More than two months after the 2022 World Cup draw in Qatar, the United States men’s national team finally has its full set of marching orders for the group stage in November.
Wales’ 1-0 win over Ukraine in Sunday’s UEFA World Cup qualifying final means Gregg Berhalter’s side will open group play on November 21, the first day of competition, against the Dragons, before facing England on 25 November. Friday in the United States, then in Iran on November 29 to complete the action in Group B.
When the draw was made, the United States had been grouped with the space reserved for the UEFA qualifiers, with the group that contained Ukraine having one of their semi-finals and the final postponed until June. due to the invasion of the country by Russia. Russia, who were in a separate playoff bracket, were disqualified and eliminated entirely, while Ukraine’s semi-final against Scotland was suspended until June 1. final in Cardiff. Wales had beaten Austria in a regularly scheduled semi-final at the end of March before qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1958 on Sunday, ending Ukraine’s valiant effort, counts given everything that was currently happening at home.
Not only were the United States lumped in with this Open Playoff winner, they were drawn in to face this team in their first game, leaving a fairly key part of their World Cup preparation up in the air for a few months. . The first game is the one that sets the tone, but not the end; Spain lost their first game in 2010 and then won it all, for example – and for the United States that’s traditionally an indicator of their success or failure on the World Cup stage. In the four modern World Cups (1990 and later) where the United States has won or tied its first game, it has qualified for the knockout stage. In the three he lost the first game, he did not come out of the group.
The heightened level of urgency against England in the middle of the game will certainly depend on how the United States performs against Wales, and now Berhalter and his team can get to work at full speed to prepare for that first game, even if it’s not for another five and a half months.
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The Americans have little history against their first opponent. They faced the Dragons in a pair of friendlies, going 1-0-1. The victory, a 2-0 result in 2003, came at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, Calif., with goals scored by Landon Donovan and Eddie Lewis. More recently – and considerably more relevant to this team – the two sides played out a scoreless draw behind closed doors at Swansea City’s Liberty Stadium in November 2020 in the first international window after the coronavirus pandemic began. Gareth Bale was among those who missed the game.
After beating Morocco 3-0 on Wednesday night’s trip to Qatar, the United States still have five matches over two sides to prepare for the World Cup, starting Sunday night at Children’s Mercy Park at Sporting Kansas City. against Uruguay, 13th in the standings. From there, it’s a pair of Concacaf Nations League games against Grenada at Austin FC’s Q2 Stadium (June 10) and El Salvador (June 14) before a camp in late September that is set to take place in Europe. and feature two matches against opponents yet to be determined.
In the meantime, here’s the full World Cup Group B schedule, now that the quartet is complete (all times Eastern):
21 November
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England vs Iran, 8 a.m.
USA vs Wales, 2 p.m.
November 25
Wales v Iran, 5 a.m.
England vs USA, 2 p.m.
November 29
Wales v England, 2 p.m.
Iran vs. United States, 2 p.m.
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