Our CONCACAF friends from Costa Rica came through with a 1-0 win Tuesday over New Zealand, so we know all of the 2022 World Cup teams now.
As a reminder, the US Men’s National Team (USMNT) is No. 15 in FIFA world rankings and landed in Group B with:
- England (No. 5 in the FIFA rankings)
- No. 18 Wales
- and No. 21 Islamic Republic of Iran.
The USMNT plays on the opening day of the World Cup. That’s Monday, Nov. 21 against Wales .
Wales just beat No. 27 Ukraine in a European Playoff over the weekend to earn its spot in Qatar.
- The second game in the group stage will be the United States vs. England on “Black Friday” — Nov. 25.
- Their final game in the group stage will be Tuesday, Nov. 29 with the US vs. Iran.
As a reminder, the World Cup is a usually summer event. But when FIFA selected Qatar as the host site it moved the event to the end of the year to dodge some of the region’s oppressive heat. Sports fans in Iowa can place World Cup bets now or at the same time they place NFL bets in Iowa this fall.
The top two teams in the US group will face two teams from Group A in the round of 16. Group A includes host Qatar, The Netherlands, Senegal and Ecuador.
All of the 2022 World Cup Teams
The World Cup draw took place April 1 in Doha, the capital of Qatar. The World Cup draw results started with the FIFA World Rankings, which were released Thursday, March 31.
| World Cup Group Draw | Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group A | No. 51 Qatar (Host) | No. 10 Netherlands | No. 20 Senegal | No. 46 Ecuador |
| Group B | No. 5 England | No. 15 United States | No. 21 IR Iran | No. 18 Wales |
| Group C | No. 4 Argentina | No. 9 Mexico | No. 26 Poland | No. 49 Saudi Arabia |
| Group D | No. 3 France | No. 11 Denmark | No. 35 Tunisia | No. 42 Australia |
| Group E | No. 7 Spain | No. 12 Germany | No. 23 Japan | No. 31 Costa Rica |
| Group F | No. 2 Belgium | No. 16 Croatia | No. 24 Morocco | No. 38 Canada |
| Group G | No. 1 Brazil | No. 14 Switzerland | No. 25 Serbia | No. 37 Cameroon |
| Group H | No. 8 Portugal | No. 13 Uruguay | No. 29 Korea Republic | No. 60 Ghana |
World Cup 2022 schedule
The four teams in the groups play a round-robin, with three points awarded for a win and a point for draws. Goal differentials break ties and the top two teams from each group advance to the 16-team knockout round. The knockout round is like the single-elimination March Madness bracket we’re used to seeing this time of year:
- World Cup play kicks off Nov. 21. Group play continues through Dec. 2
- The round of 16 begins Dec. 3-6. The quarterfinals follow Dec. 9-10.
- Semifinals take place Dec. 13-14.
- The third-place match is Saturday, Dec. 17 and the championship is Sunday, Dec. 18.
Why Iowa is a good state for World Cup futures bets
Moments after the draw was announced, Iowa’s 18 sportsbook operators went to work adjusting World Cup futures odds based on the group pairings. Iowa sportsbook customers have some of the country’s widest range of odds to choose from. Only Colorado and New Jersey have more sportsbooks.
It’s also easy to set up an account in Iowa. The state has remote registration, meaning you can set up your first bet from anywhere within the state using a browser or mobile app.
