What to watch for: 50 things about the World Cup

The tournament starts Sunday when Ecuador plays Qatar, the host country. The final is Sunday, Dec. 18 at 10 a.m. ET. The Eagles play at Chicago that day at 1 o’clock, so if the World Cup final goes into overtime and then extended penalty kicks, it could give Fox an NFL programming headache.

This is the first World Cup being hosted by an Arab nation. The 2026 tournament comes to North America when the field will expand from 32 to 48 teams. Philadelphia (Lincoln Financial Field), for the first time in history, is among the 16 cities which will host matches.

U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter’s godfather is baseball Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski.

The United States this year is in Group B. England (-280) is the heavy favorite to win the group with the U.S. and Wales at +500 followed by Iran at +1600. Top two in each of the eight groups advance to the knockout round. The U.S. figures to have about a 50/50 chance to make it to the elimination round (i.e. finish first or second in the group).

The USMNT (U.S. Men’s National Team) did not qualify for the 2018 World Cup. It reached the Round of 16 in 2010 and 2014. The Americans’ best finish was the semifinals in the inaugural 1930 tournament. (It took only two wins to reach the semis in the 13-team format.) The U.S. did not qualify to compete in the nine World Cups from 1954-86.

The Americans open with a match against Wales on Monday, Nov. 21. The three-way line for their opener is U.S. +145, Wales +205, and a draw at +200. Please don’t get tripped up by soccer’s funky odds (see Nos. 19-20 below).

The U.S. plays England on the Friday after Thanksgiving (Nov. 25) and finishes group play against Iran on Tuesday, Nov. 29. All three U.S. group-play matches are on Fox at 2 p.m. ET (10 p.m. Qatari time).

FIFA rankings for Group A: Netherlands (8th), Senegal (18), Ecuador (44), Qatar (50).

Group B: England (5), United States (16), Wales (19), and Iran (20).

Group C: Argentina (3), Mexico (13), Poland (26), Saudi Arabia (51).

Group D: France (4), Denmark (10), Tunisia (30), Australia (34).

Group E: Spain (7), Germany (11), Japan (24), Costa Rica (31).

Group F: Belgium (2), Croatia (12), Morocco (22), Canada (41).

Group G: Brazil (1), Switzerland (15), Serbia (21), Cameroon (43).

Group H: Portugal (9), Uruguay (14), South Korea (28), Ghana (61).

FIFA is hoping if nobody talks about Qatar’s history of human rights violations that the controversy will just go away. That’s not actually going to happen, of course, so expect various forms of protest whether soccer’s governing body likes it or not.

World Cup ambassador Khalid Salman earlier this month called homosexuality, which is illegal in Qatar, “damage in the mind.” He also said that any gays among the expected 1.2 million visitors during the tournament “will have to accept our rules.”

England’s Harry Kane is among the prominent players who will wear “One Love” armbands to oppose Qatar’s numerous archaic laws. As disgraced former FIFA president Sepp Blatter said recently, “the choice of Qatar was a mistake. … It’s too small a country. Football and the World Cup are too big for that.”

A “three-way” line is the most popular wager for a soccer match and one that caused all sorts of confusion during the 2018 World Cup which occurred just as legalized sports betting was exploding in the United States.

The simplest way to define three-way betting is to consider that the decision must come before overtime. There are three possible outcomes to a three-way bet: Team A wins in 90 minutes (plus injury time), Team B wins in 90 minutes (plus injury time), or there is a tie after 90 minutes (plus injury time). If you bet Team A with three-way odds, but they win in extra time or penalty kicks, the wager is a loser. Hence, the chaos from four years ago.

For the first time, a Union player will represent his country in the World Cup. Olivier Mbaizo, 25, will be among the defenders for Cameroon. If Mbaizo plays right fullback for Cameroon, he’ll probably see plenty of Brazil superstar Neymar, who flourishes on the left side of the offense. Impress the family by pronouncing his name correctly: O-LIV-ee-ay em-BYE-zoh.

Rough draw for Cameroon, which is in Group G with Brazil, Switzerland, and Serbia. Cameroon’s last group game is against Brazil on Dec. 2. Cameroon is about +350 odds to advance, so the bookies think there’s a chance.

There are 35 players from MLS playing in the World Cup, including three from the Seattle Sounders (Americans Jordan Morris and Christian Roldan, and Nouhou Tolo, of Cameroon).

Carli Lloyd, the Delran native and winner of two women’s World Cup titles, is a studio analyst for Fox. Former Union player Maurice Edu, Kelly Smith, and JP Dellacamera also will be part of the network’s coverage.

Longest odds to get out of their groups are Costa Rica (+700) in Group E with Spain, Germany, and Japan and Saudi Arabia (+600) in Group C with Argentina, Mexico, and Poland.

Eleven of Costa Rica’s 26 players are at least 30 years old, including goalie Keylor Navas (35) and team captain Bryan Ruiz (37). They also have 19-year-old midfielder Brandon Aguilera on the roster. Costa Rica was the last of the 32 teams to qualify for the World Cup, thanks to a win over New Zealand in June.

The reason this World Cup is so late in the calendar year is simple. Qatar is way too hot to have the World Cup in the middle of summer. The average November high in Doha is 85 degrees. In December, it’s 75 degrees. In July, it’s 108.

