Dare we whisper it, but could England actually win the World Cup? We’ve compared the Three Lions’ stats with seven tournament favourites to see how they fare so far…
England lost 1-0 to Belgium on Thursday night after both sides implemented wholesale changes – a result that arguably sees the Three Lions undertake an easier passage to the semi-finals.
However, should Gareth Southgate’s side navigate their way past Colombia on Tuesday and Sweden or Switzerland in the quarter-finals – how do they compare with rival favourites in Russia?
GOALS
Belgium and England have scored more goals at the World Cup than any other tournament favourite – despite fielding weakened sides on Thursday night.
Both teams also have chart-topping strikers in their ranks, with Kane leading the Golden Boot race on five goals and Romelu Lukaku tied with Cristiano Ronaldo on four.
At the other end of the scale, France and Argentina face each other in the round of 16 on Saturday – but both teams have scored only three goals – with the former also benefiting from an own goal.
SHOTS
Brazil have scored only five goals so far, but the Samba stars have attempted a remarkable 57 shots during their three fixtures, followed by Belgium (52) and Spain (49).
England are mid-table among the favourites with 40 attempts, while European champions Portugal have struck just 33 shots so far.
EXPECTED GOALS
Belgium and Croatia are the only favourites to have won all of their group games, with the Croats making the most out of limited chances.
According to Opta’s expected goals model, Zlatko Dalic’s side have scored three goals more than expected, with England also exceeding expectations in front of goal.
Conversely, Argentina and Brazil have both scored one goal fewer than expected – paying the price for failing to convert from above-average shot counts.
BIG CHANCES MISSED
Despite scoring harder chances, Gareth Southgate’s side have missed five easy chances, joint with Brazil – only Belgium have missed more (seven).
Of those, Jesse Lingard has been the most culpable with two gaping opportunities missed – but the Manchester United midfielder is among esteemed company, with Lionel Messi and Gabriel Jesus also missing two so far.
CROSSES
England ranked top for crosses after the Tunisia game – but those stats have declined over the following two games. The Three Lions now rank seventh out of eight from open-play crosses – joint level with Belgium.
The clash between Argentina and France on Saturday should produce crosses aplenty, with both sides attempting a table-topping 37 to date.
In terms of the players, Joshua Kimmich’s 31 open-play crosses for Germany is almost as staggering as his side’s failure to qualify from Group F – delivering almost twice as many crosses as second-ranked Isco.
PASSES
Unsurprisingly, Spain dominate the passing stats with a staggering 2,277 passes made during the group games – around 400 more than Brazil and Argentina.
Spain centre-back Sergio Ramos tops the entire tournament with 324 passes, while team-mates Isco (297) and Andres Iniesta (237) rank among the top 10.
Trailing somewhat behind, England rank fourth on 1,592 passes, while Croatia and Portugal are the least tiki-taka sides with fewer than 1,400 passes.
DUELS WON
When it comes to winning duels, England are inferior to their fellow favourites – but a less intense approach to Thursday’s game with Belgium could have skewed the numbers.
The stats suggest Argentina are the most successful at winning 50/ 50 challenges for possession, while Belgium and Spain have contested with less intensity.
Among the favourites, former Barcelona team-mates Lionel Messi and Neymar rank top for winning duels with 37 and 30, respectively.
GOALS CONCEDED
Argentina left it late to qualify, which was quite a feat with a goal difference of -2. Lionel Messi and company conceded five goals during the group stage, equal with Spain.
England rank mid-table with three goals conceded – one in each group game – while Brazil, Croatia and France have shipped only the solitary goal.
Out of the eight favourites, Belgium and Croatia are the only teams to win all of their group games, with the latter emerging as the dark horse after Germany’s early exit.
With the exception of Belgium, England’s attack has eclipsed the tournament’s favourites after the opening round of group games – but their true test will come in the knockout pressure cooker..
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