The fourth team of this group will be the winner of the playoff matches between Wales, Scotland and Ukraine. So we could be having 3 teams from the old Commonwealth. The favorites for the lead place are England, while Iran seems to be the obvious fourth. The second spot will be contested between the United States and the team that takes up the remaining ticket.
Wales were the last team to qualify for the group after the playoffs of June. And here we have a most interesting «British» confrontation as three out of the four participants have a Commonwealth origin. England poses as the direct favorite and in all likelihood,it will be the match between the U.S.A. and Wales the one to determine which side will follow on second place.
EnglandUnder the leadership of Gareth Southgate, the three lions have stopped being naïve on the pitch. Their participation on the final of the latest Euro is ample proof. In fact, they are expected to play a role even as far as the last eight are concerned, or even further than that. They have both the players and the team to back this claim up. As always, the tip of the spear will be Harry Kane, supported by Jordan Pickford, Mason Mount, Phil Foden and a lot of new and old top class footballers. If there’s a weakness to be exploited by their opponents, it has to do with their defense as Harry Maguire does not seem to be at the top of his game, while the rest of the players are rather new. IranThey qualified first in their group having opponents like Bahrein, Iraq, Hong Kong and Cambodia whom they ravaged by no less than 14-0! Probably the greatest asset is the new manager Marc Wilmots. There’s only one footballer playing for a top tier league and that’s Saman Ghoddos for Brentford in the UK. Three more players have experience from the international stage and all of them play for A.E.K. Athens, Greece. Everyone is expecting that they would put up a good fight during their matches, maybe manage to get a draw, however, eventually they will be defeated and finish last in Group B.USAHere we are dealing with an unknown factor as it’s a rather new team. The undisputed leader is none other than Chelsea star, Christian Pulisic. However, he is supported by players that participate in top tier clubs all over Europe. Timothy Weah (Lille), Malik Tillman (Bayern Munich), Weston McKennie (Juventus) and Manchester City’s substitute goalkeeper Zack Steffen. It’s quite indicative of what the Americans are trying to do, that the oldest players in the roster are 27 years old. In all likelihood they will fight it out for a position in the round of 16 and if they manager to get there, they will probably not make it any further than that.WalesIt will only be the second time that the Dragons will show up in a final phase of a World Cup after 1958. It would seem that the legendary stature of Ryan Giggs has given a new life since he took over as manager in 2018. Another legend captains the team on the pitch and that’s Gareth Bale. Even though he may not be at the best form of his career, he’s always a danger to be dealt with, for any defense. Aaron Ramsey and Kieffer Moore are the most notable players to share the burden of a respectable level of performance, while some new blood of the likes of Neco Williams and Rhys Davies, along with the imposing presence of Ben Davies, form a core that can produce some good results. The names are there. However, the latest performances with 2 wins, 1 draw and a defeat for 2022, say that they may have to improve their level considerably.
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