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Jude Bellingham had two headed shots on target against DR Congo last time out and should be a target in the box for England again in this clash with his role of breaking into the penalty area when Harry Kane drops a bit deeper. 

Only Canada (148) have attempted more crosses than England (111) at the World Cup, so it’s clearly a key aspect of Tuchel’s game plan.

This is supported by the squad he picks and the system he plays, usually always operating with two wide players who hug the touchline.

Bellingham is one of the obvious candidates to benefit from these crosses, with England also winning the fourth most corners of any side at the World Cup (29 - 7.25 per game).

England have been creating plenty of these chances with three of their eight goals coming from headers so far. 

Bellingham has managed six shots on target across his four starts (1.72 per 90) with eight of his nine shots crucially coming from inside of the penalty area. 

This is a really appealing price for Declan Rice to set up a goal at the Azteca, mainly due to his role on set pieces and corners in particular for England.

Thomas Tuchel made it pretty obvious before the tournament started that he wanted to put together an England side that reflects the style and intensity of the Premier League - and I think he’s quite close to that, even if it isn’t a great watch.

Set pieces were a cornerstone of the most recent Premier League season, and England have possibly the best set piece taker across Europe in Declan Rice.

He’s already registered an assist at the World Cup, as well as creating 12 shots from his three starts (4.30 per 90). 

England are averaging 7.25 corners per game at the World Cup, registering 5+ corners in all four of their matches.

They also win fouls more often than any other side, drawing 64 across their four matches (16.0 per game) so Rice should have plenty of chances to register the assist we need from him. 

No Mexico player has created more shots than Roberto Alvarado at the World Cup so far (10 - 2.65 per 90).

He’s already registered three assists at the World Cup, which is a very solid record that’s only gone under the radar due to the impressive displays of Bruno Guimaraes (4 assists) and Michael Olise (5 assists).

Alvarado averaged 1.84 chances created per 90 during the most recent domestic season for Chivas and plays alongside some very high shot volume players which can aid his chances of setting up a few shots in this encounter. 

Raul Jimenez (3.91 shots per 90) and Julian Quinones (2.97 shots per 90) won’t be afraid to pull the trigger, giving Mexico’s main creative outlet a good chance of setting up at least two shots here.

Harry Kane has been a lot shorter for a shot on target during this World Cup so this is a decent price for him to find the target at least once in what looks to be a challenging assignment for England on paper.

Kane is clearly the star of this England side, he’s scored five goals already from 18 shots (4.58 per 90), including a brace against DR Congo last time out to spare England the embarrassment of an early exit. He’s seen nine of his efforts find the target (2.29 per 90) and will be an obvious threat to this Mexico backline.

Kane scored eight goals across eight starts during qualifying and has really never looked sharper in the final third as he does at the moment, benefitting from Tuchel building the team around his strengths. He averaged 2.11 shots on target per 90 during qualifying, 2+ shots on target is also worth looking at (2.6).

Raul Jimenez scored a wonderful goal in Mexico’s Round of 32 clash with Ecuador to guarantee their spot in this stage of the tournament. He’s been effective when leading the line for his country, scoring two goals across his three starts from 10 shots (3.91 per 90).

He’s seen four of his efforts find the target (1.57 per 90) and has been using his head often with half of his total efforts so far being headed shots. This is not that surprising when looking at how Mexico play, they have a real advantage with the altitude here and look to make the most of that by making the pitch wide and seeking out their striker through crosses from their fullbacks. 

Jimenez has found the target in all three of his matches at the World Cup and will offer a threat to England, particularly aerially as his direct opponents in Konsa and Guehi may be a bit vulnerable to those crosses from Mexico’s fullbacks as they aren’t as dominant in the air as someone like Jimenez.

The market really isn’t sure about England’s chances in this game, their lines on quite a few angles have been lowered compared to their other matches - mainly due to the altitude and intense atmosphere of the Azteca.

I do think this has been overplayed quite a bit. It’s definitely a factor, but you can’t talk about the conditions without looking at the individual quality that will take to the field. Player for player, England are a much better side than Mexico and Thomas Tuchel’s side can produce those individual moments of brilliance as a result. 

England have registered 5+ corners in all four of their World Cup matches, they rely on these situations quite a bit which isn’t that surprising as Tuchel mentioned multiple times in the build up to the tournament that he wanted to assemble a side that mirrored the style of the Premier League. 

Mexico are conceding 4.00 corners per game at the World Cup and I think they will also fall victim to a high corner count from the Three Lions, which England have shown no reason why they would not cover other than being heavily impacted by the conditions - a factor that I think has now been completely overexaggerated.

Raul Rangel is one of only two keepers who are yet to concede at the World Cup and have a 100% save percentage - the other being Spain’s Unai Simon.

Mexico’s defensive organisation has been impressive at times, though Rangel has been there when they’ve needed him. He’s made six saves across his four starts (1.55 per 90), though England can definitely test him more regularly as the best side that Mexico have had to take on so far.

England have been creating quite a lot of chances, no side has missed more big opportunities than the Three Lions (15), which may sound like a negative stat on paper but it shows that Tuchel’s side are getting in positions to hurt the opposition.

England are averaging 6.80 shots on target per game at the World Cup and have drawn 2+ saves from the opposition keeper in all four of their World Cup assignments to date.

Marc Guehi has been fouled in each of his three starts at the World Cup so far, drawing 2+ fouls in two of these games - including winning seven (!) fouls against Ghana.

It’s clearly a strong part of Guehi’s game and he’s got the ideal opponent to be fouled at least once again here. Guehi will line up against Raul Jimenez, who can be overly aggressive which his challenges and has committed four fouls across his three starts so far (1.57 per 90).

Mexico like going long into Jimenez, so we can expect the now Wolves striker to have quite a few battles with the likes of Konsa and Guehi and there should be a few occasions where he oversteps the mark and brings Guehi to the ground.

Guehi averaged 1.09 fouls won per 90 during the most recent Premier League campaign, so it’s clearly an area where he excels and he has a promising direct opponent here to win at least one foul again.