The US men’s national team learned their World Cup 2022 draw fate on Friday afternoon, placing in Group B alongside England, Iran and Wales, the eventual winner of Europe's Path A playoff.
Here’s the breakdown of what awaits head coach Gregg Berhalter's team in Qatar come November and December.
When they’ll play
- Nov. 21 vs. Wales - 2 PM ET/11 AM PT
- Nov. 25 vs. England - 2 PM ET/11 AM PT
- Nov. 29 vs. Iran - 2 PM ET/11 AM PT
- 2022 World Cup Schedule
- 2022 World Cup times in USA and Canada
Who they drew
England
From Pot 1, the USMNT will reprise their 2010 World Cup showing with The Three Lions, when they battled to a 1-1 draw that included goalkeeper Robert Green's infamous gaffe on a Clint Dempsey goal just before halftime.
- FIFA World Ranking: 5
- How they got here: UEFA Group I winner
- World Cup history: 15 previous appearances; won in 1966
- Key players: Harry Kane (F, Tottenham); Phil Foden (F, Manchester City); Trent Alexander-Arnold (D, Liverpool)
- Coach: Gareth Southgate
Iran
The USMNT met Iran at the 1998 World Cup, falling 2-1 despite a late goal from Brian McBride. That was the second match of the Yanks' three-and-out performance under former coach Steve Sampson.
- FIFA World Ranking: 21
- How they got here: AFC Third Round Group A winner
- World Cup history: 5 previous appearances (all group stage)
- Key players: Sardar Azmoun (F, Bayer Leverkusen); Mehdi Taremi (F, Porto); Alireza Jahanbakhsh (F, Feyenoord)
- Coach: Dragan Skočić
Wales
The USMNT's third opponent was determined June 5 when Wales overcame Ukraine to become the Europe Path A playoff winner. The second semifinal was delayed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
- FIFA World Ranking: 18
- How they got here: Winner of Europe's Path A playoff
- World Cup history: 1 previous appearance (1958 quarterfinals)
- Key players: Gareth Bale (F, free agent), Aaron Ramsey (M, Rangers), Ben Davies (D, Tottenham), Wayne Hennessey (GK, Burnley)
- Coach: Rob Page
USMNT’s path to Qatar 2022
The USMNT placed third in the Concacaf Octagonal standings, marking their World Cup return after missing out on Russia 2018. They were tied with Costa Rica on 25 points but had a goal differential advantage (+11 to +5), joining Canada and Mexico as the region’s guaranteed representatives.
Throughout the 14-game slate, Berhalter’s starting lineups averaged 23 years and 302 days, which is the youngest in team history for a qualifying cycle. Left back Antonee Robinson and defensive midfielder Tyler Adams led the way minutes-wise, while stars like attacker Christian Pulisic, midfielder Weston McKennie and right back Sergino Dest had varying degrees of availability due to injuries, suspensions and more.
But the job is done and now a seven-month sprint awaits as a new generation of players across Europe, MLS and elsewhere look to make a statement to the world.
World Cup schedule
Rather than being held in the summer, the quadrennial event is being held during November and December. Qatar 2022 will be contested at eight stadiums across five cities.
The schedule breakdown is below:
- Group stage: Nov. 21 to Dec. 2
- Round of 16: Dec. 3-6
- Quarterfinals: Dec. 9-10
- Semifinals: Dec. 13-14
- Third place: Dec. 17
- Final: Dec. 18
