The World Cup draw is set. Here’s what that means for the USMNT.

But the Americans certainly didn’t land the softest group for the quadrennial spectacle, which runs from Nov. 21 to Dec. 18. Although Group A includes a resurgent Netherlands team and African champion Senegal, the presence of Qatar — a first-time participant that received a top seed as the host nation — and Ecuador arguably makes that the weakest slate of teams. Group H isn’t particularly daunting, either, with talented but underachieving Portugal joined by an aging Uruguay team and underdogs South Korea and Ghana.

USMNT lands a tough but manageable group

Through three-quarters of the draw, the Americans — who were plucked from Pot 2 — could hardly have asked for a more favorable schedule. England is laden with talent but less imposing than fellow top seeds Brazil, Argentina, France and Spain. Considering Pot 3 could have served up Senegal or a Poland squad led by FIFA player of the year Robert Lewandowski, the Americans must’ve been pleased to see Iran land in Group B.

Pot 4 was where things got dicey: The Americans’ group drew the winner of the final European playoff, which was delayed to June because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Wales, which already defeated Austria in its playoff semifinal, will face Scotland or Ukraine for the final spot in Group B. None of these teams are contenders; Wales hasn’t been to the World Cup since 1958, Scotland hasn’t won a game in the tournament since 1990 and Ukraine has been to just one World Cup, in 2006. But with all three squads ranked in FIFA’s top 40, they represented some of Pot 4′s toughest options.

There’s also some intriguing recent history to keep in mind: Although the United States has never faced Wales, Scotland or Ukraine on soccer’s grandest stage, the Americans lost to Iran, 2-1, in the 1998 group stage and tied England, 1-1, in the teams’ 2010 opener.

How does the USMNT shape up?

Before the United States failed to qualify for the 2018 tournament, the Americans had advanced out of the group stage in three of their previous four World Cups. With an unprecedented glut of young stars playing for some of Europe’s top teams, the No. 15-ranked U.S. squad should be favored to again advance to the round of 16, where it would face a team from Group A for a chance to return to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002.