GROUP B: England, Iran, USA and Wales
This will be the group most Kiwis will be keeping an eye on during the opening stages considering it contains two British teams.
The Three Lions should top Group B, the only uncertainty is how coach Gareth Southgate will deploy this English team given he was criticised for his conservative tactics at Euro 2020. Southgate has named a strong squad for Qatar, brimming with attacking talent, spearheaded by Harry Kane.
The defence however is a concern.
Injuries to Chelsea duo Reece James and Ben Chilwell are a big loss while there’s also the matter of Harry Maguire’s shaky form for Manchester United and the fact Southgate has only named one natural left-back in the form of Luke Shaw.
Wales are at their first World Cup since 1958 and will be looking to repeat their fairy tale journey from the 2016 European Championships where they made the semi-finals.
They arrive in Qatar with a squad that contains a good dose of youth and experience and an X-factor player in the form of Gareth Bale. They’re a real chance of making the knock-out stages.
The USA were made to work hard for their ticket to Qatar, they ended up third in the CONCACAF qualifying standings behind Canada and Mexico and only just avoided the intercontinental play-off against the All Whites.
There’s lots of exciting young talent coming through the USA ranks like Sergiño Dest, Timothy Weah (son of legendary striker George Weah), Giovanni Reyna and Yunus Musah but I can’t see them making it into the knockout stages in 2022.
Iran arrives at the World Cup under a cloud of political unrest, with many Iranian sporting teams taking a stand against their government. The turmoil even prompted calls to replace Iran with Ukraine at the 2022 tournament.
Iran’s players could be galvanised by the situation, they are of course the top ranked Asian nation at this tournament.
England: Trent Alexander-Arnold might be a right-back, but he is so much more. With the ability to distribute play with pinpoint long-distance passes, make numerous runs forward and a set piece specialist to boot, he could be England’s secret weapon. He just needs to get his defending in order.
Wales: Gareth Bale, could it have been anyone else? He’s lost some pace and power, but Bale remains an attacking force, especially when he’s wearing the Welsh jersey. It could be the last time we see him play too, with rumours he will retire after the World Cup.
USA: Christian Pulisic is the most high-profile player in the USA team, but Giovanni Reyna will be their source of creative play in the final third. A classy player with a bright future at German club, Borussia Dortmund.
Iran: Mehdi Taremi from Portuguese side Porto will be a handful for defences in Group B, a proven goal scorer at club and international level..
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