2022 International Soccer

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Here's a draw simulator: https://stattosoftware.com/wc2022/

 

In my first go, I got US with Morocco, Qatar and Wales.

[Digby]

I am mostly pretty satisfied with how the qualifiers shook out the USMNT roster, too -- there were the obvious positions, like Pulisic and Weah and McKennie, but also it feels like a lot of players like Antonee Robinson and Walker Zimmermann really asserted themselves as no.1 options. The striker obviously remains a question mark, as discussed, but I'm also seeing keeper as a potentially unsettled zone. I was not tremendously convinced by Steffen these past two games. I sincerely think Matt Turner ought to be top of the depth chart there, but remains to be seen how he'll look in the fall after this injury and going off to ride Arsenal's bench. It would have been nice to see Horvath get some minutes, or maybe Sean Johnson? IDK. Just not sold on Steffen right now. 

[MJWalker45]

28 minutes ago, Digby said:

I am mostly pretty satisfied with how the qualifiers shook out the USMNT roster, too -- there were the obvious positions, like Pulisic and Weah and McKennie, but also it feels like a lot of players like Antonee Robinson and Walker Zimmermann really asserted themselves as no.1 options. The striker obviously remains a question mark, as discussed, but I'm also seeing keeper as a potentially unsettled zone. I was not tremendously convinced by Steffen these past two games. I sincerely think Matt Turner ought to be top of the depth chart there, but remains to be seen how he'll look in the fall after this injury and going off to ride Arsenal's bench. It would have been nice to see Horvath get some minutes, or maybe Sean Johnson? IDK. Just not sold on Steffen right now. 

Nations League and friendlies may be where we see the keeper decision decided. I also think Turner may need to play for a team further down the table or in the Championship to be in any decent shape for Qatar. Steffen was awful last night, though  Zimmerman should have picked up the player scoring the first goal. On the second goal he was moving around too much and ended up out of place. 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

They were talking about Turner and Steffen during the CBS post show last night, and brought up that both need to go on loan somewhere to get playing time in advance of the World Cup. And agreed.

 

Matt Turner's highs have been higher lately, and Steffen doesn't fill me with confidence. I'm not an elite soccer knower, but sometimes it feels like the Euro guys get elevated because they're Euro guys. Though Steffen may also have been injured; didn't he pull something in the Panama game?

 

I'm bummed my guy Stefan Frei never got any real USMNT time. He's an elite MLS goalkeeper but is never on the national team profile. Maybe that's his choice? He was in a camp a while back, but that's as far as he ever got.

[Rockstar Matt]

Steffan was the clear no. 1 for a few years and played like it too, but as of this past year or so, his level has dropped for some reason.  It could be the lack of playing time at City but even there he isn’t always impressive when he plays. Don’t know what happened to him.
 

The post game crew last night also mentioned that it is his intention to find a loan elsewhere to get playing time. He needs it because Ederson isn’t going anywhere for a long while at City. 
 

And Turner has certainly played himself into no. 1 contention too. But Steffan is a Berhalter guy. At this point, he has to be injured for Berhalter to not play him.  Berhalter will keep giving his guys more opportunities than deserved (which is why players like Zardes got way too many USMNT call-ups before GGG came to his senses)

[MJWalker45]

World Cup draw started with the release of their mascot, is he a ghost, or is he a keffiyeh that has been brought to life? 

 

Group A

Qatar

Netherlands

Senegal (Probably toughest team in Pot 3, so lucky for England and USA that Iran was drawn first in Pot 3)

Ecuador

 

Group B

England

United States

Iran (couldn't play Qatar)

Wales/Scotland/Ukraine

 

Group C

Argentina

Mexico

Poland

Saudi Arabia

 

Group D

France

Denmark

Tunisia

UAE/Australia/Peru Winner

 

Group E

Spain

Germany

Japan

Costa Rica/New Zealand

 

Group F

Belgium

Croatia

Morroco

Canada

 

Group G

Brazil

Switzerland

Serbia (Couldn't go to Group D because 2 UEFA teams already there)

Cameroon

 

Group H

Portugal

Uruguay

South Korea

Ghana

 

FIFA World Cup fixtures

Group stage kick-off times and venues for all games will be confirmed in due course.

