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.
