Sporting Life
Rashford scores twice as England beat Wales

xG World Cup review: Day 10 scorelines according to expected goals

By Jake Osgathorpe
Football
Wed November 30, 2022 · 2y ago

We deliver the xG (expected goals) scoreline, a 'fairness' rating and noteworthy data points from across day 10 of the World Cup.

What are Infogol fairness ratings?

  • We rank every scoreline by comparing it against the range of possible scorelines that could have arisen based on the quantity and quality of chances created. The higher this ranks on a scale of 0-100 the closer it reflects the balance of chances created or the 'fairer' the scoreline is.

Wales 0-3 England

It was as easy as you like for England as they beat Wales to secure top spot in Group B and eliminate the Dragons.

The Three Lions notched three times and racked up over 3.0 xGF in what was a stellar attacking display.

It was the first time since England beat Panama 6-1 in the 2018 World Cup that Gareth Southgate's side generated 3.0+ xG in a 90 minutes game at a major tournament.

Marcus Rashford, brought in from the start by Southgate, scored a brace on the night to take his World Cup tally to three and was a constant threat throughout the game.

He has been extremely clinical with the attempts he has had, netting his trio of goals from chances equating to 1.40 xG.

At the other end of the pitch, three was again the magic number, as England limited Wales to just 0.33 xGA on a dominant night in Qatar.

Wales have had a torrid tournament, being comfortably second best against England and Iran, while only impressing in one half against the USA.

England go on to face Senegal in the last 16 on Sunday.

Iran 0-1 USA

The USA edged past Iran to secure qualification to the last 16, deserving the win in what was a hard-fought tussle.

It was a dominant first half that put the US in the ascendancy, with the Stars and Stripes conceding no shots at all in the opening 45 minutes.

Iran did rally in the second half and had a good chance late on to level proceedings and put themselves through, but they couldn't convert.

The US have shown a lot of energy at the tournament so far, and perhaps surprisingly, have been excellent defensively.

The Americans have allowed just 2.77 non-pen xGA across their three group games, so may be a tough nut for the Netherlands to crack on Saturday.

Ecuador 1-2 Senegal

Senegal booked their place in the last 16 thanks to a deserved victory over Ecuador in a game in which they created the better chnaces.

The win saw the West Africans leapfrog their opponents in the standings, and with it all coming down to the final game, it was Senegal who stepped up.

The first half was a complete domination from the victors, winning the xG battle 0.13-1.62, and while Ecuador did come on stronger in the second half when chasing the game, they couldn't fashion enough good scoring chances.

That proved to be the South Americans undoing in Qatar, averaging just 1.00 xGF per game.

Senegal await the winners of Group B now, and they have been dominant in their last two contests.

Netherlands 2-0 Qatar

The Netherlands secured top spot in Group A with a comfortable win over hosts Qatar, who lose all three games at the World Cup.

Louis van Gaal's side were in control from the off, and created decent chances in the match without allowing the host nation any opportunities of note.

It was a much-improved display from the Dutch, albeit against a Qatar team who have been well-below the required level at this tournament.

At the World Cup so far, defence has been the Netherlands strong suit, allowing just 2.54 xGA in three matches while conceding only one non-penalty big chance.

As for Qatar, it was a poor tournament, with their attack completely faltering, averaging just 0.57 xGF per game.

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