British Newspaper Names USMNT As Weakest Team In Pot 2 Ahead Of World Cup Draw
The draw for the 2022 FIFA World Cup will take place on Friday and the pots have been confirmed.
Pot 1 features tournament hosts Qatar along with the the seven highest teams in the FIFA World Rankings.
The other pots were filled based solely on FIFA Rankings, apart from Pot 4 as it contains the winners of the three remaining playoffs, which will take place in June, as well as the five lowest-ranking qualified nations.
The USMNT, ranked 15th in men's world soccer, have been placed into Pot 2 as a second seed.
Mexico are also in Pot 2 along with Germany, Holland, Denmark, Uruguay, Switzerland and Croatia.
FIFA 2022 World Cup Pots
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
Qatar | Mexico | Senegal | Cameroon |
Brazil | Holland | Iran | Canada |
Belgium | Denmark | Japan | Ecuador |
France | Germany | Morocco | Saudi Arabia |
Argentina | Uruguay | Serbia | Ghana |
England | Switzerland | Poland | Wales, Scotland or Ukraine |
Spain | United States | South Korea | Costa Rica or New Zealand |
Portugal | Croatia | Tunisia | Peru, Australia or UAE |
British newspaper the Daily Mail published an online article on Thursday listing what the best possible draw would be for England.
In it, the USMNT were picked as the weakest team in Pot 2.
According to the article, the "best case scenario" for England would see them placed in a group along with the US, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, England's "worst case scenario", per the Daily Mail, would be a group filled with Germany, Senegal and Ecuador.
England and the USMNT were drawn together during the group phase at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The US famously topped Group C ahead of England that year, after the two sides drew 1-1 in Rustenburg.
England's most recent match against the States was a 3-0 friendly win at Wembley in 2018 when Jesse Lingard, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Callum Wilson all scored.
Fans of England and the USMNT pictured together during a 1-1 draw at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa
IMAGO/Allstar/Michael Mayhe