Know Your Enemy - Defenders
What the formula says about the likely starting defenders the US will face in the World Cup group stage
England
Luke Shaw
Age (in November) - 27
Club Career - just started his eleventh season in the English Premier League; 2 goals & 15 assists in 208 Premier League caps
International Career - member of the 2014 English World Cup squad; started one of three group stage matches; 1 cap, 90 minutes, 0 goals, 0 assists; England finished bottom of their group, losing to Italy and Uruguay and drawing Costa Rica
Recent Form - just started his ninth season with Manchester United in the Premier League; 20 caps, 0 goals, 3 assists last season
Formula Scores (through the end of the 21-22 season)
RAW - .620
HOT - .047
Kyle Walker
Age (in November) - 32
Club Career - one season in the English third tier, three seasons in the English second tier, and just started his fourteenth season in the English Premier League; 8 goals & 31 assists in 336 Premier League caps
International Career - member of the 2018 English World Cup squad; started two of three group stage matches and three of four knockout matches; 5 caps, 493 minutes, 0 goals, 0 assists; England finished fourth, behind France, Croatia, and Belgium
Recent Form - just started his sixth season with Manchester City in the Premier League; 20 caps, 0 goal, 2 assists last season
Formula Scores (through the end of the 21-22 season)
RAW - .804
HOT - .080
John Stones
Age (in November) - 28
Club Career - two seasons in the English second tier, and just started his tenth season in the English Premier League; 6 goals & 0 assists in 198 Premier League caps
International Career - member of the 2018 English World Cup squad; started all three group stage matches and all four knockout matches; 7 caps, 645 minutes, 2 goals, 0 assists; England finished fourth, behind France, Croatia, and Belgium
Recent Form - just started his seventh season with Manchester City in the Premier League; 20 caps, 0 goals, 1 assist last season
Formula Scores (through the end of the 21-22 season)
RAW - .809
HOT - .291
Harry Maguire
Age (in November) - 29
Club Career - three seasons in the English third tier, three seasons in the English second tier, and just started his eighth season in the English Premier League; 11 goals & 7 assists in 203 Premier League caps
International Career - member of the 2018 English World Cup squad; started two of three group stage matches and all four knockout matches; 7 caps, 645 minutes, 1 goal, 1 assist; England finished fourth, behind France, Croatia, and Belgium
Recent Form - just started his fourth season with Manchester United in the Premier League; 30 caps, 1 goal, 0 assists last season
Formula Scores (through the end of the 21-22 season)
RAW - .669
HOT - .457
Wales
Connor Roberts
Age (in November) - 27
Club Career - one season in the English fourth tier, one season in the English third tier, two seasons in the English Premier League, and just started his fifth season in the English second tier; 1 goal & 1 assist in 25 Premier League caps
International Career - 1 goal & 0 assists in 8 World Cup qualification caps this cycle
Recent Form - just started his first season with Burnley in the English Championship; 21 caps, 1 goal, 1 assist with Burnley in the Premier League last season
Formula Scores (through the end of the 21-22 season)
RAW - .543
HOT - .444
Neco Williams
Age (in November) - 21
Club Career - one season in the English second tier, and just started his fourth season in the English Premier League; 0 goals & 1 assist in 13 Premier League caps
International Career - 1 goal & 1 assist in 7 World Cup qualification caps this cycle
Recent Form - just started his first season with Nottingham Forest in the Premier League; 14 caps, 2 goals, 2 assists with Fulham in the English Championship last season
Formula Scores (through the end of the 21-22 season)
RAW - .508
HOT - .325
Joe Rodon
Age (in November) - 25
Club Career - one season in the English fourth tier, three seasons in the English second tier, four season in the English Premier League, and just started his first season in the French Ligue 1; 0 goals & 0 assists in 15 Premier League caps
International Career - 0 goals & 0 assists in 8 World Cup qualification caps this cycle
Recent Form - just started his first season with Rennes in Ligue 1; 3 caps, 0 goals, 0 assists with Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League last season
Formula Scores (through the end of the 21-22 season)
RAW - .285
HOT - .028
Chris Mepham
Age (in November) - 25
Club Career - five seasons in the English second tier, and just started his third season in the English Premier League; 10 goal & 1 assist in 25 Premier League caps
International Career - 0 goals & 0 assists in 8 World Cup qualification caps this cycle
Recent Form - just started his third season with Bournemouth in the Premier League; 22 caps, 0 goals, 0 assists with Bournemouth in the Championship last season
Formula Scores (through the end of the 21-22 season)
RAW - .274
HOT - .051
Ben Davies
Age (in November) - 29
Club Career - just started his eleventh season in the English Premier League; 7 goals & 17 assists in 248 Premier League caps
International Career - 0 goals & 0 assists in 9 World Cup qualification caps this cycle
Recent Form - just started his ninth season with Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League; 29 caps, 1 goal, 1 assist last season
Formula Scores (through the end of the 21-22 season)
RAW - .742
HOT - .755
Iran
Milad Mohammadi
Age (in November) - 29
Club Career - two seasons in the Iranian top tier, four seasons in the Russian top tier, two seasons in the Belgian First Division, and just started his second season in the Greek Super League; 2 goals & 6 assist in 47 Belgian First Division caps
International Career - member of the 2018 Iranian World Cup squad; appeared in two of three group stage matches; 2 caps, 57 minutes, 0 goals, 0 assists; Iran finished third in their group, beating Morocco, losing to Spain, and drawing Portugal
Recent Form - just started his second season with AEK Athens in the Super League; 25 caps, 0 goals, 2 assists last season
Formula Scores (through the end of the 21-22 season)
RAW - .320
HOT - .256
Sadegh Moharrami
Age (in November) - 26
Club Career - six seasons in the Iranian top tier, and just started his fifth season in the Croatian top tier
International Career - member of the 2018 Iranian World Cup squad; started all three group stage matches; 3 caps, 265 minutes, 0 goals, 0 assists; Iran finished third in their group, beating Morocco, losing to Spain, and drawing Portugal
Recent Form - just started his fifth season with Dinamo Zagreb in the Croatian First Football League; 10 caps, 0 goals, 0 assists last season
Formula Scores (through the end of the 21-22 season)
RAW - n/a (538 doesn’t rank teams in the Croatian First Football League)
HOT - n/a
Hossein Kanaanizadegan
Age (in November) - 28
Club Career - ten seasons in the Iranian top tier, and just started his second season in the Emirati top tier
International Career - 1 goal & 2 assists in 17 World Cup qualification caps this cycle
Recent Form - just started his second season with Shabab Al Ahli in the UAE Pro League; 20 caps, 1 goal, 0 assists last season
Formula Scores (through the end of the 21-22 season)
RAW - n/a (538 doesn’t rank teams in the UAE Pro League)
HOT - n/a
Shojae Khalilzadeh
Age (in November) - 33
Club Career - two seasons in the Iranian second tier, ten seasons in the Iranian top tier, and just started his third season in the Emirati top tier
International Career - 1 goal & 0 assists in 12 World Cup qualification caps this cycle
Recent Form - just started his third season with Shabab Al Ahli in the UAE Pro League; 21 caps, 2 goals, 0 assists last season
Formula Scores (through the end of the 21-22 season)
RAW - n/a (538 doesn’t rank teams in the UAE Pro League)
HOT - n/a