| Alright Christian Pulisic, here it is. Here is your chance. Step up Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Gio Reyna and the rest of this bold new generation of United States national team stars, because opportunity just fell in your lap. Go get it. The U.S. didn’t get everything it could have wished for from the soccer gods as the World Cup draw was made on Friday, but it wasn’t far from it. Group B — also featuring England, Iran and the winner of a European playoff bracket (Wales, Scotland and Ukraine) — is one of the tournament’s most intriguing. First things first, there is a clear way through. There are certainly no guarantees when it comes to a World Cup but none of the three opponents — European championships finalist England included — should fill the Americans with terror. And, let’s face it, the fates could have fallen a whole lot worse. But rather than past World Cups where a sense of trepidation has prevailed, this time around, the USMNT is good enough to set itself a greater target than usual. Don’t just try to survive Group B — win it. “Love it, I love it,” former national team star and FOX soccer expert Alexi Lalas said on FS1. “All the games are winnable. For this particular U.S. team, [head coach] Gregg Berhalter is sitting in his seat and thinking, ‘There is a pathway out.’” No soccer tournament and precious few sporting events are as pressurized as a World Cup and so much of that centers around narrative. Public perception has a greater impact on the World Cup than most imagine, and it makes sense why. When the whole country — in every country — is spending the months between the draw and the kickoff talking about how things are going to shake out, and the associated expectations, it is impossible for the players to stay immune to it. There is a lot to talk about for the Americans and most of the chatter is going to be about England, who will be the USMNT’s second opponent after initially taking on the European qualifier. You didn’t have any shopping plans for Black Friday, did you? The matchup between Berhalter’s team and the old country on Friday, Nov. 22, is going to be circled on millions of calendars — and is sure to put a dent in the economic takings of some hopeful retailers. It is a blockbuster, a repeat of the 2010 World Cup clash that ended in a 1-1 tie and the ultimate measuring stick for an American team seeking to prove its worth. For rightly or wrongly, England is still the standard to which American soccer holds itself. The Premier League is by far the most popular league among American fans. Pulisic has performed strongly there with Chelsea and most young American prospects dream of spending time in the EPL. The cultural and historic links between the nations cannot be ignored, and even 72 years later, the USA’s upset 1-0 win in the 1950 World Cup remains a “thing,” especially for the English. Within minutes of Friday’s draw, I received no fewer than 30 texts and messages from U.K.-based friends. Yes, England is a far more established soccer nation than the U.S., but they see the significance of this clash as much as we do. Is it an easy group? In pure world ranking terms, it could actually be a tough one. If Wales progresses from the playoff, each of the four teams will come from the top 21 in the world list. But the fact remains that England is glad it got the U.S. instead of Germany, the U.S. should be pleased to have averted Brazil, Argentina or Spain, while Iran has won just one World Cup match since beating the U.S. in 1998. Other teams were not so happy. Mexico, another team from Pot 2, fared worse than the Americans, being paired with Argentina, Poland and Saudi Arabia, which cruised through Asia’s toughest qualifying group. Canada, in its first World Cup since 1986, faces a brutal gauntlet and must figure out how to get a result against either Belgium or Croatia, the world No. 2 and a 2018 finalist, respectively. “When you get to these world platforms, you want to play against the best teams,” said McKennie, the USMNT midfield who plays his club soccer with Italian giant Juventus. He’s right, and the U.S. draw gives the best of both worlds. An apparently easy route, like, for example, being in host nation Qatar’s group, would have added a different layer of pressure. Getting stuck in a Group of Death (of which there wasn’t an obvious one this time) would have further highlighted that the team faces urgency to improve a modern record of only five wins from 26 World Cup matches since 1990. This outcome gives the chance to do that. Berhalter’s young core has its opportunity to show why American soccer is ready to build upon two decades of growth and flex its muscles on the international stage. There are no excuses, no get-outs of being able to claim a bad draw or unfavorable matchups. This is the time for a group that has started to believe in its ability to beat some of the best, to go do it. All 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup games will air live on FOX, FS1 and in the FOX Sports app beginning November 21. |
