World Cup 2022 Group B Summary

Check out the latest odds on the winner of Group B 

England

1/3

USA

5/1

Wales

11/2

Iran

16/1

Fixtures

Group B team summary

Click on each team for a form guide and preview of their World Cup chances

• England have endured a year to forget since qualifying easily from their group, and will need to up their game if they are to prove they are more than just flat-track qualification bullies. Their inexplicable 4-0 home defeat to Hungary was the low point of a woeful Nations League campaign (Won 0, Drawn 3, Lost 3), that saw them relegated to League B. Gareth Southgate has a plethora of attacking talent at his disposal, but he has to use it effectively while also working on some alarming deficiencies at the back. The upside of this recent decline in form is that England fans can at least lower their expectations and hopefully be pleasantly surprised.

• USA surprisingly failed to make the 2018 finals, so they will be keen to rekindle the former glories that saw them progress to the knock-out stages in three of the previous four tournaments. A patchy qualification campaign and mixed fortunes in their warm-up games suggest they might struggle to escape the group, and realistically they will probably need to earn at least a point from either of their first two games with Wales or England to give themselves something to play for in their final showdown with Iran.

• Wales will fancy their chances of emerging from what appears to be a balanced group, especially with favourites England coming to the finals in poor form. To be fair, their own form since qualification has not been much better and just one point from six Nations League outings sees them make a quick return to the second tier. The Welsh will need to be organised in defence and take their chances going forward, but with Gareth Bale at their disposal, they will always have a player capable of producing those all-important game-changing moments.

• Iran will begin the tournament as Group B underdogs and face a similar task to the USA if their final game is to give them something to play for. Their mindset is likely to be a defensive one, just as it was in Russia in 2018, when their three encounters with Spain (0-1), Portugal (1-1) and Morocco (1-0) produced just four goals between them. They would be happy with similar defensive games in Qatar, and hope to make the most of their limited chances on the break. 

Crunch games

England start the qualifying stage as firm favourites to top the group, and should they avoid any banana skins in their relatively weak group, that leaves Wales, USA and Iran to battle for the one remaining place in the second round. Wales and USA open their accounts against each other in a potential early 6-pointer, and the winner of that game will hold a huge advantage, especially the Welsh, who take on Iran in their second game. Any drawn games in the opening two sets of matches will leave everything to play for on 29th November, with USA fancying their chances of beating Iran, while Wales would no doubt love to get one over on their noisy English neighbours.

• Probable qualifiers   England & Wales or USA

Possible dark horses   Iran