Image Credits - SI
Earlier on Friday, the US Men’s National Team learned its opponents for the 2022 Group Stage games at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The headliner against England is the one team they share some history and healthy rivalry within the grand tournament.
A majority of the US football fans willed it to happen and it did. The USMNT will face rivals England in the upcoming World Cup in Qatar in the group stages of the tournament.
The US Men’s National Team drew in Group B and were pitted against England and Iran. The fourth team in the group will be decided via a European play-off. Wales are through to the Path A finals, where they await the winner of either Scotland or Ukraine in the semifinal. Only one of these three nations will grab the final spot in Group B at the 2022 World Cup.
The Americans will play the winner of the European playoff in their first group game on November 21st. But all eyes will be on the USMNT vs England fixture on November 25th, which is also Black Friday. Given that the USMNT will square off against the Three Lions a day after Thanksgiving, a massive TV audience is expected for the game.
England and the USA have played each other only twice at the World Cup. The first game between the two teams in 1950 ended in a 1-0 win for the Three Lions. The two recently met at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and played out a 1-1 draw.
The USMNT’s final group game at the 2022 Qatar World Cup will be against Iran on November 29th.
A number of USMNT players and head coach Gregg Berhalter were excited about the draw and the matchups for the group stages.
The USMNT did not qualify for the 2018 World Cup. In the 2014 edition when pots were seeded geographically rather than by FIFA ranking, the Americans were grouped with Germany, Portugal and Ghana. Although the USMNT managed to advance from the group in second place they lost to Belgium in the Round of 16.
At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the USMNT will boast one of their strongest teams in the major tournament. With the likes of Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna and Weston McKennie in the team’s armory the USMNT are expected to put up a solid fight to progress to the knockout rounds. The USMNT are currently ranked 15th in the world.
England, who finished runners-up at Euro 2020 last year, are ranked No.5 in the world while Iran are placed 21st in the rankings. Going into the 2022 World Cup as the 2nd-best-ranked team in the group, the USMNT will be hopeful of qualification into the next round.