Fifa World Cup group B: USA vs. Wales preview, predictions, possible starting XIs, TV

Gareth Bale and the Wales squad in training at the Al Saad SC in Doha

(Image credit: Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images)

last updated 21 November 2022

It’s been a long 64 years, but Wales are back at the Fifa World Cup. Robert Page’s side qualified for Qatar 2022 via the play-offs and they will be looking to emulate the “class of 58”, who reached the quarter-finals.

2022 Fifa World Cup Qatar: Argentina beat France in ‘one of the greatest finals’ ever 2022 Fifa World Cup group B: qualifiers, final table and results

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Describing the World Cup return as a “massive piece of history” for Wales and “something we have all wanted for a long time", skipper Gareth Bale said qualifying was “probably the biggest honour” for the squad. “It’s history in our country,” he said. “Schools are going to stop to watch our games. We have the support of the nation back home, no matter what happens, as long as we give 100% our country will love us for that.”

It’s been confirmed that the captains of group B rivals Wales and England and five other European nations will not wear the OneLove armband in Qatar. The skippers, including Wales’s Bale and England’s Harry Kane, had planned to wear the armband to “promote diversity and inclusion”, said the BBC. But it’s now been decided that the armband won’t be worn because of a threat from Fifa that captains could face an instant yellow card.

A joint statement from the Football Associations of England, Wales, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland said that Fifa has been “very clear” that it will impose sporting sanctions if captains wear the armbands on the field of play. “As national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions including bookings, so we have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in Fifa World Cup games.”

The US look to be entering the match with a “rare clean bill of health”, said Jake Nisse in the Daily Mail. Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna, Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie will all look to “leave their mark” in their first World Cup appearances. Midfielder Luca de la Torre is one of the main doubts for the US. He sustained a hamstring injury playing for Spanish club Celta Vigo in late October.

Monday’s clash promises to be “one of the most intriguing” of the opening round of matches, said Marc Mayo in the London Evening Standard. The US are one of the teams heading into the tournament “without a huge amount of positive energy”, something which the Welsh team can tend to “almost exclusively trade on”. Still, a “nervy and edgy” affair is most likely to start both teams’s campaign. Prediction: USA 1 Wales 1.

With England favourites to win the group, the “fight for second place” could be “extremely close”, said Andrew Delaney on SportsMole. Neither side “can afford to lose this crunch opener” and both the US and Wales have become “heavily reliant on a few certain individuals to get them goals”. This could mean “one piece of brilliance may be what decides the outcome”. Prediction: USA 1 Wales 1

There is “very little” between the sides in terms of Fifa rankings, and “that is reflected in our supercomputer prediction model”, said Daniel Lewis on The Analyst. USA, who have never registered a goalless draw in 33 World Cup matches, have a “39.5% chance of taking all three points, compared to 31.2% for Wales”. The prediction model produces a “29.3% likelihood” of a draw happening in what’s “undoubtedly a crucial match in determining which of these sides might make good on their ambitions to advance to the knockout stages”.

Head coach: Gregg Berhalter
Key player: Christian Pulisic
One to watch: Sergino Dest
Goalkeepers: Ethan Horvath (Luton), Sean Johnson (New York City), Matt Turner (Arsenal)
Defenders: Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic), Sergino Dest (AC Milan), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls), Shaq Moore (Nashville), Tim Ream (Fulham), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Joe Scally (Borussia Monchengladbach), DeAndre Yedlin (Miami), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville)
Midfielders: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds), Kellyn Acosta (Los Angeles), Tyler Adams (Leeds), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Yunus Musah (Valencia), Cristian Roldan (Seattle)
Forwards: Jesus Ferreira (Dallas), Jordan Morris (Seattle), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Josh Sargent (Norwich), Tim Weah (Lille), Haji Wright (Antalyspor)

Head coach: Robert Page
Key player: Gareth Bale
One to watch: Brennan Johnson
Goalkeepers: Wayne Hennessey (Nottingham Forest), Danny Ward (Leicester City), Adam Davies (Stoke City)
Defenders: Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest), Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Ben Cabango (Swansea City), Joe Rodon (Rennes, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur), Chris Mepham (Bournemouth), Ethan Ampadu (Spezia, on loan from Chelsea), Chris Gunter (AFC Wimbledon), Connor Roberts (Burnley), Tom Lockyer (Luton Town)
Midfielders: Aaron Ramsey (Nice), Joe Allen (Swansea City), Harry Wilson (Fulham), Joe Morrell (Portsmouth), Dylan Levitt (Dundee United), Rubin Colwill (Cardiff City), Jonny Williams (Swindon Town), Matthew Smith (Milton Keynes Dons), Sorba Thomas (Huddersfield Town)
Forwards: Gareth Bale (Los Angeles FC), Dan James (Fulham, on loan from Leeds United), Kieffer Moore (Bournemouth), Mark Harris (Cardiff City), Brennan Johnson (Nottingham Forest)

Explore More

Mike Starling is the former digital features editor at The Week. He started his career in 2001 in Gloucestershire as a sports reporter and sub-editor and has held various roles as a writer and editor at news, travel and B2B publications. He has spoken at a number of sports business conferences and also worked as a consultant creating sports travel content for tourism boards. International experience includes spells living and working in Dubai, UAE; Brisbane, Australia; and Beirut, Lebanon.