More than two months after the 2022 World Cup draw took place in Qatar, the U.S. men’s national team finally has its complete set of marching orders for the group stage in November.
Wales’s 1-0 win over Ukraine in their UEFA World Cup qualifying playoff final Sunday means that Gregg Berhalter’s side will open group play on Nov. 21, the first day of the competition, against the Dragons, before facing England on Nov. 25—Black Friday in the U.S.—and then Iran on Nov. 29 to round out the action in Group B.
When the draw was conducted, the U.S. had been grouped with the UEFA playoff placeholder, with the bracket that contained Ukraine having one of its semifinals and the final postponed to June on account of Russia’s invasion of the country. Russia, which had been in a separate playoff bracket, was disqualified and eliminated from contention altogether, while Ukraine’s semifinal vs. Scotland was put on hold until June 1. Ukraine impressively beat the Scots, 3–1, in Glasgow, setting up Sunday’s playoff final in Cardiff. Wales had beaten Austria in a regularly scheduled semifinal in late March before qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1958 on Sunday, ending Ukraine’s gallant effort, given everything currently transpiring at home.
Not only was the U.S. grouped with that open-ended playoff winner, but it was drawn to face that team in its first match, leaving a pretty key element of its World Cup preparation hanging in the balance for a couple of months. The first match is the tone-setter—though not the end-all; Spain lost its first match in 2010 and then won the whole thing, for instance—and for the U.S. has traditionally been an indicator of its success or failure on the World Cup stage. In the four modern World Cups (1990 and later) where the U.S. has won or tied its opener, it has advanced to the knockout stage. In the three that it lost the first match, it didn’t get out of the group.
The level of heightened urgency vs. England in the middle game will certainly depend on how the U.S. fares vs. Wales, and now Berhalter and his staff can get to work full throttle to prepare for that first game, even if it isn’t for another five and a half months.
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“Despite Ukraine falling to Wales, U.S. Soccer has been inspired by the spirit and bravery of their national team,” U.S. Soccer wrote in a statement of tribute toward the Ukraine team. “During this horrendous assault against their country, the Ukrainian players provided much needed hope and belief to all of their countrymen and women at home. We are inspired by all of the people of Ukraine and once again provide our unwavering support for our friends within the Ukrainian Association of Football and all people of Ukraine. We stand with you in the pursuit of a proper and peaceful resolution. U.S. Soccer congratulates Wales on its victory tonight to qualify for the FIFA World Cup and are honored that you will be our opponent as we open the tournament on November 21.”
The Americans have scant history against their opening opponent. They have played the Dragons in a pair of friendlies, going 1-0-1. The win, a 2–0 result in 2003, came at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, Calif., with the goals scored by Landon Donovan and Eddie Lewis. More recently—and considerably more relevant to this team—the two sides played to a scoreless draw behind closed doors at Swansea City’s Liberty Stadium in Nov. 2020 in the first international window after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Gareth Bale was among those who missed the match.
After defeating Qatar-bound Morocco 3–0 on Wednesday night, the U.S. has five more matches spread across two camps to prepare for the World Cup, beginning Sunday evening at Sporting Kansas City’s Children’s Mercy Park against 13th-ranked Uruguay. From there, it’s a pair of Concacaf Nations League games vs. Grenada at Austin FC’s Q2 Stadium (June 10) and at El Salvador (June 14) before a camp in late September that is expected to take place in Europe and feature two matches against opponents that have yet to be determined.
In the meantime, here is the full World Cup Group B schedule, now that the quartet has been completed (all times Eastern):
Nov. 21
England vs. Iran, 8 a.m.
U.S. vs. Wales, 2 p.m.
Nov. 25
Wales vs. Iran, 5 a.m.
England vs. U.S., 2 p.m.
Nov. 29
Wales vs. England, 2 p.m.
Iran vs. U.S., 2 p.m.
