Group B: Team previews and breakdowns

Group B has an intriguing assemble of teams with England who earlier in the year was seen as a real contender, the U.S. who is back after missing out in Russia 2018 and has an exciting young roster, Wales who is returning to the World Cup after 64 years and Iran who has a core of good players that have been part of the national team for a while.

Let's take a look at what each team has to offer.

ENGLAND

Overall the Three Lions arguably have a top five roster, the problem is that they have not played well throughout the year and as a consequence finished last in their group for the UEFA Nations League.

Leaving that failure behind - England should still be considered the favorite in the group but every game will pose a unique challenge for them.

Team's Philosophy: Over the course of the last few months, England has primarily played with a 5-2-3. Gareth Southgate added a third center back to his tactics to try to strengthen the team's ability to defend.

Like many of the top teams the wing backs are expected to push into the attack often.

Let's take a look at their possible starting 11:

What this setup gives Southgate is flexibility, don't while Eric Dier will start at the back he could easily push into the defensive midfielder role and make it more of a 4-3-3 setup. I suspect we'll probably see that often in the first round.

Despite all the criticism he has received Harry Maguire has been a favorite of Southgate and is expected to start. John Stones should complete the center back trio flanked by Luke Shaw and Kyle Walker who will start after the injury of Reece James.

In the middle Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips are the projected starters and up front Harry Kane will be the starter along Phil Foden, but the question remains on the left side where Sturridge, Saka and Grealish could all start.

The other big question is at goal, Pickford was the starter in the last World Cup and Euro, Nick Pope has seen the most playing time and Aaron Ramsdale is probably the one in the best form. My guess is that Southgate will pick between Pickford and Pope.

Biggest Threat: Without a doubt Harry Kane is key for England, they will go as far as Kane takes them, but for sake of variety I will put Phil Foden as the secondary threat. He has been in great form at Manchester City, the simple fact that he was managed to find a spot in the starting lineup for one of the richest clubs in the world says a lot about his talent.

Weakness: The entire backline. Neither Shaw, Maguire or Trent Alexander-Arnold have been at their best and while Dier and Stones have been doing alright, this defensive unit has been exposed by Italy, Germany and Hungary in Nations League and all three opponents have the firepower up front to cause problems.

Player to watch: I'll go with Bukayo Saka. The 21-year old Arsenal winger has been doing great for the top team in the Premier League and his speed and technical ability could see him sneak into the starting line-up and become a crucial part of the team.

Bench options: Whoever doesn't start up front, if Foden and Sturridge are your starters, Saka and Grealish are excellent players who can give the team a boost, while Mason Mount and James Maddison could be a crucial players to connect the midfield with the front three.

What to expect: This is a tough question. While they should be expected to advance and possibly reach the quarterfinals, this backline doesn't inspire a lot of confidence and it's completely feasible for them to crash out in the group stage, but also a some good luck in the bracket and there could be a path to the final if they fix their defensive issues.

I'll go with quarterfinals as their ceiling and Round of 16 as worst scenario.

IR IRAN

The lesser known team of the group. Iran surprised many with how well they played against Spain and Portugal four years ago, in fact Iran came very close of beating Portugal a result that would have seen them win the group and knockout Portugal out.

Iran retains the base of that team and their front three are a bigger threat.

Team's Philosophy: Iran is a defensive team that will allow opponents to have more possession of the ball, but also like the high press and are very dangerous in the counter attack and very disciplined defensively. Iran tends to favor the 4-3-3.

This is how Iran could line-up:

One thing to watch for is how they'll play their two attackers Sardar Azmoun and Mehdi Taremi. In the lead up to the World Cup Azmoun has usually played as the No. 9 while Taremi has been used on the left wing, but occasionally they are reversed. The other thing to take into account is that Azmoun was injured with Bayer Leverkusen and is not certain if he'll be fit for the opening game against England.

Biggest Threat: The front three can create a lot of problems for any team.

Weakness: While the team doesn't really have any glaring holes, their biggest obstable is collectively creating enough chances. In Russia the team only managed to score two goals in three games - an own goal from Morocco and a Penalty against Portugal.

Players to watch: Mehdi Taremi the striker from FC Porto and Feyenoord winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh.

Bench options: If Azmoun starts, the veteran forward Karim Ansarifard will be an interesting option.

What to expect: Iran could surprise many if they find themselves in a 3-way battle for second with the U.S. and Wales, their sound defending may allow them to earn enough points to make it out of the group, but the goal should be to remain in contention to advance until their final group stage game.

