Afghanistan vs England Preview & Prediction | 2025 ICC Champions Trophy | Group Stage
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Despite each losing their first group match, the fate of both Afghanistan and England remain in their respective hands.
Date & time: Wednesday 26th February 2025: USA PT – 1:00am / USA ET – 4:00am / UK – 9:00am
Venue: Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan
Weather: Cloudy but with sunny intervals as temperatures reach highs of 27c.
How to watch: USA – Willow TV / UK – Sky Sports & Sky Go
How to get tickets for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy: Click here for the latest ticket information for Afghanistan vs England
Afghanistan Preview: Feeling the heat in tough group
Afghanistan well second-best by a large margin against South Africa, which now puts their tournament at risk of an early conclusion. They conceded 315 runs from 50 overs and such a big target proved beyond them by a large margin. In the end, Afghanistan were bowled out for 208 in 43.3 overs and lost by a massive 107 runs. However, a washout between Australia and South Africa in Rawalpindi means that Afghanistan can still qualify for the semi-finals with wins over both Australia and here against England.
England Preview: Poor bowling compounds misery
Despite scoring 351/8 against Australia, England left runs out there and paid a heavy price as their bowlers were taken apart by the likes of Matt Short, Glenn Maxwell and most notably Josh Inglis, whose unbeaten 120 led the Aussies to a record ICC Champions Trophy run chase and left England in must-win territory for the rest of the tournament. Like Afghanistan, they must secure victory in their next two games to progress.
Afghanistan Betting Analysis
Despite Afghanistan losing so heavily vs South Africa, Rahmat Shah impressed hugely with his 90 from 92 balls which included nine 4s and one maximum. It was a well-constructed knock which lacked any sort of substantial support from his teammates. On what is expected to be another belter of a pitch from a batting point of view, backing Rahmat to record another score of over 23.5 match runs.
England Betting Analysis
When taking into account the brilliance of Ben Duckett last time out for England, it makes it even more frustrating how they throw things away against Australia. Duckett was electrifying when opening the batting and his mammoth 165 deserved to be on the winning side. England’s hidden gem, Duckett looks right at home on a Gaddafi Stadium surface, so back him to follow it up with another match fifty.
Afghanistan vs England Expert Prediction
Losing isn’t an option for either side, but England in particular simply can’t afford another slip up and early tournament exit when considering the players at their disposal. They are far from the best 50-over-side but there’s no excuse for a batting line-up of the quality that they possess not to score runs freely on this ground. Shoring up the bowling though, has to be the priority.
Afghanistan are a team of battlers and they won’t go quietly against England, but their bowlers were taken down by South Africa and should be again in this one. It’s difficult to see them matching England when it comes to volume of runs, so back victory for Jos Buttler’s side as a result.
Afghanistan vs England Top Tip: England to win
