USA was drawn into Group B as they will have to face off against Wales, England, and Iran. The task will be tough as the US will look to get out of the group and advance to the knockout rounds. When the draw came complete, many thought that the USMNT were a lock to get out of the group stage, but are they a lock? One big problem USA had during this World Cup cycle was not playing well on the road as they were great at home. With this being on foreign soil, that concern might play a factor. Let’s take a look at each nation they will have to face.
England
The English are a very strong side. They went unbeaten in qualification and they scored an immense amount of goals. The English have probably the most formidable attack in all of the tournament, so to say that USA’s defense is going to have their hands full is a bit of an understatement. They are led by stars such as Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Jude Bellingham, and John Stones complimented by younger players like Phil Foden. Kane is a goal scoring machine and is poised to break Wayne Rooney’s national team record very soon, but the English attack will try to feed him as much as possible and that is going to be a problem for the USMNT defense. However, that doesn’t mean Kane is their only attacking option, in fact far from it, as there are a plethora of other options like Mason Mount, Jadon Sancho, James Maddison, Jack Grealish, Bukayo Saka, and Marcus Rashford. It’s very imposing to say the least. Jordan Pickford is their goalkeeper and a very good one, however, he is known to make errors from time to time. If for whatever Pickford struggles, then a very capable and strong player in Aaron Ramsdale could take over at net.
While it seems like the US has no chance at winning, England definitely has some vulnerabilities. The backline is shaky and if the USMNT get an opportunity, then the English will have problems. One of the biggest liabilities on the backline is Harry Maguire who keeps getting selected for whatever reason. One of the biggest things that could work to USA’s advantage is that England doesn’t hold the ball well, so in a game that will come down to possession, the English might not be able to keep up. While the midfield have the ability to score, the USMNT seemingly match their quality.
While nothing is a given, the US actually matches very well against England and could pull off the victory. Of all the sides the USMNT face in their group, this one might be the hardest to predict. Gareth Southgate tends to play a frustrating type of game and many English fans have voiced their displeasure over his style. It could backfire on him and the US snatch three points.
Wales
This is the first World Cup for Wales since 1958, so it’s been a while. The Welsh will be playing with a lot of pride and will be very tough. During qualification, they won four of eight and lost only once. So to say they’ll be tough to beat is an understatement. But that doesn’t mean the US will lose to them. Wales boasts a great talent in Gareth Bale, but past that it’s mostly role players and no other outstanding individuals. Other notable names on the squad are Dan James, Aaron Ramsey, Ethan Ampadu, and Kieffer Moore. The goalkeeper is Wayne Hennessey, who is a solid keeper, but isn’t outstanding and plays behind Dean Henderson at Nottingham Forest. Wales plays with a collective team spirit and they continually counter-attack. While they will not possess the ball very much, Wales certainly will keep their opposition on their toes.
There is one big problem for Wales, they don’t have much depth. Outside of the players mentioned and an injured Joe Allen, the Welsh don’t have many options. And as the match continues on, the worse it will get for them as they have to score early otherwise it will be difficult for them to keep up with the likes of England or the US. Opposing sides will also isolate Bale as they know that’s Wales' best scoring option. It also doesn’t help that Bale isn’t quite the same attacking quality player he once was as he is 33.
Wales is going to play the US tough, but the question is will they have enough to beat them. Early in the match will be the best chance for the Welsh as their counter attacking has to take advantage, however, as time goes on and they haven’t scored, it will be hard for them to keep up. The US will need to at least draw here if they want a chance of advancing.
Iran
It’s debatable whether this is the weakest side, but Iran isn’t going to be easy to face. Led by a quality manager Carlos Quieroz, Iran will battle each nation in this group to the very end. The question will be if they have enough talent to keep up with those other squads. Iran had a strong showing in AFC qualifying by winning 14 of their 18 matches including 8 of 10 in the final round. Iran focuses mainly on their defense and the midfield’s ability to feed the forwards. Their defense is so good that they had 10 clean sheets in 16 games. Iran’s defense is going to be a problem for the other nations especially for Wales who relies on counter attacking. While they lack much star power, Iran does boast a talented player in Mehdi Taremi as he is a goal scoring machine for FC Porto.
Problem with their defense first approach is that it limits their attack and that can only go so far. It will make things very hard for Iran to earn three points in a match especially in a group that boasts some talented players especially on England and the US. Yes, it can help them earn a point in each contest, but they better hope for the other sides to not score many goals and for them to draw in their other matches at the very best because otherwise it will be difficult to see them advance. Iran also has had lapses in their judgment which makes their strong defense look seemingly easy to break through.
While Iran’s defense will make it very difficult for the US, it doesn’t mean the Americans have no opportunities to break through and score. The US has more attacking options than Iran does and defenses can only hold so many skilled players at bay that one will slip through and take advantage. While this might seem like a difficult match, this should be one USA can earn three points from.
