Senegal is really loaded with talent. They also have Gana Gueye in midfield and are strong at just about every position. They could make a serious run. I see them as a top 10 team in the world, in terms of talent.
The counter argument is that the US might be benefitted by a strong pot 1 team that reduces the chances of other teams taking something off them. So Qatar sounds good until you draw them (good result against a pot 1 team!) but then Wales beats them 2-0. Might work better to have France take 9 points and just take care of business against pots 3 and 4. Not sure about this, but it's a possibility. Affecting all this is likely also the order of the games. Might be great to have already qualified France in game three and you only need to lose by less than 3, versus getting Qatar in game 1 when you don't know what you have to shoot for. Here's my feeling -- the pot-by-confederation approach always put the US in a group of death almost by design. This has to be better.
lol, england isnt winning anything...not that im itching to play them. if they started pickford maybe.
Likely US results against each of the Pot 3 teams: Senegal - US Loss, this team is stacked. Serbia - US Loss, I'm definitely scared of this team. Poland - US Loss. Lewandowski is our worst nightmare. IR Iran - US Win, but they have real goal scorers in Azmoun (Leverkeusen) and Taremi (Porto), so they are dangerous. Japan - US Win Morocco - Draw. Could be a loss if Ziyech returns to the national team from Chelsea after falling out with the coach. South Korea - US Win Tunisia - US Win. But remember how hard a time we had against Algeria in 2010? Pot 1: All losses, except maybe a draw against Qatar (depends if we play them first, second, or third - better to play them last). I also think we could earn a draw against England or Portugal if the stars align (ala 2010 and 2014). Qatar Brazil Belgium France Argentina England Spain Portugal
I'm curious why our odds of getting Brazil or Argentina are higher? I understand why the odds are different in other pots, but is there variance in Pot 1?
Why would our chances of getting Qatar be higher than the UEFA teams? I can understand Brazil/Argentina since if Uruguay would be drawn with them, they go to another group so that increases the liklihood for other pot 2 teams to get them, but don't get Qatar.
I'll also note that African teams and Iran will most likely play better in the Qatari heat conditions.
As a Poland fan, this seems like a fairly surface level view. Obviously going up against arguably the best player in the world is never ideal, but I'd argue if you take out Lewa, Poland is a middling UEFA team. Additionally we were pretty stout defensively in the qualifiers, so a team who's only strength is their striker is probably a matchup advantage for us. We could definitely lose to Poland, but I consider The US favorites in that
I guess Gregg will be looking at hotel accommodations for the team. Chateau de Pizay redux? https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/american-fiasco/articles/american-fiasco-roger-bennett-chateau Or do we go more Campo Bahia in Brazil, ala Germany? https://www.sporttechie.com/germany-built-their-own-base-camp-in-brazil-for-the-world-cup/
Uruguay cannot draw them. So if Uruguay gets drawn to what would be a group with Brazil or Argentina, then they go to another group (basically Uruguay can only go into one of 6 groups and has a 0% chance of being in the Brazil or Argentina groups). That means that all the other teams in pot 2 have a higher chance of getting Brazil or Argentina.
With Steffen's shaky play in goal, I am not confident of keeping Lewandowski quiet. Plus I think he would win any battle with Zimmerman and Robinson.
Because you can't pair a Pot 2 CONMEBOL team with Argentina or Brazil, so Uruguay's odds get distributed to the other Pot 2 teams.
So maybe cooler/less humid than our Brazil World Cup games. But I expect African and Asian teams to have more fans in the stands. And for any neutrals to be anti-US.
I don't know about US favorites. I think that's a case where the US would be happy to draw, while Poland would be disappointed. But who knows 9 months from now? The US has to play better than they have so far for me to consider them favorites over Poland.
Neither can be paired with Uruguay, and they're in Pot 2. Thus, everybody else's odds of getting Brazil or Argentina are higher.
In the past we were almost, by definition, in a 'group of death' as I think we were always in pot 3 but a dangerous team. Moving on up to pot 2 has changed that quite a bit. Still can happen, but no longer as high a chance.
I'd give us a slight advantage on the wings and with our fullbacks, but a massive advantage centrally with our MMA midfield, that is a big weakness for Poland. With Glik being well past his prime, I'd consider The CB's to be about a wash, and Poland would obviously have the edge at striker and goalie. I really think our MMA midfield would control that game, and I'd bet on the US if you gave me even odds
Presumably also training home bases. And with Qatar being such a small country you basically won’t have to leave where ever your home base is.