USMNT in Group B for the FIFA'...

USMNT will face England, Iran and European playoff winner in Group B and getting out of the group is only one of the goals the U.S. men have for the World Cup in Qatar.

A World Cup game against England, a team with as rich a history as any in the game and a team most fans know as well as their own, is an opportunity for the Americans to show the progress they’ve made. Play well against England, and it can open eyes and opportunities for this group of players and the ones who will come after them.

“That’s the goal Gregg (Berhalter) set out to accomplish when he took over” as coach, midfielder Weston McKennie said after Friday’s draw. “That’s something that’s always reiterated when we go into camp, to change the way the world views American soccer. No better place and no better time to be able to do that.

“We definitely have the desire to go out there and show we’re not afraid. We don’t belittle ourselves just because we’re playing against England.”

Drawn into Group B on Friday, the Americans also will play Iran and either Scotland, Ukraine or Wales in the World Cup later this year. They won’t know their first opponent until after the playoff in June, but their first game will be Nov. 21, which is also the first day of the World Cup.

The U.S. then plays England on Nov. 25, the day after Thanksgiving. The USMNT concludes group play against Iran on Nov. 29.

While all three group games are important, it’s no surprise the England game immediately drew the most attention.

England is currently No. 5 in the world. It was the runner-up at the last European championship, in 2020. Two years earlier, it reached the semifinals at the World Cup in Russia.

England’s Premier League, and those who play in it, are also what even casual American soccer fans know best. Premier League games are as accessible in the United States as NFL games, making players such as Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish as familiar as Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Gio Reyna.

For a U.S. squad that is loaded with talent but still inexperienced on the world stage, England will provide a good measuring stick.

“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,” midfielder Tyler Adams said. “We’re not just there to show up. We want to have an impact, obviously on ourselves and our team, but ultimately on how (U.S.) soccer is viewed.

“You want to gain the respect of some of the best footballing nations in the world.”

That isn’t a cliché, by the way. Despite much of the U.S. team playing in Europe, including several at some of the biggest clubs, American soccer is still considered by many around the world as a development project. The headline in the Daily Mail after the draw said England had gotten a “dream World Cup draw,” and looked ahead to a possible matchup with France.

In the quarterfinals.

This even though the USMNT won the group in 2010, the last time it faced England in the World Cup. The only other World Cup game between the teams was in 1950, when the Americans won 1-0, an upset so shocking some newspapers assumed the scoreline was wrong.

“I know there is a lot of respect for American soccer, but this is an opportunity for us to show what we’re made of,” Berhalter said. “They have a good team, but so do we.”

Because the World Cup is being played in November and December, in the middle of the European soccer season, players are only being released from the clubs a week before the tournament. That means teams in the first groups, including the USMNT, will have little time together before their first match.

If someone is injured or even worn down, there won’t be any time to get healthy or regroup. It also could affect team chemistry, though the U.S. players have talked often – and positively – about the tight bonds they’ve developed over the past few years.

The short time to prepare for the first game puts even more importance on the international windows in June and September, and Berhalter said he’s already told his players they’ll need to be available for both of those camps.

“We’ll never have enough time on the field, which is shame. But that is what it is,” Berhalter said. “We’re going to have to be really effective in these weeks in June and then when we get together in September. Because when we get to Qatar, it’s basically prep for a game and go from there.”

The one advantage to playing on the first day is that, should the USMNT get out of the group, they would have three or four days of rest before the knockout rounds. The round of 16 begins Dec. 3 with the quarterfinals starting Dec. 9. The semifinals are Dec. 13 and 14.

The final is Dec. 18.

The USMNT has only faced Iran twice, including a 2-1 loss at the 1998 World Cup that had significant political overtones. Relations between the two countries have been strained, at best, because of U.S. support for the last shah and its backing of Iraq in the Iran-Iraq War, as well as Iran’s takeover of the U.S. Embassy during the revolution and the 14-month hostage crisis that followed.

The handshakes before the game in France had to be choreographed, and Iran’s players gave U.S. players white roses as a symbol of peace. The victory was Iran’s first ever at the World Cup.

“I’m not sure the tension is what it (was). If we were friends back in ’98, 24 years later, I don’t see it any differently,” Berhalter said. “I don’t see them as rivals, I see them as colleagues and two teams competing for the World Cup and trying to do well for their countries in the World Cup.”

No matter if it is Scotland, Wales or Ukraine that advances out of the European playoff, it will be the USMNT’s first World Cup game against them. The U.S. men are 2-3-3 all-time against Scotland, their last game a 0-0 tie in 2013. They have played Wales only twice, winning once and playing to a 0-0 tie in 2020. They have not beaten Ukraine in their previous four games, losing three and tying once.

“Overall, it’s going to be a strong group,” Berhalter said. “It’s going to be a well-rounded group, and it’s going to be difficult to advance.”

Here's the full draw:

Source USATODAY