World Cup 2022: USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter says group rivals England among favorites to win it all in Qatar

The American coach said 'most managers would kill to have' Gareth Southgate's record

By Roger Gonzalez

Nov 15, 2022 at 4:15 pm ET • 2 min read

United States Men's National Team Roster Reveal Party For FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

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Just days before the United States men's national team opens up its participation at the 2022 World Cup, manager Gregg Berhalter has laid out what the team must do for the tournament to be considered a success. Berhalter, in an interview with The Telegraph, said he is "still firmly in the camp that England are one of the favorites to win the World Cup" and that "most managers would kill to have" Gareth Southgate's national team resume.

"When I look at Gareth's record in major tournaments, it's spot on," the USMNT coach.

Berhalter, who has sought out advice from Southgate as a mentor when he first took the U.S. job back in 2018, has a clear idea of what the Americans' main goals are when they kick off on Monday at 2 p.m. ET against Wales. But regardless, it comes with a lot of pressure.

"No one is going to be happy if you don't win for six games," Berhalter said of his showdown against England. "We lost one game (Japan) and tied one game (Saudi Arabia) in the last round and no one was happy, and that's normal for us," Berhalter said.

"So now it gets complicated, right?" Here's how I break this down. There are two elements to the World Cup -- there's a group stage tournament and you have this knockout tournament."

Berhalter said the team's goal is to focus on the group stage, knowing they will need at least four points to have a realistic chance at advancing, while two wins will likely be more than enough to move on.

"In the group stage, you have to earn the right to play in the knockout and that's what we want to do," he said. "We want to finish in the top two and then play our best game possible in that knockout tournament and whatever happens, happens."

If the U.S. get through, they would play a team in Group A since they are in Group B. That would mean potentially host Qatar, talented Ecuador, darkhorse and African champs Senegal or mighty Netherlands.

"I think you know if we do that we are capable of beating teams and it just depends on the day. The World Cup is complicated. It's really small margins and you never know," Berhalter said.

This will be the United States' first participation at a World Cup since 2014 after failing to qualify in 2018. England are the clear favorites to win the group, with the U.S. likely competing with Wales for second place. The two teams squared off in a friendly back in November of 2020, ending in a 0-0 draw.