Italy, the sixth-ranked team in the world, did not qualify for a second consecutive World Cup, which is virtually a national scandal. Other countries ranked in the top 32 not participating are Colombia (17), Peru (23), Sweden (25), Ukraine (27), Chile (29), and Nigeria (32). Russia (33) was disqualified following its invasion of Ukraine.

Iran’s inclusion in the field is controversial given that country’s alleged support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It will be interesting to see if the Iranian players repeat their September protest when they covered up the country’s emblem during the national anthem prior to a match against Senegal in September.

South Jersey native Brenden Aaronson is on Team USA’s roster. Though his numbers for Leeds in the Premier League are down (1 goal, 2 assists in 14 matches), it’s still kind of cool that fans call him “The Medford Messi.”

Christian Pulisic, born in Hershey, was 17 when he became the youngest American ever to play in and score in World Cup qualifiers back in 2017. For years, he’s been the face of the sport in this country and now will actually get to play in the World Cup.

Goalkeeper Zack Steffen, from Downingtown, was somewhat surprisingly left off the U.S. roster. “Me and Zack go way back, and Zack’s been there for me a bunch of times,” said Berhalter referring to their time spent with the Columbus Crew. “And to tell him he is not going to be part of the World Cup team was heartbreaking for me.”

Brazilian striker Pedro Guilherme celebrated his World Cup roster spot by proposing to girlfriend Fernanda Nogueira. “Now it’s time to focus on the Cup,” he said after the couple wiped away tears, “because we want the Hexacampeonato.” Here’s a hint on the translation: Brazil has won five World Cup titles, and the prefix “hex” means six.

Jamal Musiala, the leading scorer for the best team in the Bundesliga, was born in Germany, but raised in England. He’s played internationally for both countries, but ultimately decided to represent Germany, his mom’s native country. He’s also 19 years old.

The biggest surprise on the German roster is probably Youssoufa Moukoko, who turns 18 the day before World Cup play begins. He debuted for Borussia Dortmund the day after his 16th birthday to become the youngest player in German soccer league history.

Argentina is riding a 35-match unbeaten streak which dates to before the pandemic. The streak includes 25 wins and 10 draws and is two shy of Italy’s record, which ran from 2018-21.

Canada is making its first World Cup appearance in 36 years. It was so long ago that one of their matches in 1986 was against the Soviet Union. That was the only time they’ve qualified and they were shut out in all three games.

“I told them [in 2018] that the next four years would be focused on becoming the first Canadian men’s team to score a goal in a World Cup and to win a World Cup match. And, in doing so, they were going to unite the country as only soccer can,” coach John Herdman told the publication CE Noticias Financieras.

Draftkings’ line on total goals for Canada in the World Cup is 2.5. For the U.S., it’s 3.5.

Canada will be without its top goalie, Maxime Crepeau, who was playing for Los Angeles when he broke his ankle in a frightening collision with the Union’s Cory Burke in overtime of the MLS Cup final on Nov. 5. Crepeau is now considered L.A.’s version of Aaron Rowand by soccer fans.

Alphonso Davies became the first Canadian to win a UEFA Championship with Bayern Munich in 2020. Davies was born in Ghana, but emigrated to Edmonton when he was 5. Love his nickname: Phonzie.

Olivier Giroud, 36, is still peppering the highlight reels with wonderfully athletic goals. He needs three goals to break Thierry Henry’s French national team record of 51.

England’s Harry Kane (6 goals, 0 assists) won the 2018 Golden Boot as the tournament’s top scorer. The leading active scorer is Germany’s Thomas Muller (10 goals), who will be competing in his fourth World Cup.

The World Cup’s all-time scoring leaders are Germany’s Miroslav Klose (16g, 2002-14), Brazil’s Ronaldo (15g, 1994-2006), West Germany’s Gerd Muller (14, 1970-74), France’s Just Fontaine (13g, 1958), and Brazil’s Pele (12g, 1958-70).

That 1958 World Cup must have been something. Fontaine’s 13 goals still remain a single tournament record, Brazil won its first championship, Sweden hosted and finished second (its best ever) and Pele was named best young player.

When French league star Kylian Mbappe was being courted to play in Spain for Real Madrid, he was implored by French president Emmanuel Macron to remain with Paris-Saint-Germain. As Mbappe recalled, Macron said, “I know you want to leave. I want to tell you, you are also important in France. I don’t want you to leave. You have an opportunity to write the history here. Everybody loves you.”

Mbappe was named the tournament’s best young player in 2018 when he scored four goals, including a pair to eliminate Argentina. He was informed afterward that he was the second teenager to score multiple goals in a World Cup match. Pele was the first. “Let’s put things in context,” he said that day four years ago, “Pele is [in] another category.”

Lionel Messi (Argentina), Neymar (Brazil), and Mbappe (France) all play for Paris-Saint Germain, which has 12 wins and two draws in 14 matches and a +29 goal differential in Ligue 1 play. Talk about a big three.

This is Cristiano Ronaldo’s fifth World Cup. Portugal reached the semifinals in 2006. They were eliminated in the round of 16 in 2010 and 2018, and didn’t make it out of group play in 2014.

Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku (4g, 1a) won the Bronze Boot for having the third-most goals at the 2018 games, but he’s fighting leg injuries heading into Qatar and his role is uncertain. “At this stage, we feel he will be able to take part in at least one of those three [group] games,” Belgium manager Roberto Martinez said. “But we will keep assessing and have up until Nov. 22 to make a decision.” The Belgians open their Group F play against Canada the following day.