Here's the odds for USA's draw. They way it works is basically you can't be drawn into a Group with a team from your pot, so as a "Pot 2 team" we can't be grouped with other Pot 2 teams like Mexico, Germany, etc. The Pots are determined by FIFA's current World Rankings:
There's also some other contingencies based on geographical restrictions that skew these numbers. Also you can also see there's no way we can be grouped with Canada (another team from our region) from Pot 4.
"Best" scenarios to root for:
Qatar-U.S.-Poland-Ghana or Qatar-U.S.-Tunisia-Wales/Ukraine/Scotland
Nightmare scenarios:
France-U.S.-Serbia-Peru (assuming Peru wins their playoff) or France-U.S.-Senegal-Wales
Some other things to consider:
The US would much rather be in Groups A or B if possible. That helps them avoid Pot 1 powerhouses in the first Round of 16 knockout match. That's getting ahead I know, but something to watch nonetheless.
There's also some other contingencies based on geographical restrictions that skew these numbers. Also you can also see there's no way we can be grouped with Canada (another team from our region) from Pot 4.
"Best" scenarios to root for:
Qatar-U.S.-Poland-Ghana or Qatar-U.S.-Tunisia-Wales/Ukraine/Scotland
Nightmare scenarios:
France-U.S.-Serbia-Peru (assuming Peru wins their playoff) or France-U.S.-Senegal-Wales
Some other things to consider:
The US would much rather be in Groups A or B if possible. That helps them avoid Pot 1 powerhouses in the first Round of 16 knockout match. That's getting ahead I know, but something to watch nonetheless.
