The results of the 2022 World Cup group draw were released, representing the 5 teams participating in the Asian region, the signing positions were different, the host Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Japan drew the next draw, South Korea was generally signed, but Iran, the first in Asia, was drawn to the top draw, and was the most promising Asian team to advance to the round of 16.
The current five Asian teams are grouped into specific groups:
Qatar Group A opponents: Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
Iran Group B opponents: England, USA, Ukraine/Scotland/Wales
Saudi Group C opponents: Argentina, Mexico, Poland
Japan Group E opponents: Spain, Germany, Costa Rica/New Zealand
South Korea Group H opponents: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay
Qatar, as the host, is the opponent of the best team in each gear, basically booking a round of group stage, and the same is true for Saudi Arabia, which may suffer three consecutive defeats and go home. Japan is divided into the same group as Spain and Germany, from the group stage to break through the need for miracles, South Korea and Portugal, Uruguay, Ghana in the same group, the difficulty of qualifying is medium, Iran is the only strength in the group is England, the other two teams can fight, especially the United States.
After the results of the World Cup group draw came out, Wang Xiaorui and Ma Dexing, two reporters of Sports Weekly, also believed that Iran's signing position was the best team in Asia and hoped to advance to the round of 16. Iran has competed in five previous tournaments and has never advanced to the round of 16, with the best ranking being 14th in the 1978 World Cup.
England's strength has increased significantly in recent years, locking in a top 16 qualification is not a big problem, Iran has to compete with the United States and European play-off opponents, between Wales, Scotland, Ukraine, 3 opponents are not very strong.
One of the highlights of this group is the showdown between Iran and the United States, the two teams have only met once in the history of the World Cup, in 1998, Iran defeated the United States 2-1 to win the first World Cup in the history of the team, and now meet again 24 years later.
The United States, which participated in the World Cup for the 11th time, has never been defeated in the World Cup, including the 1998 World Cup group stage, 1-2 loss to Iran, and the 2002 World Cup group stage, the United States drew 1-1 with host South Korea.
The match between Iran and the United States is the final round, and if Iran wins against the play-off team and wins the United States, it can send the North American powerhouse home early.