SAN DIEGO — It's Group B, as in blurry.
The 2022 World Cup draw, held Friday in a lush auditorium in Doha, Qatar, is supposed to crystallize a national team's path in the planet's most popular sporting event. Teams are separated into groups of four. You learn the order of your opponents, dates, times, venues.
And in many ways, the United States has more clarity. It drew England, Iran and whoever prevails for the remaining European qualifying spot between Scotland, Ukraine and Wales.
"I believe it will be an exciting group," said U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter, himself a member of two World Cup rosters. "I believe it will come down to the last game to see who gets in, and hopefully we'll be right there."
Group B, as in blissful.
As in, better than the alternative.
CONCACAF brethren Mexico is in Group C and opens the tournament against Poland (gulp), then Argentina (double gulp). Costa Rica, if it survives a June playoff against New Zealand, is in Group E with Spain, Germany and Japan. Canada opens against No. 2-ranked Belgium, then gets 2018 runner-up Croatia.
The United States drew England, a team that — this is actually true — has never defeated the U.S. in a World Cup. The Yanks won 1-0 in 1950 in what is widely considered the greatest upset in tournament history, and tied 1-1 in 2010 in South Africa.
And there's huge motivational value, the chip on the shoulder factor, facing the Motherland with players you watch every weekend in the Premier League.
And you play them at 11 a.m. PST on Nov. 25, Black Friday, when most Americans are just emerging from their Thanksgiving food comas, looking for something to do that doesn't involve leaving their couch, likely making it the most watched men's soccer game in U.S. history.
"For sure, this is an opportunity to show what we're made of," Berhalter said from Doha on Friday. "They have a good team, but so do we. We have a young team that doesn't have a lot of fear."
The two other members of Group B are Iran, among the weakest teams in the tournament, and the playoff survivor that, on paper at least, would be the weakest entry from Europe.
Another plus: The knockout stage crossover is against Group A, which contains Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal and the Netherlands — hardly daunting. Qatar, Ecuador and the Netherlands failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, and Senegal failed to advance past the group stage.
The Brits seemed pleased with the proceedings. "Yanks a lot!" said the headline in The Sun, which called it a "dream draw."
Group B, as in beautiful.
Group B, as in but.
The soccer luminary pulling plastic balls out of bowls and unscrewing them to reveal what would ultimately become the final member of Group B was the ageless Bora Milutinovic, who has coached a record five different nations in the World Cup (the United States and Mexico among them). The soccer sage is fond of saying that sometimes more important than who you play is when you play them.
It took five balls to fill the final slot in Group B and determine the opening U.S. opponent, the first four nixed by FIFA's geographic constraints that non-European teams from the same region don't play in the first round. Finally, he unscrewed a plastic ball with the European playoff winner — Wales against either Scotland or Ukraine once they make up their postponed match in Glasgow.
So, no matter what happens, the Nov. 21 opener is against a European team. And the second game is against a European team.
The U.S. World Cup record against European opponents since 1990: 1-12-4.
The lone win was 3-2 against Portugal in the 2002 opener in South Korea, compliments of a Landon Donovan cross that deflected off the shoulder of a defender and somehow curled into the net. One of the ties came against Italy after a Daniele De Rossi red card in the 28th minute. Another was against Slovenia, population 2 million, after trailing 2-0. The 1-1 draw against England in 2010 came on an absolute howler, as the Brits call it, by goalkeeper Robert Green that tabloid headlines dubbed the "Hand of Clod."
"Traditionally, European teams are very strong," Berhalter said, suddenly realizing he's facing two of them. "That's just how it is, right? When you play them in a World Cup, that means they got through European qualifying, which means they're very good teams. I can see a lot of teams struggling with that. I wouldn't read too much into that."
He paused to consider the stat. (Mexico is 5-5-5 over the same period, by comparison.)
"But if that's the case, that's a great challenge for our guys, that's a great opportunity," he continued. "There's always opportunities to do something that teams haven't done."
The bigger issue is the order. It seems nice to play Iran last, to know a possible three points await, to have that safety net. But that's if you're still mathematically alive by then.
Losing your opener is statistical death in a World Cup. Over the past four tournaments, 46 teams did and only four advanced to the second round. Fail to crack the European enigma against Scotland/Ukraine/Wales, and now you're facing England in an almost must-win situation because Scotland/Ukraine/Wales is playing Iran next with a chance to clinch passage.
Scotland would seem the least formidable of the three. Wales is no picnic, tying Belgium 1-1 in World Cup qualifying last November and advancing out of group play at the last two European Championships (including a semifinal appearance in 2016).
Ukraine might be even harder, less for technical than sentimental reasons, a roster playing for something far greater than a soccer trophy, a planet pulling for them.
Admitted Berhalter: "If the people from Ukraine can get some hope by their team playing in the World Cup, it's amazing. … We're all pulling for Ukraine, we're all behind them, we're all supporting them."
Careful what you wish for.
Group B, as in bumpy.
This is a young U.S. men's national team program in transition, exorcising the ghosts of 2018, reshaping its identity with players who bolted for the crucible of European football as teens instead of the security of Major League Soccer. They qualified for the World Cup, yes. But they weren't always impressive, finishing in a tie for third in a backwater region and needing goal differential to avoid a last-chance playoff against New Zealand.
The defense can be leaky. Their top two goalkeepers will be on English teams where they'll rarely play. Their rising stars are injury prone — Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna, Sergino Dest, Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams have yet to be on the field together. They were the only CONCACAF team in qualifying not to create a shot on the break, and their set piece production — so vital amid cautious World Cup tactics — is mediocre.
Big picture: This is a young team building for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, and anything that happens in Qatar is gravy.
It also, as Berhalter noted, doesn't have a lot of fear. Or perhaps patience.
"Qualifying for the World Cup was a task that we needed to accomplish, and we checked that off," Adams said after the draw. "Now we want to change how everyone looks at us as players and as a nation, and ultimately gain the respect of fans around the world, let alone our own fans. It's going to be important that we have this mindset going into this tournament, that we have really good performances, that we're not just there to show up."
Squint your eyes, and the glistening promise and potential of 2026 starts to come into view. Look at November 2022, and it's still blurry.
