ENGLAND put on an exhilarating show in their World Cup opener against Iran.
But Gareth Southgate has firmly shifted his focus to game two – the USA.
A win will see the Three Lions progress to the last 16… in fact, a draw might be enough thanks to their goal difference.
But the Americans will no doubt prove to be a sterner test than Iran.
And following their draw against Wales, USA will be itching to bounce back and keep their dream of reaching the knockout stages alive.
SunSport takes a look at what to expect from the big game… including score prediction.
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How are they getting on?
England: After a tricky year to date, the Three Lions came out of the blocks firing in Qatar.
England raced to a 6-2 win over Iran and were unfortunate to even concede a second via a controversial penalty.
Goals came from all over the pitch, with a number of standout performers in the game, especially Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham.
Read the full England vs Iran report…
USA: Dominated the first-half of their match against Wales, leading 1-0 at half-time.
But they didn’t bring the same intensity in the second period, allowing Gareth Bale – largely-anonymous during the match – to slot home a late, equalising penalty.
Read the full USA vs Wales report…
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Any injuries to worry about?
England: James Maddison has already been ruled out of the game as he continues to recover from the knee injury he suffered before the tournament.
Kyle Walker is back in training to put himself in contention for a starting spot against the Americans.
Harry Kane is hoping to lead the line after a scan confirmed no serious damage to his ankle following a knock in the win over Iran.
Harry Maguire is expected to be ready for England’s second game after being taken off against Iran due to illness, having taken part in subsequent training sessions.
USA: Gregg Berhalter has no injury concerns for the game against England.
Who will be the star men?
England: It would be very easy to say Harry Kane, but Jude Bellingham can be Southgate’s No1 player this summer.
The Three Lions have lacked a player like Bellingham in recent years, someone to link the midfield and attack.
Rice and Phillips have always performed admirably together for England, but lacked a certain attacking threat.
Bellingham, alongside Rice and Mount, can be the perfect player to help unlock stubborn defences,
He wasted no time showing the world what he can do with a scintillating performance against Iran.
USA: It’s hard to look past Christian Pulisic.
The Chelsea star knows plenty about this England team thanks to his time in the Premier League and, on his day, he can be unstoppable.
However, Southgate will also have to pay attention to roaming right-back Sergino Dest – on loan at AC Milan from Barcelona – and Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie.
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What’s the head-to-head?
The Three Lions have taken on America 11 TIMES in history, winning eight and losing just twice – in 1950 and 1993.
Most-recently, England won a 2018 friendly 3-0 thanks to goals from Jesse Lingard, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Callum Wilson.
In their last World Cup meeting, England famously slipped to a 1-1 draw in the 2010 opener following a Rob Green howler.
Odds
England 4/7
Draw 10/3
USA 26/5
SunSport prediction
England 3 USA 1
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
