USMNT 2022 FIFA World Cup opponents: What to know about England, Iran and either Wales, Scotland or Ukraine

The U.S. will play on the opening day of the cup though who they'll play is still to be determined

The United States men's national team will begin their 2022 FIFA World Cup journey on the opening day, Nov. 21. The Americans found out their schedule for the competition on Friday during the draw in Qatar, but we won't know who the opening opponent is, officially, until the summer.

The U.S. got England, Iran and the winner of the last European playoff, which will be either Scotland, Wales or Ukraine. The playoff final will feature Wales and the winner of Scotland and Ukraine, with the games taking place in June. All in all the U.S. got the best draw out of all the teams in Concacaf. Mexico have to play Argentina, Saudi Arabia and Poland, and Canada have to face Belgium, Morocco and Croatia. If Costa Rica make it out of the inter-confederation playoff, they'll have Spain, Germany and Japan.

Here's when the games will be and what to know about the opponent:

Monday, Nov. 21 vs. Wales/Scotland/Ukraine

Not bad, all things considered. It could have been much worse, so they'll take this. I would say Wales or Ukraine are the likely opponent. The Welsh are through to the playoff final after beating Austria 2-1. Gareth Bale turned back the clock in that match to score twice, and he continues to star for his nation despite underwhelming at Real Madrid. I suspect Ukraine will beat Scotland, although given Russia's invasion of Ukraine there are bigger factors at play than soccer, and it's hard to predict how that will impact the side. Either Wales or Ukraine would be a tricky matchup for the U.S. both Don't get me wrong -- the U.S. has the potential to beat either, but they also could very well take zero points and I won't be the least bit surprised. The U.S. is ranked 15th in the world while Wales is ranked 18th and Ukraine is 27th. Wales might have slightly more quality with Bale and of course Aaron Ramsey. But if it is Ukraine, watch out. Should they qualify they will obviously be fan favorites given what's going on in the world. And this is an extremely talented bunch with players like Atalanta's Ruslan Malinovskyi, and Manchester City's Oleksandr Zinchenko

Early prediction: USA 1, Wales 1; USA 2, Scotland 1; USA 1, Ukraine 1

Friday, Nov. 25 vs. England

It just had to happen. This isn't the same England of years past. It's the best England in decades and runners-up of Euro 2020. The U.S. would be the big-time underdogs here. USMNT will have to double Harry Kane, hope Tyler Adams has a monster game sitting deep in the midfield and provide support to fullbacks trying to stop a talented group of wingers including Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Raheem Sterling and maybe Marcus Rashford for Jadon Sancho. The U.S. can get something from this, but it isn't going to be easy. It will take something special for three points.

Early prediction: England 2, USA 0

Tuesday, Nov. 29 vs. Iran

Yes, I know Iran took care of the U.S. in the 1998 World Cup, but this is 2022. This is the strongest U.S. squad in terms of talent, and anything but a comfortable three points would be a massive disaster. Having this as the last match is just fine. If the U.S. win one of their first two, then this will likely be enough to win and advance. But on the other side, with some hiccups in the opening games, they may find themselves needing a result and hoping England can take care of business in their third match. This game against Iran is one where the U.S. should have the majority of the ball and the chances, and if their finishing is on, the three points are clearly theirs. Iran aren't pushovers, they're ranked 21st in the FIFA rankings, but if the USMNT want to get out of the group stage then they need to beat teams of this caliber regularly.

Early prediction: USA 2, Iran 0