All times shown are local

TIMEZONE CONVERSION:
1 p.m. local: 10 a.m. GMT, 6 a.m. ET
6 p.m. local: 3 p.m. GMT, 11 a.m. ET
10 p.m. local: 7 p.m. GMT, 3 p.m. ET

GROUP STAGE

Monday, Nov. 21
Group A: Qatar vs. Ecuador (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; 1 p.m.)
Group A: A3 vs. A4
Group B: England vs. Iran
Group B: USAvs. Wales/Scotland/Ukraine winner

Tuesday, Nov. 22
Group  Argentina vs. Mexico
Group  C3 vs. C4
Group  France vs. Denmark
Group  D3 vs. D4

Wednesday, Nov. 23
Group E: E1 vs. E2
Group E: E3 vs. E4
Group F: F1 vs. F2
Group F: F3 vs. F4

Thursday, Nov. 24
Group G: G1 vs. G2
Group G: G3 vs. G4
Group H: H1 vs. H2
Group H: H3 vs. H4

Friday, Nov. 25
Group A: Qatar vs. A3
Group A: A4 vs. A2
Group B: England vs. United States
Group B: Wales/Scotland/Ukraine vs. Iran

Saturday, Nov. 26
Group  C1 vs. C3
Group  C4 vs. C2
Group  D1 vs. D3
Group  D4 vs. D2

Sunday, Nov. 27
Group E: E1 vs. E3
Group E: E4 vs. E2
Group F: F1 vs. F3
Group F: F4 vs. F2

Monday, Nov. 28
Group G: G1 vs. G3
Group G: G4 vs. G2
Group H: H1 vs. H3
Group H: H4 vs. H2

Tuesday, Nov. 29
Group A: Netherlands vs. Qatar
Group A: Ecuador vs. Senegal
Group B: Wales/Scotland/Ukraine vs. England
Group B: Iran vs. United States

Wednesday, Nov. 30
Group  C4 vs. C1
Group  C2 vs. C3
Group  D4 vs. D1
Group  D2 vs. D3

Thursday, Dec. 1
Group E: E4 vs. E1
Group E: E2 vs. E3
Group F: F4 vs. F1
Group F: F2 vs. F3

Friday, Dec. 2
Group G: G4 vs. G1
Group G: G2 vs. G3
Group H: H4 vs. H1
Group H: H2 vs. H3

BRACKET - ROUND OF 16

Saturday, Dec. 3
49 - Winners of Group A vs. Runners-up of Group B (Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan; 6 p.m.)
50 - Winners of Group C vs. Runners-up of Group D (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan; 10 p.m.)

Sunday, Dec. 4
52 - Winners of Group D vs. Runners-up of Group C (Al Thumama Stadium, Doha; 6 p.m.)
51 - Winners of Group B vs. Runners-up of Group A (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; 10 p.m.)

Monday, Dec. 5
53 - Winners of Group E vs. Runners-up of Group F (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah; 6 p.m.)
54 - Winners of Group G vs. Runners-up of Group H (Stadium 974, Doha; 10 p.m.)

Tuesday, Dec. 6
55 - Winners of Group F vs. Runners-up of Group E (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan; 6 p.m.)
56 - Winners of Group H vs. Runners-up of Group G (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; 10 p.m.)

BRACKET - QUARTERFINALS

Friday, Dec. 9
58 - Winners of 53 vs. Winners of 54 (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan; 6 p.m.)
57 - Winners of 49 vs. Winners of 50 (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; 10 p.m.)

 

Saturday, Dec. 10
60 - Winners of 55 vs. Winners of 56 (Al Thumama Stadium, Doha; 6 p.m.)
59 - Winners of 51 vs. Winners of 52 (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; 10 p.m.)

BRACKET - SEMIFINALS

Tuesday, Dec. 13
61 - Winners of 57 vs. Winners of 58 (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; 10 p.m.)

Wednesday, Dec. 14
62 - Winners of 59 vs. Winners of 60 (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; 10 p.m.)

BRACKET - THIRD PLACE

Saturday, Dec. 17
63 - Losers of 61 vs. Losers of 62 (Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan; 6 p.m.)

