USMNT: What to know about Iran

Yes, I know Iran took care of the U.S. in the 1998 World Cup, but this is 2022. This is the strongest U.S. squad in terms of talent, and anything but a comfortable three points would be a massive disaster. Having this as the last match is just fine. If the U.S. win one of their first two, then this will likely be enough to win and advance. But on the other side, with some hiccups in the opening games, they may find themselves needing a result and hoping England can take care of business in their third match. This game against Iran is one where the U.S. should have the majority of the ball and the chances, and if their finishing is on, the three points are clearly theirs. Iran aren't pushovers, they're ranked 21st in the FIFA rankings, but if the USMNT want to get out of the group stage then they need to beat teams of this caliber regularly.     Roger Gonzalez

Winners and losers from CBSsports

Loser: Iran

Although the outcome of Scotland, Wales and Ukraine's playoff is not yet known, this already feels like a tough one for the Iranians. This group will not be short of talking points around any of Iran's games, but they will really need to hit the ground running to stand a chance of making it out.

Winner: England

USMNT rivalry aside, the Three Lions will feel pleased with their group as Iran and the winner of Scotland, Wales or Ukraine's eventual UEFA playoff should not cause too much fear. The Scottish and Welsh will have that added motivation given the rivalry which could make the Americans their key adversaries.

Winner: USMNT

That's a good draw for the U.S. They won't be close to a lock for the round of 16 by any means, but they should feel good about their chances. They are going to want Scotland, but it will likely be Wales or Ukraine, and that really could go either way. England should beat the U.S., but the Americans have a knack for pulling off some big group stage results. They did get far and away the best draw out of all the Concacaf teams. Mexico have to play big boys Argentina and a formidable Poland side. Canada have two semifinalists from 2018 in Belgium and Croatia in their group, and if Costa Rica make it, they just have to worry about Spain and Germany  -- Roger Gonzalez

Wales / Scotland / Ukraine

Wales

Gareth Bale and Daniel James will be crucial to any World Cup hopes.

• Current FIFA world ranking: No. 18 (March 2022)
• Regional ranking: 12th (UEFA)
• World Cup appearances (last): 1 (Sweden 1958)
• Overall record (all competitions & friendlies):
  • 2022: 1W-0L-1D (Goals: 3 scored / 2 conceded)
  • 2021: 6W-4L-6D (Goals: 18 scored / 18 conceded)
• Coach: Robert Page (Wales) since April, 2021
• Star players: Gareth Bale (Real Madrid / Spain), Daniel James (Leeds United / England), Kieffer Moore (Bournemouth / England)

• Current FIFA world ranking: No. 39 (March 2022)
• Regional ranking: 20th (UEFA)
• World Cup appearances (last): 8 (France 1998)
• Overall record (all competitions & friendlies):
  • 2022: 0W-0L-2D (Goals: 3 scored / 3 conceded)
  • 2021: 8W-3L-4D (Goals: 21 scored / 14 conceded)
• Coach: Steve Clarke (Scotland) since May, 2019
• Star players: Andrew Robertson (Liverpool / England), Che Adams (Southampton / England), Kieran Tierney (Arsenal / England)

Ukraine

• Current FIFA world ranking: No. 27 (March 2022)
• Regional ranking: 16th (UEFA)
• World Cup appearances (last): 1 (Germany 2006)
• Overall record (all competitions & friendlies):
  • 2022: 0W-0L-0D (Goals: 0 scored / 0 conceded)
  • 2021: 6W-3L-9D (Goals: 25 scored / 21 conceded)
• Coach: Oleksandr Petrakov (Ukraine) since August, 2021
• Star players: Andriy Yarmolenko (West Ham / England), Oleksandr Zinchenko (Manchester City / England), Roman Yaremchuk (Benfica / Portugal)

Iran

Iran will appear at a third straight World Cup finals later this year, with the No.1 ranked national team in the AFC region capable of making a mark at the tournament. 

