FIFA World Cup 2022 Group B has clear cut favorites in England and USA, who have been drawn along with Iran. The fourth entrant will be decided after the European playoffs.
Wales will face the winner of Scotland vs Ukraine, scheduled in June. The winner of that match (Wales vs Scotland/Ukraine) will be the final entrant of Group B.
Gareth Southgate’s England will open its campaign against Iran, where the Three Lions will be the favourites to win.
England enjoyed an undefeated qualifying campaign to the World Cup, which extended their run of matches without defeat in World Cup qualifying to 31 consecutive games. The country qualified for the World Cup after topping UEFA Group I.
England has never had a dearth of talent in recent editions of the World Cup and it is no different story ahead of Qatar 2022. Boasting world-class players like Harry Kane, Jack Grealish, Declan Rice, Trent Alexander-Arnold, John Stones and Kyle Walker, England will be one of the contenders to win the title even though it won its last and only title way back in 1966. The team also has the chance to hit the milestone of scoring its 100th goal in the World Cup, with its current tally at 91.
England have won only 14 knockout games at major tournaments; five of those have been under Gareth Southgate. It’s a mark of his success that they can go to Qatar among the favourites. It could be that the draw is unkind or they have some atrocious luck and England go out in the group or the last 16 having played relatively well but it’s realistic for them to hope for the quarter-finals or beyond. This is not just a young and exciting squad but one that has depth in all positions with the possible exceptions of centre-forward and centre-back.
As to whether England can win, that probably depends both on them being able to manage matches better if they do take the lead against big sides, and also on Southgate responding more quickly when the momentum of a game begins to turn against them. But these are not necessarily fatal flaws: they very nearly won the Euros – had Marcus Rashford’s penalty gone three inches to the right they probably would have. England are at least a serious contender and it’s a long time since that’s been true going into a World Cup.
For the first time in a generation, perhaps more, England’s men’s team will go into a major tournament with genuine public expectations of victory. Quarter-finals are no longer enough. Semi-finals are no longer enough. That will add its own quantum of anxiety to Gareth Southgate’s team as they approach the run-in to Qatar: the knowledge that every little fissure, every selection quandary, every drab friendly victory will be scoured and scrutinized for signs that England are anything less than immaculate.