Afghanistan will play England in a virtual knockout in Champions Trophy 2025 on Wednesday (February 26) - Here's what the Betfair odds for the match are.

Both teams enter the important clash having lost their opening encounters. England despite scoring a record 351-8 against Australia courtesy of Ben Duckett’s 165, lost by five wickets, while Afghanistan faced a 107-run drubbing against South Africa.

The washout in the South Africa-Australia match on Tuesday (February 25), however, has opened Group B, with both England and Afghanistan’s campaign hopes being given a boost. That makes the Afghanistan-England match on Wednesday a virtual knockout. England can guarantee their spot in the semi-finals by winning their final two matches. If they do so, they will reach four points, while Afghanistan and South Africa will only be able to achieve a maximum of two and three points, respectively.

Can England keep their nerve to script a turnaround?

The surface in Lahore, the venue for the high-stakes clash, is expected to be a batting paradise, meaning Afghanistan's potent spin attack would be less effective. This is where the most high-scoring match in the tournament so far between Australia and England took place.

Despite their loss, England would take a lot of positives from the record-breaking batting effort last time around given their recent struggles in Asian conditions. Another good news for England is Afghanistan’s weakest suit has been their batting. England's likely dominance is reflected in Betfair Sportsbook’s odds (1/4) of them winning the crucial match as compared to Afghanistan's 13/5.

Who will rise to the occasion for England?

England would hope that Duckett, who became the first batter to score 150 in the tournament, would cash in on his purple patch. Priced at 7/2, Betfair Sportsbook backs the southpaw to come good yet again. However, as always, Joe Root is expected to be the batting fulcrum for England and that’s reflected in Betfair Sportsbook’s odds (10/3) of him being their top batter. The Lahore surface is also expected to be the ideal condition for a struggling Harry Brook – valued at 11/2 – to return to form.

Afghanistan’s batting is top-heavy and heavily dependent on the prolific pair of Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Both, valued at 4/1, have a decent chance of becoming the top batters for Afghanistan in the match.

England’s death bowling has been their Achilles’ heel and their problems further aggravated after Brydon Carse was ruled out due to a toe issue. Adil Rashid was the most economical bowler during the record chase, having gone for just 4.70 runs per over against Australia. England’s overreliance on the wrist spinner will continue as Betfair Sportsbook’s odds of 11/4 back him to have another good outing.

For Afghanistan, Rashid Khan, who had quite an ordinary outing against South Africa, would be itching to make a statement. He is primed for success in the match and that’s backed by Betfair Sportsbook’s odds (5/2) of him being the top bowler in the fixture.

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