More than two months since the draw that determined its World Cup group, the USMNT finally knows who it's playing on opening day in Qatar
Not only was the U.S. grouped with that open-ended playoff winner, but it was drawn to face that team in its first match, leaving a pretty key element of its World Cup preparation hanging in the balance for a couple of months. The first match is the tone-setter—though not the end-all; Spain lost its first match in 2010 and then won the whole thing, for instance—and for the U.S. has traditionally been an indicator of its success or failure on the World Cup stage.
The level of heightened urgency vs. England in the middle game will certainly depend on how the U.S. fares vs. Wales, and now Berhalter and his staff can get to work full throttle to prepare for that first game, even if it isn’t for another five and a half months.“Despite Ukraine falling to Wales, U.S. Soccer has been inspired by the spirit and bravery of their national team,” U.S. Soccer wrote in a statement of tribute toward the Ukraine team.
The Americans have scant history against their opening opponent. They have played the Dragons in a pair of friendlies, going 1-0-1. The win, a 2–0 result in 2003, came at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, Calif., with the goals scored by Landon Donovan and Eddie Lewis. More recently—and considerably more relevant to this team—the two sides played to a scoreless draw behind closed doors at Swansea City’s Liberty Stadium in Nov.
In the meantime, here is the full World Cup Group B schedule, now that the quartet has been completed :
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