England v Wales: Old Rivals Battle for World Cup Qualification
There are few rivalries as visceral as this, although it is often more significant on the rugby pitch than on the football pitch.
Yet, at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium on Tuesday night, England take on Wales in possibly the most important football match of all time between the two sides
It would be a huge game regardless of the scenario but becomes even bigger considering both sides are yet to qualify for the knockout stages of Qatar 2022.
The possible outcomes are relatively simple in comparison to some of the other groups in the tournament. If England win, draw or lose by fewer than 4 goals, they will qualify for the round of 16 and send Wales home.
Wales need to beat England and hope that the USA and Iran draw in their game, if that game does not end in a draw they must beat England by four.
On the face of it, the Welsh task is gargantuan.
The scenes at the end of their heart-breaking loss against Iran showed the players were exhausted and dejected, and manager Rob Page will have a herculean task on his hands to hype the Welsh players back up for their game against England.
This fact was not lost on captain and talisman Gareth Bale who poured his emotions out to the press after the loss. “We’re gutted, there’s no other way to say it,” he said. “We fought until the last second but it’s one of those things that’s difficult to take. We have to recover, we have to go again. We have to pick ourselves up straight away which is going to be difficult.”
As well as the fatigue, Wales must buck the historical trend to progress to the knockout rounds.
They have only scored four against England on three separate occasions, and have never kept a clean sheet during the same game despite playing their old rivals 103 times. Wales most recently put four past the English in 1980 and of course, if they concede, they will need to score at least five. They have only done that on one occasion, in 1882.
Despite the historical precedent, England fans will be wary of overconfidence. The loss against Iceland in Euro 2016 is a prime example of what can happen in games which are supposedly formalities.
This is made even worse by a less-than-inspiring performance in the Three Lions’ 0-0 bore draw against the US.
England fans found the performance so dire that they booed their team off the pitch at the Al Bayt Stadium, and as a result reports suggest that Gareth Southgate plans to make changes to a midfield that struggled on the night.
Henderson’s inclusion will likely anger many England fans. However, his presence could be vital, as Wales will have to try and attack England throughout the game on Tuesday and the Liverpool midfielder is more defensively sound than his Borussia Dortmund counterpart.
Group B is set to come down to the wire, and Wales will need to make history if they are to qualify.
