United States ODDS & FIXTURES

Already at the first World Cup in 1930, the USA national football team reached the semi-finals, where it lost heavily to the Argentinians with a score of 1:6. However, shortly after, a long period of the comedown began. It came to the point that in 1983, under the experiment, the US national team played a season in the NASL (North American Soccer League) club league and finished in the last place.

In 1994, the United States hosted the world championship. They reached the Round of 16, but right there, they had to face the future champions – Brazil, and lost with dignity with a score of 0:1.

At the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, the USA national team achieved the best result in their modern era, outperforming Mexico in the Round of 16. However, in the quarterfinals, the team had to leave, giving way to Germany.

After that, the USA made it to the playoffs two more times: in 2010 and 2014, each time losing in the Round of 16 in extra time.

Path of the USA to the 2022 World Cup

The United States national team did not pass the CONCACAF qualifying tournament brilliantly: they managed to rank only third, giving way to not only the traditionally strong Mexico, but also the Canada national team.

Furthermore, in the qualifiers, the USA were defeated by Canada, Panama and Costa Rica. They were also tied with El Salvador and Jamaica. But in the end, they managed to complete the main task to enter the tournament (compared to the World Cup 2018) and got into the most challenging group.

Rivals of the USA at the 2022 World Cup

The USA is one of the most controversial favourites of this World Cup. Bookmakers believe, that the chances of the United States national team are higher, compared to Wales, by about 15%. According to analysts, Iran is a clear outsider. The probability that this national team will qualify from the group is below 25%. The clear favourite of group B is the English national team.

The struggle for the playoffs between the USA and Wales will be the most interesting event in the group. It is somewhat sad, that these teams will meet already in the first match.

The US media Sportingnews believes that Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Weston McKennie (Juventus), and Tyler Adams (Leipzig) will set the tone in the USA national team.

According to authors of the British newspaper The Guardian, Wales will count on fast fullbacks Connor Roberts (Burnley) and Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest), forward Brennan Johnson (also Nottingham) and, of course, Gareth Bale (Los Angeles FC).

The USA national team gains self-confidence from their leaders, playing for cooler football clubs (Chelsea, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund), compared to the leaders of the Wales national team, who generally play in not the strongest teams of the English Premier League. Nottingham Forest is one of the strongest teams in this list, and in the current season, it is in the relegation zone.

Maybe that is why, in the struggle for the playoffs, bookmakers give a slight advantage to the US national team.