CHICAGO (Nov. 19, 2022) – The U.S. Men’s National Team will kick off the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar on Monday, Nov. 21 against Wales. Returning to the world stage for the first time in eight years, the USA was drawn alongside Wales, England and IR Iran in Group B.
Kickoff for USA-Wales from Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar is set for 2 p.m. ET on Fox and Telemundo.
Twenty-five of 26 USMNT players have the opportunity to make their World Cup debuts. The remarkably youthful U.S. roster is the second youngest in Qatar, but is packed with potential — 14 of 26 players compete in the world’s top five leagues.
Contesting its first World Cup since 1958, Wales is in the midst of perhaps its greatest era of international success after qualifying for its first two UEFA European Championships in 2016 and 2020, finishing third at the 2016 tournament.
GOALKEEPERS (3): Ethan Horvath (Luton Town/ENG; 8/0; Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Sean Johnson (New York City FC; 10/0; Lilburn, Ga.), Matt Turner (Arsenal/ENG; 20/0; Park Ridge, N.J.)
DEFENDERS (9): Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic/SCO; 11/0; Southend-on-Sea, England), Sergiño Dest (AC Milan/ITA; 19/2; Almere, Netherlands), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls; 29/3; Oak Hills, Calif.), Shaq Moore (Nashville SC; 15/1; Powder Springs, Ga.), Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 46/1; St. Louis, Mo.), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 29/2; Liverpool, England), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 3/0; Lake Grove, N.Y.), DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami CF; 75/0; Seattle, Wash.), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; 33/3; Lawrenceville, Ga.)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG; 24/6; Medford, N.J.), Kellyn Acosta (LAFC; 53/2; Plano, Texas), Tyler Adams (Leeds United/ENG; 32/1; Wappingers Falls, N.Y.), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo/ESP; 12/0; San Diego, Calif.), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 37/9; Little Elm, Texas), Yunus Musah (Valencia/ESP; 19/0; London, England), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC; 32/0; Pico Rivera, Calif.)
FORWARDS (7): Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas; 15/7; McKinney, Texas), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders; 49/11; Mercer Island, Wash.), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea/ENG; 52/21; Hershey, Pa.), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 14/4; Bedford, N.Y.), Josh Sargent (Norwich City/ENG; 20/5; O’Fallon, Mo.), Tim Weah (Lille/FRA; 25/3; Rosedale, N.Y.), Haji Wright (Antalyaspor/TUR; 3/1; Los Angeles, Calif.)
Date
Opponent
Venue
Time (ET)
TV Info
Monday, Nov. 21
Wales
Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium; Al Rayyan, Qatar
2 p.m.
FOX, Telemundo
Friday, Nov. 25
England
Al Bayt Stadium; Al Khor, Qatar
2 p.m.
FOX, Telemundo
Tuesday, Nov. 29
IR Iran
Al Thumama Stadium; Doha, Qatar
2 p.m.
FOX, Telemundo
Playing in its 11th FIFA World Cup and eighth of the last nine, the USMNT will go up against the tournament’s strongest overall group in Qatar. Drawn into Group B alongside Wales, England and IR Iran, the four nations hold an average rank of 15.
From the available data for qualified teams, the USMNT played 10 of the 11 youngest lineups worldwide during the recently concluded qualifying cycle, with all 14 lineups falling in the 23 youngest Starting XIs in the world dating back to October 2020. After its successful qualifying campaign, each match is another opportunity for the young USMNT player pool to gain experience against top-flight competition.
The 2022 team ties the 1990 USA side for most U-23 players on a USMNT World Cup roster with nine: Tyler Adams (23); Brenden Aaronson, Sergiño Dest, Josh Sargent and Tim Weah (22); Jesús Ferreira (21); Yunus Musah, Gio Reyna and Joe Scally (19).
With the inclusion of Musah, Reyna and Scally, this is the first USMNT World Cup squad with more than one teenager on the roster, though Gio Reyna turned 20 on Nov. 12 and Yunus Musah will do so on Nov. 29, the day of the USA’s final group stage match against Iran.
While 25 players will seek to make their World Cup debuts in Qatar, the USMNT roster is no stranger to some of soccer’s biggest stages at the club level. Five of 26 players are participating in this year’s UEFA Champions League, the sport’s premier club competition, while 14 play for teams in the world’s top five leagues (England, Germany, Spain, Italy and France).
The USMNT’s World Cup squad reflects the success of the U.S. Soccer player development pathway, as many of the players came up through the U.S. Youth National Teams program and spent time in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy and/or the U.S. Soccer U-17 Residency Program.
Fourteen players – just over half the roster – have represented the USA in at least one FIFA Youth World Cup. Four took the field together at two separate tournaments: Tyler Adams, Luca de la Torre Christian Pulisic and Haji Wright at the 2015 U-17 World Cup in Chile, and Adams, Cameron Carter-Vickers, de la Torre and Josh Sargent at the 2017 U-20 World Cup in Korea Republic.
Despite the youth of the USMNT player pool, the U.S. squad earned their stripes during Concacaf’s rigorous 14-game World Cup qualification campaign, the Octagonal. A record-tying 29 players made their first WCQ appearance this cycle in the challenging conditions of Concacaf.
The spirit of our message is that each and every person has the ability, opportunity and responsibility to make a difference in their own way. The motto has been brought to life in a number of different ways. Last June, the USMNT advocated for stricter gun control with armbands and an imploring letter to Congress to pass legislation.
Now, with the eyes of the world on the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the USMNT and U.S. Soccer will continue to elevate and advance the Be the Change message, inviting everyone on the journey to make a positive and lasting impact.
As the USMNT prepares to kick off the World Cup in Qatar, the team has welcomed some special guests to its “home away from home” – Al Gharafa Stadium, serving as the U.S. training facility for the month. On Tuesday night, eight players and two coaches hosted 20 migrant workers who helped build the infrastructure behind the World Cup for some fun on the field, playing small-sided games and taking part in a penalty kick shootout alongside the USMNT. Afterwards, the U.S. contingent signed autographs and took photos with workers to thank them for their efforts to make the tournament happen.
GOALKEEPERS (3): Wayne Hennnessey (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 106/0), Danny Ward (Leicester City/ENG; 26/0), Adam Davies (Sheffield United/ENG; 3/0)
DEFENDERS (9): Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur/ENG; 74/1), Ben Cabango (Swansea City; 5/0), Tom Lockyer (Luton Town/ENG; 14/0), Joe Rodon (Rennes/FRA; 30/0), Chris Mepham (Bournemouth/ENG; 33/0), Ethan Ampadu (Spezia/ITA; 37/0), Chris Gunter (AFC Wimbledon/ENG; 109/0), Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 23/2), Connor Roberts (Burnley/ENG; 41/3)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Sorba Thomas (Huddersfield Town/ENG; 6/0), Joe Allen (Swansea City; 72/2), Matt Smith (MK Dons/ENG; 19/0), Dylan Levitt (Dundee United/SCO; 13/0), Harry Wilson (Fulham/ENG; 39/5), Joe Morrell (Portsmouth/ENG; 30/0), Jonny Williams (Swindon Town/ENG; 33/2), Aaron Ramsey (Nice/FRA; 75/20) Rubin Colwell (Cardiff City; 7/1)
FORWARDS (5): Gareth Bale (Los Angeles FC/USA; 108/40), Kieffer Moore (Bournemouth/ENG; 28/9), Mark Harris (Cardiff City; 5/0), Brennan Johnson (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 15/2), Daniel James (Fulham/ENG; 38/5)
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