The 15th-ranked Americans were drawn Friday
to start against the European playoff winner on Nov. 21, the tournament’s
opening day in Qatar. The U.S. plays No. 5 England on Nov. 25 and closes the
group stage against No. 21 Iran on Nov. 29.
“It’s a good group,” U.S. coach Gregg
Berhalter said.
No. 39 Scotland hosts 27th-ranked Ukraine
in June in a playoff delayed from March because of Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
A few days later, the winner goes to No. 18 Wales, which advanced last week
with a 2-1 win over Austria.
“Three strong teams,” Berhalter said. “Two
pretty similar with Wales and Scotland and then one different with Ukraine. So
we’re going to have to be preparing for all three.”
European club matches are scheduled for
Nov. 12 and 13, so Nov. 15 is likely the first day Berhalter will have his
entire roster available ahead of the opener.
“That’s the negative, is that you have very
little time to prepare,” Berhalter said. “Guys will come over. They will have
been playing on the weekend, and we’ll get them literally a week before the
World Cup, and that’s a challenge. On the positive side, if we advance, you get
a little bit more rest as you head into the next phase.”
If the U.S. advances, it would play in the
round of 16 on Dec. 3 or 4 against Ecuador, Netherlands, Qatar or Senegal.
In the group stage of the 1950 World Cup,
the U.S. famously upset England 1-0 at Belo Horizonte, Brazil, behind Joe
Gaetjens’ 38th-minute goal. The Americans opened the 2010 tournament with a 1-1
draw against the Three Lions in South Africa. Steven Gerrard put England ahead
in the fourth minute at Rustenberg, but Clint Dempsey tied the score in the
40th when his 25-yard shot skipped off the grass twice and bounced in off
Robert Green’s hand.
“With England, it’s always an exciting
game. There’s always a lot of attention around that game,” Berhalter said.
“We’re familiar with a lot of their players.”
Iran upset the U.S. 2-1 at the 1998 World
Cup in France, eliminating the Americans after their second game of the
tournament. Hamid Estili scored in the 40th minute and Mehdi Mahdavikia in the
84th at Lyon, and current U.S. men’s national team general manager Brian
McBride scored in the 87th.
This year’s World Cup is the first to be
moved from its traditional June/July period, a shift to get away from the
summer heat in the desert. As a result, the tournament will be played in the
middle of European club seasons and overlap with the NFL and college football
seasons in the U.S.
Since losing to Germany in the 2002
quarterfinals, the U.S. was eliminated in the group stage in 2006 and the round
of 16 in 2010, both times by Ghana, and the Americans exited the 2014
tournament with an extra-time loss to Belgium in the round of 16. The U.S.
failed to qualify for the 2018 tournament. -AP
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