Previewing USA at World Cup
After missing out on 2018, the US is back in the World Cup looking to make it deep in the tournament. Yes, the US came to the tournament to win it all, but realistically it will be hard as it should be for every nation. However, the Americans have every opportunity to leave a mark and show some sort of progress before hosting the World Cup in 2026. That being said, this undoubtedly is the most talented roster that the US has ever produced and it will be exciting to see what they do in the tournament. The US lacks experience and are one of the youngest sides at the World Cup, but that shouldn’t deter them in this tournament as they have plenty of talent to get the job done. That young core should be able to stay together for at least a couple more World Cups and that’s exciting enough. The USMNT also has the talent that could match well against any side in this tournament and are a dark horse to win it. Sounds crazy, but it’s possible (though there have to be several factors for that to realistically happen). Even Gregg Berhalter said it best when asked if the US can win the World Cup: "What I do believe is that on our best day we can beat anyone in the world. Anyone." Yes, it sounds crazy and Berhalter has been frustrating to numerous pundits and fans with his coaching, but he has a good point. While he is not predicting them to win, he is suggesting how well they match up against other nations. That being said, let's preview their squad for the 2022 version of the World Cup.
Goalkeeping
Zack Steffen looked to be the guy for the longest time, but in a somewhat surprising fashion, Steffen was not selected. So who is going to be “the guy”? That will likely be Matt Turner. Turner has been impressive for the US over the last year and a half and has undoubtedly earned that nod. He will be backed up by Ethan Horvath, who has been in great form, and by Sean Johnson. While goalkeeping had been a notable strength for the Americans over the years with such great netminders as Brad Friedel and Tim Howard, that hasn’t been the case since as the keepers don’t possess the same type of star power. However, that doesn’t mean it’s a liability as this group is still very good.
Defenders
This part of the squad might be the most intriguing. While they don’t boast any world class backs, it doesn’t mean none of them are quality players. One of the coolest stories is Tim Ream who is making his World Cup debut at 35 years old, but he’s been in spectacular form at Fulham and will be asked to bring the same chemistry and partnership with Antonee Robinson, who also plays at Fulham. There’s also talented players like Sergino Dest and Joe Scally who will also be asked to use their skills in certain attacking situations. While losing Miles Robinson to injury hurts (no pun intended), there’s plenty of solid options here including Walker Zimmerman and Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Midfielders
This is probably the biggest strength of the US as they match up with any nation and go toe-to-toe with them. There are some incredible talents like Brenden Aaronson, Tyler Adams, Weston McKinnie, and Yunus Musah who make up the midfield and honestly from the looks of it, this is a difficult group to keep up with. McKinnie is arguably the best talent on the US squad and Musah has shown that type of quality that made him such a hot commodity when choosing nations, something the English still have a tough time forgetting. Adams and Aaronson can bring their chemistry and partnership over from Leeds United and that could be useful for them to go deep in the tournament.
Forwards
This actually might be the weakest part of the squad as there is no definitive striker on this squad. That being said, that doesn’t mean they don’t have the talent to score goals or aren't good at all. Josh Sargent has been in excellent form at Norwich City and looks to be the best central forward option on the squad. With Gio Reyna and Christian Pulisic on the wings, the forwards still have a lethal attack. Tim Weah is another player too who might get a start over someone and that’s a good problem to have. A surprise inclusion was Haji Wright, but considering his goal production this season, he might be useful when coming off the bench. Their speed and pace will be difficult to defend. Don’t let the first sentence of the paragraph fool you about this group of players.
How will the US do at the World Cup?
So the million dollar question: how will this squad do at this tournament? While they seem like a lock to get out of the group, this article has highlighted why that might be difficult. That being said, they matchup well against all three of the other sides and getting out of the group is most likely. The US even have the ability to win Group B no matter how far-fetched it seems. Expect them to earn at least six points. How far they make it in the knockout stage is for another article if they advance.
Gregg Berhalter
Berhalter is likely to employ a 4-3-3 formation at the World Cup. While it’s not clear who he will start, he has plenty of options to select from. Some of that is a good problem to have, something no US manager has had the luxury of having in games. The depth and skillset on the wings are the biggest strength of his tactics. Berhalter’s tactics are to press the opposition in order to create chances. So far it works, but Berhalter has been accused of not making the necessary adjustments when needed to. It’s been a huge talking point amongst fans and pundits as some even bring up even sacking him. While the USMNT did qualify, they only advanced because of goal differential in CONCACAF play. Heck, look at how things went with the two friendlies between Japan and Saudi Arabia, it was terrible. However, things can change on the biggest stage as he is hell bent on data and analytics (which is a great thing, though whether he uses it properly might be the problem).
That being said, one thing that Berhalter has done in this cycle is identifying players such as Sargent, Musah, Wright, Aaronson, Turner, Scally, and Adams and collecting a core that looks to be a very talented group. Yes, he continues to make questionable personnel decisions as he keeps bringing in “his guys” like Cristian Roldan and Aaron Long, but for the most part the vast majority of his selections are good. Berhalter had to massively overhaul the roster when he took over as the US relied on aging veterans like Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, Graham Zusi, Tim Howard, DaMarcus Beasley and yes, even Jozy Altidore, to qualify for the 2018 World Cup (which obviously failed) and Berhalter kept calling in young talents to develop a strong core during this cycle which obviously qualified this time around. While this might not be the best ever roster the USMNT that is assembled because there will be better players coming in the future, this is the best they have put together yet. That’s saying a lot. While this core has only played together once, the hope is that they continue to play together as much as possible and bring a World Cup title back home in the next couple of cycles. This is likely the USMNT’s golden generation and Berhalter has developed it.
Prediction: Finish either first or second in the group and advance to the knockout stage
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