2022 World Cup draw – USA meets England; Mexico vs Argentina’s Lionel Messi

The United States was drawn in Group B with England, Iran and the winners of the last remaining playoff in Europe for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, while Mexico will face Lionel Messi’s Argentina.

The final team in the USMNT group will be decided in June, as Scotland or Ukraine will face Wales for Europe’s final place at the World Cup.

– World Cup 2022 final round and schedule
– Daily ESPN FC live stream on ESPN+ (US only)
– No ESPN? Instant access

Mexico has been drawn in Group C and will face Argentina, Poland and Saudi Arabia, while Canada will face Belgium, Morocco and Croatia in Group F.

The USMNT will play the tournament opener against the winner of the European playoffs on November 21, before facing England on November 25 and Iran on November 29.

If the US qualify, then the winner or runner-up of Group A (Qatar, Senegal, Ecuador and the Netherlands) will advance to the round of 16.

Gregg Berhalter’s side secured one of three spots in the CONCACAF’s automatic qualifiers on Wednesday despite a 0-2 loss to Costa Rica.

The 48-year-old coach will be in charge of his first World Cup as the boss of the US team. He was hired in December 2018, just over 12 months after the country failed to qualify for the World Cup in Russia.

“We think it’s a good group – we know every opponent in the World Cup is tough, but with England you’ll have an interesting game, with Iran it’s a diverse opponent and they have do well in qualifying, and then we’ll have to wait and see who the third opponent is,” Berhalter told the BBC.

“Overall very pleased with the team and happy to get started.”

The US and UK have a history at World Cups and will meet again on Black Friday. In 1950, the US caused one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history when they beat England 1-0 thanks to a goal from Joe Gaetjens. The pair met again at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, playing in a 1-1 draw when Clint Dempsey equalized for the US after Steven Gerrard’s opening goal.

The US and Iran have faced each other once before, at the 1998 World Cup, with Iran’s memorable 2-1 victory, effectively knocking the US out of the tournament.

Asked about England manager Gareth Southgate, Berhalter said: “We go back, and he’s a guy that I admire and is always there for me – always giving me advice.

“When I first took over as national team coach, I considered him a mentor and had great respect for what he was doing. I was looking forward to playing against England. I was contacted him when I got the job and was asked if he would like to tell me more about international football, and as Gareth’s guy he is happy to have those conversations and We’ve kept in touch.”

Mexico will start the tournament against Poland on November 22, before playing against Argentina on November 26 and Saudi Arabia on November 30.

Weeks of speculation about the future of Mexico head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino ended on Friday when the country’s soccer federation announced he would stay at the helm until at least the World Cup.

“There are no easy groups in a World Cup,” said Mexican Football Federation President Yon de Luisa. “It’s a great opportunity to show all the passion of our players and amazing fans.”

A lackluster streak of results for Mexico and problems with Martino’s vision cast doubt on the boss’s position, but Mexico ended up finishing second in World Cup qualifying, taking a spot in Qatar.

Mexico and Argentina have had some memorable encounters, including a round of 16 tie at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups. Argentina dominated both matches, winning 2-1 in extra time in 2006 and 3-1 then 4 years.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said: “We had a group with difficult opponents. We know Mexico, a good opponent with good players. I think we can have a good group stage. , but we [have] maximum respect for our opponents. “

Canada begins the tournament with Belgium on November 23, before facing 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia on November 27 and Morocco on December 1.

Canada, the top team in the CONCACAF qualifiers, last appeared at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, where they lost all three games and failed to score a goal.

Cristiano Ronaldo will open the 5th World Cup in a row with a match against Ghana. Portugal is the top team in Group H, which includes Uruguay and South Korea.

Hosts Qatar will have their World Cup opener against Ecuador on November 21. The Netherlands, a three-time World Cup runner-up, and Senegal, the new African champions, complete Group A.

Defending champions France will face Denmark, Tunisia and the winner of the intercontinental playoff between Peru and Australia vs United Arab Emirates in Group D.

2010 champions Spain will face 2014 champions Germany in a tough Group E with Japan and the winner of the playoff between Costa Rica and New Zealand in June.

“It looks like a tough draw, but it could get easier as the league goes on,” Spain coach Luis Enrique said from Qatar. “There could be surprises. You don’t know how the national teams are going to arrive that month. We need to enjoy that and be optimistic.”

Brazil, Switzerland and Serbia quickly reunited after all in the same group in 2018. Brazil will open with Serbia, which they beat 2-0 four years ago. Cameroon is the last member of Group G.

“My first reaction was, ‘Well, it won’t be new,'” Brazil coach Tite said of sharing a group with two teams from previous World Cups. “If you look at World Cup qualifiers, that Serbia and Switzerland played against, Portugal and Italy, it was a high level match.”

The tournament will take place from November 21 to December 18, the first time the premier football tournament has been held in the Middle East.

GROUP A: Qatar (51), Ecuador (46), Senegal (20), Netherlands (10)
GROUP B: UK (5), IR Iran (21), USA (15), Win playoff
GROUP C: Argentina (4), Saudi Arabia (49), Mexico (9), Poland (26)
GROUP D: France (3), Playoff Champion, Denmark (11), Tunisia (35)
GROUP E: Spain (7), Playoff Win, Germany (12), Japan (23)
GROUP F: Belgium (2), Canada (38), Morocco (24), Croatia (16)
GROUP G: Brazil (1), Serbia (25), Switzerland (14), Cameroon (37)
GROUP H: Portugal (8), Ghana (60), Uruguay (13), South Korea (29)