World Cup Draw: US to Face England, Iran

The draw for the World Cup group stage has put the United States in the same group as England, Iran, and possibly Ukraine. The fourth team in that group is between Wales, Scotland, and Ukraine and won’t be decided until their June playoff. The United States will open against that playoff winner on Nov. 21, before meeting England and then Iran. The Americans lost to Germany in the quarterfinals back in 2002 and have yet to advance that far again, falling in the group stage in 2006 and then getting knocked out in the round of 16 in 2010 and 2014. The United States did not qualify in 2018. This year's World Cup will be played in Qatar in November and December—as opposed to the normal June-July period—in order to get away from the desert heat.