Dragan Skocic’s side qualified for the 2022 showpiece in emphatic style, winning eight, drawing one and losing one of the last qualification round fixtures. That was enough for Iran to finish top of their group, as they edged out South Korea, who also qualified as runners-up.

Porto forward Mehdi Taremi, Feyenoord creator Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Bayer Leverkusen threat Sardar Azmoun make Iran a strong attacking unit, with Skocic’s team netting 15 times in 10 final-round qualifying matches, having already scored 10 times in a single match against Cambodia in an earlier phase.

• Current FIFA world ranking: No. 21 (March 2022)
• Regional ranking: 1st (AFC)
• World Cup titles: —
• World Cup appearances (last): 6 (Russia 2018)
• How qualified: AFC Third Round Group A winners: 8W-L1-D1
• Overall record (all competitions & friendlies):
  • 2022: 3W-1L-0D (Goals: 4 scored / 2 conceded)
  • 2021: 10W-0L-1D (Goals: 31 scored / 3 conceded)
• Coach: Dragan Skocic (Croatia) since February, 2020
• Star players: Sardar Azmoun (Bayer Leverkusen / Germany), Alireza Jahanbakhsh (Feyenoord / Netherlands), Mehdi Taremi (Porto / Portugal)

USA

The U.S. will be joining the party at World Cup 2022, barely making it through the group on goal difference over Costa Rica. This will be the 11th time that the U.S. men's national team (USMNT) have featured on the global stage, with the best result coming via a semifinal run at the inaugural tournament in 1930. 

Without question, Gregg Berhalter’s side has enough young talent to have a chance at getting out of the group, and should excite supporters on the way, as they plot a potential deep World Cup run.

Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic will be expected to play the main role, while Gio Reyna will provide a creative spark between the midfield and attack. The U.S. will be a real threat going forward for teams to worry about, given their 21 goals scored in qualification.

Just a review:

England

Having reached the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup and then the final of Euro 2020 — only to lose painfully on penalties to Italy — England will be determined to go one better in Qatar and finally win their first major trophy since 1966. 

Gareth Southgate has some very exciting young players at his disposal — not least the likes of Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham and Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka — combined with a handful of experienced stars, who now possess significant tournament experience. It’s now a question of whether they can get over the line.
Southgate will hope that Manchester United defender Harry Maguire can recapture his best form ahead of the tournament, while there will inevitably again be much scrutiny on Harry Kane, who will likely have the chance to become his country’s leading all-time goalscorer.

• Current FIFA world ranking: No. 5 (March 2022)
• Regional ranking: 3rd (UEFA)
• World Cup titles: 1
• World Cup appearances (last): 15 (Russia 2018)
• How qualified: UEFA Group I winners 8W-0L-2D
• Overall record (all competitions & friendlies):
  • 2022: 2W-0L-0D (Goals: 5 scored / 1 conceded)
  • 2021: 15W-0L-4D (Goals: 52 scored / 5 conceded)
• Coach: Gareth Southgate (England) since September, 2016
• Star players: Harry Kane (Tottenham / England), Declan Rice (West Ham / England), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City / England)

I would be disappointed if there's a loss against the US with all the talents we have now. Do they match what we had in '98, no, but still a formidable and capable footballers that under a CQ type manager would get us through this time around.
I wish there was a computer program that would allow us to plug in the players today and insert CQ in there as the manager and predict the outcome. But, Shahryar has taken care of that probability.

Shahryar jan very logical evaluation. I like the “unless a miracle happens (which it does from time to time in Football; after all the ball is round)”

Gentlemen, when it come to Iran, I consider myself to be an idealist. A loss of 1-0 against England, a probable win against the US and a tie against the other qualified of the three, even Ukraine would be good enough with this coach. Based on the logical evaluation put forward this would be wishful thinking and I hope between changing the coach and friendlies, at least the friendlies happen so that the nincompoops in charge would see the reality. Would that be too late to designate or hire a new coach? It would all depend on when the friendlies happen.