World Cup Preview | Group B | England poised to ease into last 16

The 2022 World Cup kicks off this Sunday with Qatar and Ecuador getting the tournament underway.

For the first time in history, the FIFA World Cup will take place midseason in relation to Europe’s top five Leagues with 32 teams setting their sights on Qatar.

The nature of timing ensures a number of players will miss out while the Republic Of Ireland also failed to qualify.

But with the World Cup approaching, we’ll be taking a deep dive into the nations beginning earlier with Group A.

Now we look ahead to Group B which contains England, Iran, Wales and USA.

England

Manager – Gareth Southgate

Best WC Finish – Winners (1966)

2018 WC Finish – Semi-Finals

FIFA World Ranking – 5th

Tournament Odds – 8/1

Runners-up in Euro 2020, semi-finalists in the 2018 World Cup – it’s been a tenure of near misses for Gareth Southgate and England.

The nation seem to be enjoying a golden generation of players in recent years, with young prospects such as Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka cementing their places in their respective clubs, with 22-year-old Foden already a four-time Premier League winner with Manchester City.

However, they’ve not been able to achieve success on the biggest stages with this influx of generational players. Southgate’s reputation has been questioned on a number of occasions regarding his lack of experience and whether he has the ability to guide this group of players to any glory of a high calibre.

Notable absentees in the squad include full-back duo Reece James and Ben Chilwell but ready-made replacements are not out of reach with Kieran Trippier and Luke Shaw maintaining decent form ahead of the tournament.

It will be interesting to see how England line-up throughout the tournament, with regulars such as Harry Maguire and Raheem Sterling not pulling up trees domestically and Leicester’s James Maddison knocking on the door of a starting place.

A selection headache will probably be Southgate’s biggest problem of the group stages with the other three teams in B unlikely to pose any threat to the Three Lions.

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Iran

Manager – Carlos Queiroz

Best WC Finish – Group Stage (5 seasons)

2018 WC Finish – Group Stage

FIFA World Ranking – 20th

Tournament Odds – 500/1

Iran will be looking to make their first knockout stages of the World Cup at the sixth time of asking this year. They made their first appearance in the 1978 edition and failed to make it out of their group stage each time they qualified after.

2018 was the closest the side were to booking a spot in the knockout stages of the competition, despite being grouped with Spain, Portugal and Morocco. A final day 1-1 draw against Ronaldo and co. wasn’t enough to earn them a place and they were sent home with a personal best tally of 4 points.

Iran had to endure an 18-match qualification campaign, divided into two groups which dates back to 2019. They made relatively light-work of both groups, topping both and winning fourteen of the games as they secured qualification from Group A alongside South Korea.

They possess a handful of players that can make a difference in their games with Mehdi Taremi, Sardar Azmoun and Alireza Jahanbakhsh being the pick of the bunch. All three ply their trade in Europe and can lead Iran to the knockouts if they’re all on song during the group stages.

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United States of America

Manager – Gregg Berhalter

Best WC Finish – Semi-Final (1930)

2018 WC Finish – N/A

FIFA World Ranking – 16th

Tournament Odds – 125/1

After missing out on their first World Cup since 1986 in the 2018 edition, the USA are back with a new look side since their 2014 adventure.

The side finished third place in their CONCACAF qualifiers, joining Canada, Mexico and Costa Rica in the final 32.

And Gregg Berhalter will have one of the youngest side’s in the World Cup at his disposal with a fresh roster compared to their 2014 campaign. Captain Christian Pulisic is only 24-years-old and was immense for the side in their qualifying campaign despite struggling to find minutes for Chelsea in the Premier League this season.

Other players such as Juventus’ Weston McKennie, on-loan Barcelona right-back Sergino Dest and Borussia Dortmund starlet Gio Reyna will be vital for the USA as they look to clinch a spot in the last 16 of the campaign.

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Wales

Manager – Rob Page

Best WC Finish – Quarter-Finals (1958)

2018 WC Finish – N/A

FIFA World Ranking – 19th

Tournament Odds – 125/1

Wales have reached the World Cup finals for the first time in 64 years following their success in the play-off final against Ukraine earlier this year.

It’s hard to believe considering the quality of players the nation has seen in recent years, most notably Gareth Bale who will be more than likely playing in his first and last World Cup this year.

They suffered a humiliating 4-0 loss to Denmark in the last 16 of Euro 2020 but Rob Page has had a year to get used to his preferred squad since his appointment before the tournament as a result of Ryan Giggs’ suspension. If he can find the form the side enjoyed in their Euro 2016 campaign, then they can expect big things.

Premier League quality can be found throughout the side with a couple of European players sprinkled across the board as well and they definitely possess the quality to earn a place in the knockout stages.