Having missed out on the 2018 tournament in Russia, the United States national team will be eager to make their presence felt at World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
Gregg Berhalter boasts a strong team of relatively youthful stars, including Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Giovanni Reyna, so there are grounds for optimism ahead of the competition.
Who will they face in the group stage? GOAL takes a look at the potential opponents.
Who could USMNT draw in World Cup group stage?
The United States national team are second seeds in Pot 2 for the group stage draw. They will be drawn against one team from Pot 1, a team from Pot 3 and a team from Pot 4.
In terms of top seeds, the USMNT could potentially face the current world number one - according to the latest FIFA ranking - Brazil, reigning world champions France or Lionel Messi's Argentina. Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal are also in Pot 1, as are England, Belgium and Spain.
From Pot 3, Senegal, Iran and Japan are among the potential opponents, as are Morocco, Serbia, Poland, Tunisia and South Korea.
Near neighbours Canada are in Pot 4, but FIFA's rules dictate that no more than one team from the same confederation should be in each group, so they cannot be grouped together (this doesn't apply to UEFA).
However, Cameroon, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia and Ghana all remain potential opponents from this pot, as well as the winner of the UEFA play-off or the winner of the play-off bracket containing Peru, Australia and UAE.
They cannot face another team from Pot 2, which rules out Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Uruguay, Switzerland, Croatia and neighbours Mexico (who they would not be able to face anyway since they are both CONCACAF teams).
Check out the full seedings below.
Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
Qatar | Mexico | Senegal | Cameroon |
Brazil | Netherlands | Iran | Canada |
Belgium | Denmark | Japan | Ecuador |
France | Germany | Morocco | Saudi Arabia |
Argentina | Uruguay | Serbia | Ghana |
England | Switzerland | Poland | Costa Rica / New Zealand |
Spain | USMNT | South Korea | Peru or Australia / UAE |
Portugal | Croatia | Tunisia | Wales or Scotland / Ukraine |
When does the World Cup start?
The 2022 World Cup is scheduled to begin on November 21, 2022, with hosts Qatar kicking things off in Group A.
USMNT will learn the date of their first game once the groups are confirmed shortly after the draw. Games will generally take place in the early morning in the U.S. due to the time difference.
Who would you like to see the USMNT get?
Another meeting with Ghana? Avoid Argentina? Let us know who you want in the comments below! 👇