Group B, Introduction
United States
The United States looks to catch stride at the 2022 World Cup after narrowly making it past regional qualifiers and missing the 2018 World Cup. This will be the U.S. men's national team's (USMNT) 11th appearance in the World Cup, and after almost a decade roster rebuilding, the USMNT has its eyes set to surpass their Round of 16 appearance in the 2014 World Cup.
Coach Gregg Berhalter and his group of young talent look to continue their offensive spark of scoring 21 goals in qualification matches as a potential deep World Cup run is looming. The United States’ core attacking duo of Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic and Borussia Dortmund’s Gio Reyna will be a true threat to opponent’s defenses throughout the group stage matches. What’s questionable are the goalkeeping candidates who are all coming back from injury. One month of waiting will allow us to see if the Eagles will be soaring in Qatar.
Current FIFA world ranking: No. 16 (October 2022)
Regional ranking: 2nd (CONCACAF)
World Cup titles: 0
World Cup appearances, last appearance: 10, Brazil 2014
Recent record (2-year span for all game styles):
2022: 5W-3L-4D
2021: 17W-2L-3D
Key players: Christian Pulisic (Chelsea, England), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Weston McKennie (Juventus, Italy)
England
Following a loss in the final of Euro 2020 to Italy, in a painful passion to penalty kicks, and reaching the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup, England is determined to one up their last appearance with the chance of winning their first World Cup since 1966.
With a large group of veterans who have now noteworthy experience in previous tournaments, mixed with a handful of promising and exciting young talent, it’s now time to see if England can get over its final hurdle.
Recent struggles for defenders, such as Manchester United’s Harry Maguire, in club play is likely to dissipate by the time the World Cup starts, whereas Harry Kane is on the prowl, as he is soon to be the record breaker of being England’s all-time goalscorer.
Current FIFA world ranking: No. 5 (October 2022)
Regional ranking: 3rd (UEFA)
World Cup titles: 1 (1966)
World Cup appearances, last appearance: 15, Russia 2018
Recent record (2-year span for all game styles):
2022: 2W-3L-3D
2021: 15W-0L-4D
Key players: Harry Kane (Tottenham, England), Declan Rice (West Ham, England), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City, England)
Wales
After months of rescheduling for a match with Ukraine, Wales prevailed and booked their ticket as the final UEFA team to make the trip to Qatar. It will be their first appearance in the World Cup since 1958 where they reached the quarterfinals.
Wales recent success by passing group stages in the Euro 2016 and 2020, one of which reaching the semifinals and losing to the eventual champion, Portugal, shows that they are on the rise within international play. That is, if Los Angeles’ Gareth Bale and Fulham’s Daniel James continue their stellar play.
Current FIFA world ranking: No. 19 (October 2022)
Regional ranking: 12th (UEFA)
World Cup titles: 0
World Cup appearances, last appearance: 1, Sweden 1958
Recent record (2-year span for all game styles):
2022: 2W-5L-2D
2021: 6W-6L-6D
Key players (club, country): Gareth Bale (Los Angeles, USA), Daniel James (Fulham, England), Kieffer Moore (Bournemouth, England)
Iran
Surprisingly to many, this will be Iran’s third straight World Cup as they have been consistently the top ranked team in Asia for each of those appearances. Winning eight of their nine matches in qualifiers, Iran is riding their high-water mark as they look to make themselves known in the group stage.
One of Iran’s biggest threats to their success comes from within. Over the past year there have been multiple coaching firings and rehires, an uneasy hand that the team is being dealt. On the other hand, Iran has a strong attacking unit which is not one to be slept on. Coach Carlos Querioz of Portugal looks to take his former
Manchester United tactics and apply them to his Iranian squad for the third straight time at what appears to be its toughest group stage matchups yet.
Current FIFA world ranking: No. 20 (October 2022)
Regional ranking: 1st (AFC)
World Cup titles: 0
World Cup appearances, last appearance: 6, Russia 2018
Recent record (2-year span for all game styles):
2022: 2W-2L-1D
2021: 10W-0L-1D
Key players (club, country): Sardar Azmoun (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), Alireza Jahanbakhsh (Feyenoord, Netherlands), Mehdi Taremi (Porto, Portugal)
Prediction
| Advances |
United States | Yes |
England | Yes |
Wales | No |
Iran | No |
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