The USMNT will have a group full of grudge matches after drawing England and Iran at the 2022 World Cup
Barnaby Lane
- The USMNT has been drawn in Group B against England and Iran for the Qatar World Cup.
- Jason Kreis' side will also face one of Scotland, Wales, or Ukraine.
The United States clinched its place at the 2022 Qatar World Cup on the final match day of CONCACAF qualifying on Thursday, bringing to an end an eight year wait to once again play in world soccer's biggest tournament.
Despite losing 2-0 to Costa Rica, Jason Kreis' side's superior goal difference was enough to see it secure the third and final automatic qualification spot behind Mexico and Canada.
"I'm extremely proud of this group," said star forward Christian Pulisic after the result. "It's a bit of a weird feeling right now because I hate to lose so much. But I'm really proud and I can't wait to go to the World Cup.
"It's definitely been a rollercoaster."
The US made it to the last-16 at both South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014, however having been drawn in a group against England, Iran, and one of either Ukraine, Scotland, or Wales for this year's tournament, Kreis' men will have their work cut out if they want to do the same again.
Here's the run down on the US' confirmed and potential Group B opponents.
England
World ranking: Fifth
Best World Cup finish: Winner
The US and England met in the group stages of the 2010 World Cup, seeing out a 1-1 draw in no-small part thanks to an awful error from England goalkeeper Robert Green.
The Three Lions have vastly improved since then, however, having made the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the final of Euro 2020, which was ultimately won by Italy.
Gareth Southgate's side is among the favorites to win the whole tournament this time around, and will be even more heavily favored after securing a relatively easy draw.
Adding even greater spice to the USMNT's game against England is its timing. The game will take place the day after Thanksgiving on November 25.
Star player: Harry Kane finished as the top scorer at Russia 2018 with six goals.
Iran
World ranking: 21st
Best World Cup finish: Group stages
Though Iran has never made it out of its group at the World Cup, the team showed signs of improvement in Russia by winning its first ever game in World Cup history, beating Morocco 1-0 in 2018.
The squad of 2018 has remained largely unchanged since and manager Dragan Skočić will be hoping the cohesion that comes with those extra years of playing together will be enough to see his side into the knockout rounds for the first ever time in Qatar.
Star player: Striker Mehdi Taremi has scored 41 times over the last two seasons for FC Porto and scored 14 in his last 22 games for Iran.
Wales, Scotland, or Ukraine
World ranking: 18th (Wales), 39th (Scotland), 27th (Ukraine)
Best World Cup finish: Quarterfinals (Wales); Group stages (Scotland); Fourth place (Ukraine)
Wales has already secured its place in the final play-off final of UEFA qualifying, where it will face the winner of Scotland versus Ukraine.
We will have to wait until June, or perhaps even later, to see who Wales will play, however, with the tie having been postponed due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The US will be hoping Scotland, the lowest ranked of the three, can make it through. That doesn't mean, however, that Steve Clarke's side is by any means a pushover. The Scots are on a run of eight matches undefeated in all competitions and will fancy their chances, especially against rivals England, if they can qualify for Qatar.
You can see the full draw for the 2022 World Cup group stage below.
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