THE greatest show on earth has served up a few unpleasant surprises so far, including the shocks of the World Cup to date — Saudi Arabia beating Argentina, and Japan (the Toyota) breezing past the BMW, Germany. Today (Friday, November 25, 2022) England will look to continue their excellent start when they play the USA, and then on Saturday(November 26) Argentina will play Mexico, hoping to rebound from their opening loss.

Event # 1 – W/Cup – England vs USA – 2:00 pm

England made a real statement with a 6-2 hammering of Iran in their World Cup 2022 opener, and they will be aiming to back that up with another convincing win over the USA when both sides clash today, Friday, November 25.

England enter this clash knowing that a win will guarantee them a place in the next round with a game to spare. Despite struggling in the recent Nations League, England arrived in Qatar as one of the favourites to win the World Cup and, based on their performance in their opening match, confidence in the camp will be high. Indeed, England have won four of their last five head-to-head clashes with the USA, securing a 3-0 win in their last meeting back in 2018.

The USA face British opposition for the second-successive game after being held to a frustrating 1-1 draw with Wales in their opening match. They would have been disappointed for letting their lead slip after being up 1-0 for over 80 minutes during a dominant performance, especially in the first half. However, the USA’s inexperience eventually came to the fore as they gave up a needless penalty late in the match. Historically in the World Cup the USA have held their own against England, with their last such clash ending 1-1 in the 2010 edition in South Africa.

KEY STATS

• England – won 3-0 the last time they faced USA, during a friendly match in November 2018. Following their 6-2 victory over Iran in their opening match, England are looking to win their opening two games at the World Cup for a fourth time, also doing so in 1982, 2006 and 2018. Their second game at the 2018 edition saw them win 6-1 against Panama.

• USA – haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their last 18 World Cup matches against European nations (32 goals conceded) since a 1-0 victory over England in 1950.

• Both sides – this is the third meeting between England and USA at the Fifa World Cup, with the United States winning 1-0 in 1950 before a 1-1 draw in 2010. In all competitions England have won eight of their 11 meetings with USA (D1 L2). Their last defeat against them came in June 1993 (0-2), winning four and drawing one of their meetings since then.

The betting tip: England win

Event # 2 W/Cup – Argentina vs Mexico – 2:00 pm

Argentina will be desperate to bounce back with a win against Mexico when both sides clash on Saturday, following their humiliating 2-1 defeat against Saudi Arabia. Indeed, no one in their right mind saw Saudi Arabia beating Argentina in their opening match, but it happened.

Now, they face an early elimination from the World Cup if they fail to beat Mexico. That loss to Saudi Arabia was the first time Argentina had lost their opening game at a World Cup since being beaten by Cameroon in 1990 — but the fact that they reached the final in that campaign shows all is not lost for Messi and his troops. Argentina will have history on their side as they have won six of their last seven matches against Mexico and haven’t lost a match against them since 2004.

Mexico played out a drab, goalless draw against Poland in their opening game of their World Cup campaign — which might turn out to be not such a bad result following Argentina’s surprise defeat. And they would gladly accept another draw against Argentina, especially since they struggled to create any clear-cut chances against Poland despite dominating possession throughout the match. With that said, Mexico’s best-ever performances at a World Cup came in runs to the quarter-finals in 1970 and 1986, though they have been eliminated in each of the last seven tournaments at the round-of-16 stage.

KEY STATS

• Argentina’s – defeat against Saudi Arabia ended a run of 13 straight World Cup victories against non-European nations since losing to Cameroon in 1990. They’ve never lost consecutive World Cup matches against non-European sides before.

• Mexico – have lost all three of their Fifa World Cup games against Argentina, going down 6-3 in 1930, 2-1 in 200, and 3-1 in 2010. Only Austria (4 vs Italy) and Nigeria (5 vs Argentina) have faced an opponent more often in the competition while losing every time.

• Both sides – Argentina are unbeaten in their last 10 meetings with Mexico in all competitions (W7 D3) since a 1-0 loss in the 2004 Copa América.

The betting tip. Argentina win.

JUSTBET ODDS – England vs USA

Friday, November 25, 2022

PredictionOdds on Prediction Odds Calculation

ENGLAND TO WIN $1.55which means a $1000 bet would pay $1,550

USA TO WIN $5.50which means a $1000 bet would pay $5,500

MATCH TO DRAW $4.25which means a $1000 bet would pay $4,250

Odds on the Home Team (England) winning the game 3-1 at full time $13.00which means that a $1,000 bet would pay $13,000.

Odds on the Away Team (USA) winning the game 0-1 at full time $15.00which means that a $1,000 bet would pay $15,000.

Odds on the game drawing 1-1 at full time $7.50which means that a $1,000 bet would pay $7,500.

JUSTBET ODDS – Argentina vs Mexico

Saturday, November 26, 2022

PredictionOdds on Prediction Odds Calculation

ARGENTINA TO WIN $1.57which means a $1000 bet would pay $1,570

MEXICO TO WIN $5.75which means a $1000 bet would pay $5,750

MATCH TO DRAW $4.00which means a $1000 bet would pay $4,000

Odds on the home team (Argentina) winning the game 4-2 at full time $91.00which means that a $1,000 bet would pay $91,000.

Odds on the away team (Mexico) winning the game 1-2 at full time $20.00which means that a $1,000 bet would pay $20,000.

Odds on the game drawing 2-2 at full time $21.00which means that a $1,000 bet would pay $21,000.