Group B not quite group of death, but probably most unpredictable

With its teams ranked between ninth and 20th in the world, the 2022 Fifa World Cup’s Group B is not a group of death, but is perhaps the tightest by far in Qatar.

England

England always have that one excellent striker to lead their line into a World Cup - from Bobby Charlton when they won it in 1966, to Kevin Keegan, Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney and now Harry Kane.

Strangely, given England finally have a team that genuinely has reason for optimism, the country are getting pre-tournament jitters about manager Gareth Southgate and his combination. Maybe that’s the reason England should be most feared in Qatar. A classy line-up - who as a young combination, came the closest England had for decades losing in extra time in the semifinals against Croatia at Russia 2018 tempered by realistic expectations could be a danger in 2022.

England have no wins in Uefa’s Nations League in six matches, and four goals scored, including last month’s flat 2-0 defeat to Germany at Wembley where centreback Harry Maguire was booed and made horrendous errors. But prioritising pragmatic over expressive football going into a World Cup, making sure the team is well organised, is not always a bad thing.

Iran

South Africans will follow Iran with interest given the South African connection. Former Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Queiroz returned to take charge of Team Melli last month, and quickly roped in partner ex-Orlando Pirates Roger de Sa as his assistant again. 

Queiroz's familiarity with the team - qualifying Iran for the 2014 and 2018 World Cups and exiting in the group stage there - should help. The new coaching staff started with promising results, beating Uruguay and drawing against Senegal in their camp in Austria.

Queiroz’s squad has many combined years and caps, though the coach might worry it lacks youthful energy. Forward Mehdi Taremi, 30, was joint top-scorer Portuguese Primeira Liga in 2019-20 playing for Rio Aves, and for FC Porto was third-top scorer in 2020-21 and second in 2021-22.

USA

Like England, the US have one of their strongest combinations ever. Yet, like England, form has been a concern for Gregg Berhalter’s young side.

The US squeezed into the World Cup as the third-placed team behind Canada and Mexico, on goal difference from fourth-placed Costa Rica.

The squad includes 21-year-old Barcelona right-back Sergino Dest and Weston McKennie, the 24-year-old Juventus midfielder who has drawn comparisons with Edgar Davids.

Wales

Wales are playing in only their second World Cup since 1958, where they lost 1-0 in the quarterfinals in Sweden to eventual champions Brazil. Former Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale, now at Los Angeles FC, is the undoubted driving force. He struck three in the World Cup group stage and three more in the second round for best runners-up finishers, including the winner that broke Ukraine’s hearts.

Their coaching situation raises eyebrows - Robert Page has been a stand-in coach for two years since Ryan Giggs lost the job in November 2020 over an assault charge scandal. But Wales’ renowned relish for a fight and underdog mentality - evident in their dream run to the Euro 2016 semifinals, and second-round exit at Euro 2020 - will make the underdogs of Group B a danger.