Key events
Table of Contents
Who needs what today
USA: A simple one. They must beat Iran to qualify, the result in Group B’s other match – England v Wales – is irrelevant to their chances.
Iran: Currently second in the group, a win against the USA will put Iran through to the World Cup second round for the first time in their history. A draw against the USA will also be enough for them, provided Wales fail to beat England.
England: A win against Wales will see England top the group. A draw will guarantee qualification. In fact, England will progress with any result except for a defeat by Wales of more than three goals.
Wales: Wales must beat England and hope that Iran and the USA draw. If the USA v Iran match ends with a winner, then Wales must beat England by four goals or more to knock them out directly. Wales have not beaten England since 1984, and have never managed a winning margin of four goals or more against their nearest neighbors.
You can get a full rundown of the permutations from the other World Cup groups here:
Preamble
Hello! Given the US’s so-so qualifying campaign, many fans would have been happy before the tournament if they knew Gregg Berhalter’s team would have their fate in their own hands going into the final group game. And yet, things could have been a lot easier if they had managed to follow up their impressive first-half against Wales with a decent second 45 minutes. And, against England, turned their dominance into goals.
But we’ve known for a long time that the lack of a true goalscorer is this young team’s main problem – and that’s unlikely to be resolved in the [checks watch] 90 minutes before kick-off.
Having said all that, this talented generation of players will peak in 2026, when the US co-host the World Cup, and even if they go out today, there are signs that the foundations are strong (whether Gregg Berhalter survives is another question).
USA’s World Cup so far:
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In the opener, the US came storming out the gates and looked like they would carve up Wales for a convincing victory after Tim Weah’s goal. But the Americans faded badly in the second period and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
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USA then faced England, and maintained their unbeaten record against the Three Lions at the World Cup. The Americans were the better team but could not covert chances in a 0-0 draw.