USMNT in Group B with England, Iran for 2022 World Cup
The United States Men's National Team avoided a so-called "group of death" in the 2022 FIFA World Cup draw on Friday.
Per ESPN, the U.S. were matched with England, Iran and a to-be-determined European team for Group B of the World Cup. As noted by the BBC, it's believed Scotland will face Ukraine in June, and the winner of that matchup will play against Wales to determine the group's final country. Ukraine's status for any upcoming fixtures is understandably up in the air due to the Russian invasion.
The Americans and Three Lions played to a 1-1 draw during the group stages of the 2010 World Cup, and the U.S. defeated England 1-0 the only other time those nations met on world football's biggest stage all the way back in 1950.
According to a separate ESPN piece, the U.S. will first play against the European playoff winner on Monday, Nov. 21. From there, the Americans will face England on Friday, Nov. 25, and then will take on Iran on Tuesday, Nov. 29. Kickoff times for those matches haven't yet been announced.
While the U.S. failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and haven't played in the tournament since 2014, the current FIFA rankings suggest they should be favorites to at least survive through the start of the upcoming competition's knockout stages. England, World Cup semifinalists in 2018 and finalists in last summer's UEFA European Championship, are ranked No. 5. The U.S. are No. 15, Wales are No. 18, Iran are No. 21, Ukraine are No. 27 and Scotland are No. 39.
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