World Cup Group B: Home nations to progress through to the last 16

World Cup Qatar 2022 begins on the 21st November and here at BettingOdds.com we will have unrivalled coverage of this huge sporting occasion including team/group previews, match betting prediction and props, bet-builders and ante post markets. Here we preview Group B...

Team Profiles:

England

To qualify: 1/16

To win Group B: 9/20

To win World Cup: 7/1

World Cup appearances: 16

Best performance: Winners (1966)

Head Coach: Gareth Southgate

Star player: Harry Kane (Tottenham)

Golden Boot favourite: Harry Kane (Tottenham) - 50 Int. goals - 8/1

Our verdict: Could this be last chance saloon for Southgate? After an initial great start to his England managerial career with a semi-final appearance at World Cup 2018 and then going one better at Euro 2020, losing in the final to Italy, Southgate has found himself under increasing pressure in recent months, mainly down to a torrid Nation's League campaign. They sit bottom of their group, winless and were demolished 4-0 at Molineux by Hungary - their worst defeat on home shores since 1928!

One thing in Southgate's favour is a relatively easy group draw on paper. However, these are three teams that will be bang up for a match against England. Wales, USA and Iran. If Southgate can get his strongest 11 sorted and get them playing some attractive attacking football again, then with the firepower of Golden Boot favourite Kane up front, there is no reason England can't go very deep again in another major tournament. If not then much bigger questions will be asked about Southgate's future. 

Wales

To qualify: 11/10

To win Group B: 6/1

To win World Cup: 250/1

World Cup appearances: 2

Best performance: Quarter-Finals (1958)

Head Coach: Robert Page

Star player: Gareth Bale (Los Angeles FC)

Golden Boot favourite: Gareth Bale, 39 int. goals, 66/1 

Our verdict: Wales have qualified for just their second ever World Cup and their first for 64 years - a remarkable achievement in itself. Much of this can be put down to the man management of Rob Page, who has instilled a spirit and togetherness in this squad that is unmatched in world football. He has managed to knit together world stars such as Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey with lower division players and new additions like Sorba Thomas.

Bale continues to be inspired when in the red shirt of the dragons and should they get through this group, they'll give anyone they face a tough game. It's likely to be between them and the US as to who qualifies and on recent form, we'd have to go with the Welsh. 

USA

To qualify: 7/5

To win Group A: 7/1

To win World Cup: 239/1

World Cup appearances: 11

Best performance: 3rd place (1930)

Head Coach: Gregg Berhalter

Star player: Christian Pulisic (Chelsea)

Golden Boot favourite: Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), 21 int. goals, 150/1 

Our verdict: The USMNT stumbled into the World Cup finals via the CONCACAF qualification in third place behind shock winners Canada and 2nd placed Mexico. The US had to fend off a late charge by Costa Rica and held on by margin of a better goal difference to qualify automatically. They appear terribly inconsistent; in their last twelve games in all competitions they have followed a home win with a loss or a draw away and there will be no home advantage in the cauldrons of Qatar. Coach Berhalter has to try to find a formula for victory on the road if they are to progress from Group B.

The Stars and Stripes start against Wales and then face England and if they start slowly, they could find themselves eliminated by the time the easier game of Iran comes round. 

Iran

To qualify: 9/2

To win Group A: 25/1

To win World Cup: 750/1

World Cup appearances: 6

Best performance: Group Stage (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018)

Head Coach: Dragan Skočić 

Star player: Mehdi Taremi (FC Porto)

Golden Boot favourite: Sardar Azmoun (Bayer Leverkusen), 40 int. goals, 200/1 

Our verdict: Iran will appear to many to be the whipping boys of this group, they have only won twice in their previous five World Cup appearances and are in a really tough group. However, they qualified top of an Asian group including the UAE and South Korea, winning eight of 10 games and conceding just four goals, so they will be a tough nut to crack. They possess decent fire power in the form of the two men upfront, Taremi and Azmoun and will be a threat to any team. I think this may just be a step too far though and after facing England first up, the Iranians could become demoralised for the battles to come. 

BettingOdds.com Group A Prediction:

1. England

2. Wales

3. USA

4. Iran