UNITED STATES
11/2 To Win Group | 100/1 To Win Tournament | FIFA Ranking: 16
How They Qualified
Tied with Costa Rica in the Concacaf World Cup qualifying standings on 25 points but finished third and qualified automatically to Qatar on a goal differential advantage (+11 to +5).
Coach
Gregg Berhalter – a key defender on the 2002 team and former coach of MLS’s Columbus Crew.
Key Player
Christian Pulisic – The 24-year-old will lead the United States at Qatar and has been a star at international level. He became the most expensive American player in history when he made a £58m move to Chelsea in 2019 and helped the Premier League side win the 2020/21 Champions League title.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Matt Turner, Sean Johnson, Ethan Horvath
Defenders: Cameron Carter-Vickers, Sergino Dest, Aaron Long, Shaq Moore, Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson, Joe Scally, DeAndre Yedlin, Walker Zimmerman
Midfielders: Brenden Aaronson, Kellyn Acosta, Tyler Adams, Luca de la Torre, Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah, Cristian Roldan
Forwards: Jesus Ferreira, Jordan Morris, Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna, Joshua Sargent, Timothy Weah, Haji Wright
WALES
6/1 To Win Group | 150/1 To Win Tournament | FIFA Ranking: 19
How They Qualified
Beat Ukraine 1-0 in the European World Cup qualifying playoff in Cardiff to qualify for the World Cup finals for the first time in 64 years.
Coach
Rob Page – After leading the Dragons at Euro 2020 and through World Cup qualifying on an interim basis, the 48-year-old took over the reins of the Wales national team when Ryan Giggs stepped down.
Key Player
Gareth Bale – The former Real Madrid and current LAFC star is regarded as the greatest Welsh player of all time and is the Dragons’ all-time leading scorer. Despite the prime of his career fading into the rearview, Bale is often more than capable of producing moments of magic to push his nation to a level beyond expectancy.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Wayne Hennessey, Danny Ward, Adam Davies
Defenders: Ben Davies, Ben Cabango, Tom Lockyer, Joe Rodon, Chris Mepham, Ethan Ampadu, Chris Gunter, Neco Williams, Connor Roberts
Midfielders: Sorba Thomas, Joe Allen, Matthew Smith, Dylan Levitt, Harry Wilson, Joe Morrell, Jonny Williams, Aaron Ramsey, Rubin Colwill
Forwards: Gareth Bale, Kieffer Moore, Mark Harris, Brennan Johnson, Daniel James
IRAN
16/1 To Win Group | 500/1 To Win Tournament | FIFA Ranking: 20
How They Qualified
Topped Group A, ahead of South Korea, to claim one of four automatic qualifying spots available to Asian nations. Despite opposition including Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, Iran had impressive spells – conceding just four goals while scoring 14.
Coach
Carlos Queiroz – The Mexican was famously Sir Alex Ferguson’s No. 2 at Manchester United during 2002-03 and 2004-08, while he also mentored Bafana Bafana for a year between 2002 and 2003.
Key Player
Sardar Azmoun – The Bayer Leverkusen forward has not lived up to the initial hype that surrounded him but will be a player to watch out for from this Iran side given his experience.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand, Amir Abedzadeh, Hossein Hosseini, Payam Niazmand.
Defenders: Ehsan Hajsafi, Morteza Pouraliganji, Ramin Rezaeian, Milad Mohammadi, Hossein Kanani, Shojae Khalilzadeh, Sadegh Moharrami, Rouzbeh Cheshmi, Majid Hosseini, Abolfazl Jalali.
Midfielders: Ahmad Noorollahi, Saman Ghoddos, Vahid Amiri, Saeid Ezatolahi, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Mehdi Torabi, Ali Gholizadeh, Ali Karimi.
Forwards: Karim Ansarifard, Sardar Azmoun, Mehdi Taremi.
ENGLAND
1/3 To Win Group | 7/1 To Win Tournament | FIFA Ranking: 5
How They Qualified
Breezed through qualifying, winning eight of their 10 qualifiers, drawing two – against Hungary and Poland. The 10-0 win over San Marino in November was the first time England hit double figures since 1964.
Coach
Gareth Southgate – The 52-year-old guided England to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the Euro 2020 final as manager.
Key Player
Harry Kane – The Tottenham striker is not only England’s talisman but also their leader and best player. In all likelihood, the Three Lions will go as far as Kane’s goal scoring can take them.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale, Nick Pope.
Defenders: Kieran Trippier, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kyle Walker, Ben White, Harry Maguire, John Stones, Eric Dier, Conor Coady, Luke Shaw.
Midfielders: Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Kalvin Phillips, Jordan Henderson, Conor Gallagher, Mason Mount.
Forwards: Harry Kane, Callum Wilson, Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, James Maddison.