Kick-off: 1900, 04/12/2022
Stadium: Al Bayt Stadium
TV: ITV
England will put their unbeaten record against African opposition on the line when they face Senegal in the round of 16 at the World Cup.
Gareth Southgate’s men eased through to the knockout stage as group winners for the first time since 2006 and with the best goal difference they have enjoyed at a major tournament.
With their attacking players in fine form, an England win and over 2.5 total goals at 33/20 is our opening England vs Senegal prediction.
England Odds
England were far from perfect during the group stage but can take plenty of confidence from the way they progressed.
Two clean sheets, seven points and nine goals raised hopes that England can reach the business end of the tournament once more, having been semi-finalists four years ago and then runners-up at the European Championship last summer.
Southgate has plenty of selection dilemmas after Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden were handed starts and scored all three goals between them in a 3-0 win over Wales.
That was a much-improved display from the goalless draw with the United States so the temptation for Southgate must be to stick with the same line-up.
They are welcome problems for the manager to have to deal with at least and he again looks to have fostered a positive team spirit compared to the problems that had previously dogged England at major tournaments.
“We’re enjoying each other’s company and the players are really tight, so to this point we’re very pleased,” said Southgate. “Of course the big business starts now, really.”
Whoever he selects, England will have some exciting options off the bench and can once again finish the game strongly.
Looking at the England vs Senegal odds, we like 23/10 for the Three Lions to score at least two second-half goals, having netted three against both Iran and Wales.
Senegal Odds
Senegal’s progress to the last 16 was much more tense but a 2-1 victory over Ecuador in the final round of matches was enough to claim second place in Group A.
Losing Sadio Mane for the tournament was a major blow before a ball had been kicked and that was followed by a 2-0 defeat against the Netherlands.
A 3-1 win against Qatar kept their hopes alive though and Kalidou Koulibaly then scored a second-half winner against Ecuador, after Ismaila Sarr’s penalty had been cancelled out by Moises Caicedo in the 68th minute.
Koulibaly said: “We want to show exactly why we are the champions of Africa and why Senegal should be playing on the world scene.”
Senegal have the attacking talent to cause England problems but their failure to keep a clean sheet is a concern and the absence of Mane is expected to be an issue against a better standard of opposition.
An England win and both teams to score at 31/10 is added to our England vs Senegal predictions, along with 13/1 for a 3-1 win for correct-score backers.
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