LOS ANGELES — The U.S. will play England, Iran and the winner of a three-team UEFA playoff in group play at this fall's World Cup in Qatar. The tournament draw for the 29 qualified teams was held Friday at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center. Three more teams will be added to the field in a series of playoffs this spring.
Defending champion France, ranked third in the world by FIFA, was drawn into Group D alongside Denmark, Tunisia and the winner of an intercontinental playoff for the first round while five-time champion Brazil, the No. 1 team in the world, will play in Group G with Switzerland, Serbia and Cameroon.
The first fall World Cup — and first to be played in the Middle East — will kick off Nov. 21 with host Qatar meeting Ecuador. The final will be played Dec. 18.
The U.S. is returning to the World Cup for the first time since 2014 after grabbing the third and final qualifying spot in the CONCACAF qualifying tournament on Wednesday. Canada finished first, edging second-place Mexico on goal differential.
Mexico was drawn in Group C alongside Lionel Messi's Argentina, Robert Lewandowski's Poland and Saudi Arabia.
No. 38-ranked Canada made its only World Cup appearance in 1986 and did not win a game. It will play in a group with Belgium and Croatia — among the final four teams four years ago — and Morocco.
Group E features two of the last three World Cup winners in Spain and Germany, alongside Japan and an intercontinental playoff winner.
The top two teams in each of the eight four-team groups in Qatar advance to the knockout rounds. Mexico, ranked ninth in the world, has advanced out of the group stage in every World Cup it has played in since 1978 but has made it beyond the round of 16 just once during that span. The U.S., which will field the youngest team in Qatar with an average age of 24, has made the second round in three of its last four World Cup appearances. It is ranked 15th in the world.
"The starting point is getting out of the group, and once you do that, it's tournament time, it's knockout, single elimination, so anything can happen," coach Gregg Berhalter said.
2022 World Cup draw
Group A
— Qatar, Netherlands, Senegal, Ecuador
Group B
— England, U.S., Iran, UEFA playoff winner
Group C
— Argentina, Mexico, Poland, Saudi Arabi
Group D
— France, Denmark, Tunisia, intercontinental playoff winner
Group E
— Spain, Germany, Japan, intercontinental playoff winner
Group F
— Belgium, Croatia, Morocco, Canada
Group G
— Brazil, Switzerland, Serbia, Cameroon
Group H
— Portugal, Uruguay, South Korea, Ghana
