England vs Senegal – World Cup: Team news, lineups & prediction
England face African champions Senegal in the World Cup round of 16 on Sunday evening.
The European Championship runners-up finished top of their group, sandwiching a 0-0 draw against the United States with a pair of victories against Iran and Wales.
Senegal recovered from the setback of losing their star forward Sadio Mane ahead of the tournament and their opening match of the competition against the Netherlands to defeat Qatar and Ecuador.
Here’s everything you need to know about this knockout stage clash.
England vs Senegal H2H Results (All Time)
This is the first time England and Senegal have met in men’s international football.
Current Form (Last Five Games)
England team news
Aside from Arsenal centre-back Ben White, who left the squad due to „personal reasons“ earlier this week, Gareth Southgate should have a full bevvy of options at his disposal this Sunday. After the impressive form of the forwards that were drafted in against Wales, Southgate has some tricky choices to make.
England Starting 11 (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Trippier, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Rice, Bellingham; Rashford, Mount, Sterling; Kane.
Bench: Pope, Ramsdale, Coady, Dier, Alexander-Arnold, Walker, Phillips, Gallagher, Saka, Maddison, Henderson, Grealish, Foden, Wilson.
Senegal team news
Aliou Cisse has already juggled the absence of Mane but was dealt another blow during his nation’s spirited victory against Ecuador. Everton’s Idrissa Gana Gueye picked up a second booking of the tournament, ruling him out of the first knockout round.
Nottingham Forest’s Cheikhou Kouyate is thought to be the only injury absentee after he was stretchered off against the Netherlands.
Senegal Starting 11 (4-3-3): E Mendy; Sabaly, Koulibaly, Diallo, Jakobs; N Mendy, Ciss, P Gueye; Ndiaye, Dia, I Sarr.
Bench: S Dieng, Gomis, Cisse, F Mendy, Ballo-Toure, Loum, Name, N’Diaye, P Sarr, Diedhiou, Jackson, B Dieng, Diatta.
England to win or draw – England have never lost against an African side in their history (W14 D6).
England to win to nil – Five of England’s last six wins in the knockout stages of the World Cup have come with a clean sheet.
Senegal clean sheet? No – Since beating France 1-0 in their first ever World Cup match in 2002, Senegal have conceded at least once in each of their 10 games in the competition.
Senegal to score first & win – Senegal have opened the scoring in each of their last two World Cup games (W2) and have never lost a match at the tournament when scoring first.
Goalless at half-time – Seven of England’s last nine games in all competitions have been goalless at half time, including each of their last two.
Over 2.5 total match goals – Both England’s (3.7) and Senegal’s (3.0) games at the 2022 World Cup have averaged over 3 goals.
Over 2.5 total match goals is currently 13/10*
Anytime scorer – Phil Foden has scored eight goals in his last 11 starts for club and country.
Marcus Rashford anytime scorer & over 1.5 shots on target – Marcus Rashford has scored six goals in his last six starts for England, attempting 2+ shots on target in four of those games (4 SOT against Wales last time out).
Harry Maguire to score & England to win – Only Kane (46), Sterling (18) and Rashford (14) have scored more goals for England under Southgate than Maguire (7 – all from set piece situations), with England going on to win all seven games when he’s found the back of the net.
Raheem Sterling to score & England to win – England have won all 16 games when Raheem Sterling has found the back of the net (the best 100% win rate when scoring in the national sides history).
Raheem Sterling to score first & England to win 1-0 is currently 16/1*
England no cards – England haven’t received a single card in any of their last four games in all competitions and are the only side at the 2022 World Cup who are yet to have a player booked.
Insights courtesy of Opta. Head to The Analyst Stats Hub for live group stage standings, top scores, match metrics, team stats and much more!
*Odds correct at time of publication. 18+. Please gamble responsibly. BeGambleAware.org
The last time England faced African opposition in the knockout round of the men’s World Cup, Sir Bobby Robson’s scout Howard Wilkinson supposedly brushed off the encounter as „a bye“. The confidence was grossly misplaced then and would be again three decades later.
Senegal’s fleet-footed frontline may be flanked by a pair of Championship wingers, but the searing pace and directness of Ismaila Sarr and Iliman Ndiaye could unsettle England’s rather pedestrian backline.
England have looked at their best this tournament when snapping into the counter-press, generating chances in transition. Up against a Senegal side stripped of two first-choice midfielders, the Three Lions could dominate this area.
In what may be a tight contest between two teams experienced in tournament football, England may have the edge, but their place in the quarter-finals is anything but guaranteed.
Prediction: England 1-0 Senegal
Harry Symeou hosts Jack Gallagher and Toby Cudworth to look back on Germany ’06 as part of the ‚Our World Cup‘ series. We take a trip down memory lane – join us!
If you can’t see the podcast embed, click here to download or listen to the episode in full!