joe Allen, Aaron Ramsey, Neco Williams; Gareth Bale, Keiffer Moore, Daniel James
Head to Head stats
The two sides have played each other twice and Wales is yet to win
Played – 2
USA -1
Drawn – 1
Wales – 0
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USA vs Wales Prediction
With very little to separate these two teams, the deciding factor will be individual moments of quality. Hence, despite the tender average age of 24 years, the USA will have more quality on the ball and athleticism to outduel their European counterparts.
Prediction: USA 2-1 Wales