American interest in the World Cup, the world’s premier soccer competition, has been growing steadily over the years. It wasn’t so long ago that the country largely turned its back on the international tournament, but a run of good performances by the US national team awoke curiosity, and it’s expected that the forthcoming World Cup will be the most popular in the United States to date. In this blog, we’ll run through everything you need to know, including when and where it is, the players to watch, and why it may be worthwhile using a free bet offer from a site like oddschecker to back Lionel Messi’s Argentina to lift the trophy. Ready? Let’s dive in.
Where And When Is It Taking Place?
The World Cup will take place in Qatar. This is notable for multiple reasons; for one thing, it’s the first time that the competition has been held in the Middle East, and only the second time it has been held in Asia; the first was in 2002 when South Korea and Japan jointly hosted.
This is also the first time that the competition will be held during what is winter in the northern hemisphere. Qatar’s soaring temperatures mean that it’s only feasible to play matches during the winter. The tournament gets underway on November 21 and runs through to December 18, when the final will take place at the Lusail Stadium. Matches take place every day during the group stage (often, multiple matches in a single day) and then every few days once the knock-out stages of the competition begin.
What’s Different About This Competition?
By far, the most singular thing about the 2022 World Cup is that it’ll take place during the winter months; it’s the first time it’s happened. The World Cup usually takes place in the break between domestic league campaigns, but this one takes place in the middle of the season. The English Premier League will take an extended mid-season break to accommodate the World Cup, which will likely impact the title race.
This competition will be notable for the absence of Italy, a footballing powerhouse who don’t only routinely appear at the World Cup but are often among the favorites to win it. This will also (most likely) be the final World Cup for both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the two finest players of their generation — and, indeed, two of the best of all time.
Who Will The USA Play?
The World Cup is a spectacle that everyone can enjoy, even those people from countries that did not qualify for the competition. However, let’s be honest, it’s even more fun when your country is participating, just like the US is.
The US is in Group B alongside England, Iran, and Wales. That means they’ve got a great chance of making it through the group stages and into the knock-out rounds. Indeed, while England will be favorites to top the group, there’s every chance they slip up and the US will finish in first place — England have been looking a little ropey recently, so it’s not a far-fetched idea.
If the US finishes second, then they’ll play the winners of Group A, which is likely to be the Netherlands or Senegal. If they finish first, they’ll play the runners up of that group (again, likely to be the Netherlands or Senegal). From there, it’s too difficult to predict what will happen, so when it comes to it, it’s best to just enjoy the ride!
The fixtures are taking place in Qatar, so obviously, there’s a time difference to keep in mind. However, fans of the US team are in luck: their fixtures will be shown on TV at a reasonable time.
The group stage fixtures are as follows:
- USA vs. Wales, Nov. 21, 2 pm (EST)
- England vs. USA, Nov. 25, 2 pm (EST)
- Iran vs. USA, Nov. 29, 2 pm. (EST)
If you want to attend the World Cup, then you better get planning. Flights and hotels will get more expensive the closer to the World Cup we get, and tickets will be hard to come by. It can be fun to attend the World Cup even if you don’t have tickets to a game, though.
Who’s Looking Good?
There’s never a runaway favorite to win the World Cup. Even when there has been a lot of hype surrounding one team before the competition, it rarely turns into reality — there are too many variables at play. Some under-the-radar players have amazing competitions; some big names go missing entirely.
Having said that, it’s rare that a complete outsider wins the competition. The winner nearly always comes from a group of around five teams. So who are those teams this time around? Brazil are the favorites, followed by England, France, and Argentina.
Argentina may be fourth favorite for the competition, but there are reasons to think why they might come out on top. This is Lionel Messi’s last competition, for starters, so he’ll be extra motivated to win a trophy that has so far eluded him (it’s about the only medal he doesn’t have). Plus, Argentina have been playing well, much more cohesively than they have done in the past. There’s no reason to think that England are better than them on that front. Brazil have the big-name players, and they’ll fancy their chances, too, especially since they haven’t won the competition for a while.
Large outsiders include Germany, Spain, and Belgium; any one of those teams could hit some form and take themselves to the final. This will be Ronaldo’s last World Cup, but you have to imagine that even the great man himself can’t take Portugal too far in the competition.
Conclusion
And there we have it! As always, the World Cup will be an outstanding spectacle; it always is. And with the added drama of a winter competition and some big names making their final World Cup appearances, it promises to be a classic edition of what might be the world’s best sporting event.