UNITED STATES

After the disappointment of not qualifying for Russia - the U.S. is back with a young and exciting team. Only one of the 26 players in its roster - DeAndre Yedlin - has previous World Cup experience.

While that can be a setback for some teams, that could benefit them as they'll be unfazed by past failures, besides no players from Wales, their first rival has ever played in a World Cup before.

Team's Philosophy: The U.S. for the most part plays with a 4-3-3, this setup allows its wing backs to join the attack and allow the wingers to move and find space in the final third. Tyler Adams can also provide cover for the other two midfielders to move forward and find passing options.

Gregg Berhalter likes his teams to control possession of the ball and build-up from the back without the need to launch 60-yard passes to find its forwards. While the concept is great, in the past the team has ran into trouble when they've faced heavy pressure from the opposition.

How could the U.S. line-up:

Probably 9 of the 11 starting positions are locked in. WIth the omission of Zack Steffen there is no debate at goal, Arsenal's Matt Turner will be the starter. The backline is also completely set Antonee Robinson is a lock on the left, and Sergiño Dest on the right. Walker Zimmerman and Aaron Long will be the starters at center back. Long is not the first choice for many fans, but it clear that he is the preferred choice of Berhalter.

In the midfield, Adams and McKennie are locks and in my eyes so is Yunus Musah.

The fun is up front. Christian Pulisic is a lock at starting and likely to be the team's captain. The two questions are who starts at forward and in the right wing.

Jesus Ferreira has seen the most minutes but he had a rough second half of the season for FC Dallas, so I wouldn't be surprised if Josh Sargent gets the nod.

At right wing TIm Weah will likely start but Brenden Aaronson and Giovanni Reyna could also be in consideration.

Biggest threats/Players to Watch: Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie.

Weakness: The big concern is when any center back has to defend in open space, this was seen in the game against Japan where the backline has a lot of issues facing the Japanese players one-on-one.

Bench options: There is a few, Giovanni Reyna is not expected to start, and he and Aaronson have the ability to change a game coming from the bench.

What to expect: The team should start strong, the fans should feel the urgency of getting the ball rolling early in the game against Wales after missing out in the last tournament. When it comes to results the U.S. is favored to advance along with England, but if the team can fix the issues from the last two warm-up games, is not far fetched to think the U.S. could top the group and put themselves in good position for a deep-run.

WALES

For the first time in 60 years Wales are back in the World Cup. The time of their return is interesting as it comes long after Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey reach their best level.

While they are a defensive minded, what makes Wales and interesting is having a blend of veteran players on their final stretch with the national team and young promising players. Players that are tough but not very technical or fast and others who are technically gifted and have a lot of speed.

Team's Philosophy:

The team has recently been playing with a 5-2-3 formation - as I have already explained having three center backs allows the wing back to have more freedom to move forward.

The concern for Wales if they do line-up this way that it could leave its two midfielders on an island.

Take a look at this projected lineup:

This was one of the toughest teams to project because of all the changes from one game to the next. Aaron Ramsey has seen little playing time lately but I can't imagine not starting him if he's fit. One thing to keep an eye for is where Gareth Bale plays, traditionally a winger Bale has recently been playing as a 9 or even a false 9 up front which makes sense for Wales, the position is less demanding physically and his ability to score is unmatched by any other option at that position.

Players to watch: Apart from Bale I'm interested in midfielder Ethan Ampadu, and wingers Daniel James and Brennan Johnson.

Weakness: The midfield. This team can defend well as a unit but they don't have a lot of depth in the middle which could be a concern, also while James and Johnson are good young players they're not players know for being to take defenders one-on-one.

The other weakness is the Number 9 position, while Bale may end up playing there the only other option up front in case he can't play the 90 minutes or need to move him elsewhere is Kieffer Moore who is a serviceable striker but doesn't strike much fear in the opposition.

This is a team that has a hard time if they find themselves down in the scoreboard as they lack options on players that can contribute up front.

Bench Options: Not much, the best options are on the back with left back Ben Davies and right back Neco WIlliams, and possibly Fulham winger Harry Wilson.

What to expect: Wales is a team that will have to try to get something out of the U.S. in the first game and then a win against Iran to have a chance to advance. In terms of quality they are the third best team in the group and in terms of depth they're last.

The best news for Wales is that they're a really bad matchup for England and the U,S, a team that is hard to break down and that can create chances in the counter and off turnovers. For reference Scotland was a similar matchup for England in the Euro a game that ended with a 0-0 draw.

Wales could very well get two draws in those games or better, now the game against is a bit harder to predict who will want to have more ball possession, but regardless if you have plans to go shopping for Black Friday, this is a game you shouldn't worry too much about missing.