BRACKET - FINAL

Sunday, Dec. 18
64 - Winners of 61 vs. Winners of 62 (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; 6 p.m.)

 

Any knockout round games that could involve the USA are in red. 

Edited April 1, 2022 by MJWalker45
Updated some matches and playoffs

[MJWalker45]

For some reason the United States is considered one of the weaker teams in this  tournament according to the numbers. I think taking on England right out the gate is the best option for them.

 

NOTE: BBC is saying England plays Iran on the opening day but the schedule that ESPN provided would have the United States playing England.  Apparently they have the games set by seeding so that's why Ecuador as the 4th seed in it's group plays Qatar first and the USA plays the UEFA playoffs winner from Wales/Scotland and Ukraine. Of those three, Wales is the most intriguing option. The USA should beat Iran, and if they run right at Harry Maguire, they may be able to knock off England.  But that backline for the USA needs to be better than it was at Costa Rica last week. 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

3 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

For some reason the United States is considered one of the weaker teams in this  tournament according to the numbers. I think taking on England right out the gate is the best option for them.

 

England and Iran. The group is shaping up nicely for them, all things considered.

 

This draw show is hilarious and there's no reason it needs to take this long.

[Wings2]

Iran now part of group B with USA & England. 

[MJWalker45]

1 minute ago, Wings2 said:

Iran now part of group B with USA & England. 

So we can already eliminate New Zealand, because if they lose that would be two Concacaf countries (Costa Rica).

[Wings2]

Lewandowski & Messi in the same group  

[BrySmalls]

USA drawn with UEFA Path A winners (Wales, Scotland, or Ukraine)

[Seadragon76]

Time for the draw.. Here's the groups:

 

Group A - Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands

Group B - England, Iran, USA, UEFA Playoff Route A Winner (Wales vs. Scotland/Ukraine)

Group C - Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland

Group D - France, IC Play-Off 1 Winner (UAE/Australia winner vs. Peru), Denmark, Tunisia

Group E - Spain, IC Play-Off 2 Winner (Costa Rica vs. New Zealand), Germany, Japan

Group F - Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia

Group G - Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon

Group H - Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea

[DG_ThenNowForever]

England

Iran

USA

Ukraine/Scotland v Wales

 

Could be worse -- could be Mexico. Group A (Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands) would have been nice. If the USA makes the knockout round, they'll certainly have earned it.

[Kevin W.]

20 minutes ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

Could be worse -- could be Mexico.

No, it couldn't. Mexico and the US couldn't be drawn into the same group. The only reason why groups have multiple UEFA teams is UEFA has so many more teams. Otherwise, you can't be drawn into the same group as another team from your same confederation.

[MJWalker45]

10 minutes ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

England

Iran

USA

Ukraine/Scotland v Wales

 

Could be worse -- could be Mexico. Group A (Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands) would have been nice. If the USA makes the knockout round, they'll certainly have earned it.

Looking at Canada's draw, that's almost the best they could have hoped for.  If Scotland survives that playoff I don't worry about them as much as I do the other two options.  Mexico has to survive Poland and Argentina, but I think if they play their A+ game, they can beat Poland. I don't think they'll beat Argentina even with their A++ game. Ochoa would have to copy Tim Howard's game vs Belgium in 2014.  

[MJWalker45]

1 minute ago, Kevin W. said:

No, it couldn't. Mexico and the US couldn't be drawn into the same group. The only reason why groups have multiple UEFA teams is UEFA has so many more teams. Otherwise, you can't be drawn into the same group as another team from your same confederation.

I think he means we could have been stuck in Mexico's group instead. They were both in the same pot so they already couldn't play each other. 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Just now, MJWalker45 said:

Ochoa would have to copy Tim Howard's game vs Belgium in 2014.  

 

How about his own performance against Brazil?

 

 

 

[MJWalker45]

3 minutes ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

 

How about his own performance against Brazil?

 

 

 

I feel like he'll still need to pull off like 15 saves at least. Hahahahahaha!!!!

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Way too early predictions:

 

Group A -Netherlands, Senegal

Group B - England, USA

Group C -Argentina, Poland

Group D - France, Peru

Group E - Spain, Germany

Group F - Belgium, Canada

Group G - Brazil, Cameroon

Group H - Portugal, Uruguay