Home SPORTS 2022 World Cup | Potential round of 16 opponents revealed as England prepare for Wales clash

2022 World Cup | Potential round of 16 opponents revealed as England prepare for Wales clash

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2022 World Cup | Potential round of 16 opponents revealed as England prepare for Wales clash

England’s World Cup hopes are on full display tonight when Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions come to grips with Wales tonight at Al-Rayyan Stadium.

Southgate’s men are all but guaranteed to reach the knockout stage as long as they avoid a heavy defeat against their local rivals. England can also go on to top the group with a win, while a share of the spoils will be enough barring an Iran win or a United States win while Gregg Berhalter’s men would have to reverse a four-goal deficit.

With their advancement in the tournament expected, England’s opponents have also been revealed in their potential round of 16 clashes. Should England win, a date with Aliou Cissé’s Senegal will kick off the next phase of the tournament, while a date with Louis van Gaal’s Netherlands awaits the island nation should they finish as runner-up.

Many of their potential opposition players will be familiar to those in the England camp as well, with Senegal boasting ten players currently on the books of clubs in both the Premier League and the Championship, while seven more ply their trades for continental outfits currently in European competitions.

The same can be said for the Netherlands on the back of being headlined by Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk, with Manchester City’s Nathan Aké and Manchester United’s Tyrell Malacia also in the Dutch squad. A further nineteen players in Van Gaal’s contingent play at the highest level in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Germany, and Belgium at clubs who are either in the Champions League or Europa League and that familiarity could certainly be an avenue to attack either potential opponent as England look to improve on their semi-final appearance four years ago in Russia.

England’s all-time record vs the Netherlands13-9-9 | 72 GF | 37 GATop fixture leading scorer – Vivian Woodward (13)Last meeting: Netherlands 3-1 England (2019 UEFA Nations League semi-final)England’s all-time record vs SenegalN/AN/AN/ARead below for more from the 2022 World CupMatch Report | Netherlands advance to round of 16 with 2-0 win over Qatar

Match Report | Senegal secure passage to knockout stage for the second time after 2-1 win against Ecuador

Bayern Munich linked with World Cup goalscoring hero in targeted search for a new center-forward

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