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The United States Men’s National Team has arguably the youngest and brightest golden generation in its history. They failed to qualify for the World Cup four years ago, but this USMNT team has drastically improved since then. Their squad is stacked with talent with Christian Pulisic contributing 21 goals and 10 assists over his 50 caps and up-and-coming youngster Gio Reyna providing the creative spark in midfield in the early stages of his international career. There are also the talents of Timothy Weah to consider and Weston Mckinnie is showing a lot of promise too. Not only did they find the net 21 times during qualifying but after falling just short in the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup, they went on to win both the 2021 Gold Cup and the inaugural CONCACAF Nations League last year. The team is going from strength to strength with plenty of American talent plying their craft in European competition and Major League Soccer continuing to grow and expand, further benefiting the national team. There is a surge of optimism surging through American soccer right now and Gregg Berhalter’s side will be looking to ride the wave of momentum deep into this year’s World Cup. Some tough Group B matchups lie ahead of them but with a favourable draw for the knockout stage, if the USMNT can manage an upset or two, they will be in great shape to clinch their first quarter-final spot for over 90 years and past that anything is possible.
Ever since the draw for the World Cup was made back in April, there have been two schools of thought when it comes to the USMNT’s chances in Qatar. On one hand, it seems more than manageable, especially when compared to the task they had in 2014 with Germany, Portugal and Ghana all in their group. On the other hand, perhaps there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to Group B. First up is Wales, and despite recent successes with a squad bolstered by the presence of the talismanic Gareth Bale, they are set to be an unpredictable package in Qatar. Bale’s form for his new side LAFC has been excellent and there’s no doubting he adds another level to his game in the red shirt of Wales. The 2016 Euros come to mind, where Wales reached the semifinals and his showings performances against Austria and Ukraine helped them reach their first World Cup since 1958. But that’s precisely the point, it’s their first World Cup in 64 years; none of that squad has ever experienced the pressures of the World’s greatest sporting spectacle before while the USMNT by comparison head to their ninth World Cup since 1990. Berhalter’s side are also young and inexperienced when it comes to World Cups as a result of the failure to qualify for Russia in 2018 but there is a history to draw on and experience in the coaching staff that will help them along the way, no such assistance will be offered to their counterparts. Wales are likely to be the United States’ closest opposition for the second spot in Group B and while the Stars and Stripes are slight favourites heading into the clash on November 21, their opening match in Qatar could ultimately be a tournament-defining contest for the USMNT.
Next up is England, one of the favourites for the tournament, and to be brutally honest the USMNT will have their hands full with Gareth Southgate’s side. England have one of the best squads at this tournament with the likes of Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, the list goes on. Semifinalists at the last World Cup and runners-up at last year’s Euros, they’re a safe bet to reach at least the quarterfinals. Southgate has transformed the Three Lions from a side that were a national embarrassment against Iceland in 2016 to one of the best in the World and one that should comfortably top Group B. While this England team has suffered a few bumps in the road as of late losing twice to Hungary in a span of 10 days, even the most optimistic of USMNT fans would have to admit that the chances of finishing top of the group are slim. As for their final opponents in the group stage Iran, Berhalter’s side needs to target this game. For one, it should be a winnable game but more importantly, being the last match means it will almost inevitably determine what route if any the USMNT take into the knockout stages. Iran beat the US in their last World Cup encounter in 1998 but times have changed since then. The United States have the ascendancy in the rankings and in their squad even with Iran guaranteeing qualification from Asia as early as January this year. They performed better than any other side in Asia’s qualification tournament and gave Spain and Portugal all it could handle in Russia in 2018, narrowly missing out on the knockout stage but even so the USMNT have what it takes to get the crucial three points in this closing encounter. The USMNT are currently second favourites to win the group at +100 and it’s important to keep that context when considering that fans wagering on soccer for the first time at a major tournament will be subject to lots of betting bonuses marketed heavily during the tournament. All things considered though, this may not be a true group of death that the USMNT could have had, but it will require the team’s best to navigate it through to the last 16.
Should the United States qualify they will take on the winner from Group A, which includes the Netherlands, Senegal, Ecuador, and Qatar. However, the challenge of moving on to the quarterfinals will not be an easy one. Group A favourites the Netherlands, led by Frenkie de Jong, Memphis Depay, Georginio Wijnaldum, and Virgil van Dijk, will look to break their World Cup duck. Meanwhile, Senegal is an exciting prospect with some notable star power, including African Footballer of the Year, Sadio Mane, as well as Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Idrissa Gana Gueye. Simply put, it’s not going to be easy for the States this year but they have not had as good an opportunity to reach the last eight of the World Cup for the best part of three decades. If the USMNT’s young guns can start strong then there is a great chance they can make it to the quarterfinals and from there Stars and Stripes fans can dare to dream.
