The U.S. men's team clinched a spot in the Round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after narrowly beating Iran in a thrilling game Tuesday — and here's how much they stand to earn based on how far the U.S. advances, and why the women's team will support hard for their success.

U.S. players celebrate after Tuesday's win over Iran.

KEY FACTS

Most of the money depends on where the teams finish at the World Cup: FIFA, the organizer of the event, will distribute $440 million to the 32 national teams, including $9 million to each of the 16 teams eliminated in the group stage, $13 million to teams eliminated in the round of 16, followed by escalating sums that culminated in $30 million for the runner-up and $42 million for the winner.

Each national soccer federation determines how to divide that money, but the pay in the U.S. is already set by the collective bargaining agreement — and some of the money will go to the U.S. women's team even if they don't play in the tournament.

The 23 members of the US Men's National Team will receive a $10,000 stipend for each match in Qatar, with 90% of any FIFA bonus they earn split equally between the 46 members of the men's and women's teams.

After advancing, the U.S. men have already exceeded their minimum salary of $206,000, and each player will take home $294,000 if the team is eliminated after Saturday's game against the Netherlands (the U.S. women would get $254,000, the difference being the amount paid per game).

And it only gets more lucrative from there: If the U.S. beats the Dutch and loses in the quarterfinals, each American men's player would earn $383,000, while fourth place gets $559,000, third $696,000, second $794,000, and $892,000 for winning the championship.

The women's side will receive comparably fat checks, receiving $822,000 if their men's team wins their first-ever World Cup (which bookmakers are giving a 1% chance of that happening, the 12th-best odds of the competing nations).


KEY BACKGROUND

U.S. Soccer's unique salary structure, which awards a portion of Qatar's prize money to its women's team, comes after years of high-profile labor disputes over higher pay for the U.S. men's team, despite a long history of the women's team overshadowing the men. international scene. The U.S. men's and women's sides will also share an equal share of the 2023 Women's World Cup, although the prize pool for that tournament is expected to be about $60 million, about 15% of Qatar's World Cup. FIFA's controversial decision to use Qatar as the host of the 2022 World Cup ten years ago reportedly came after FIFA accepted bribes from the Qatari government. The decision remains highly controversial, with the former FIFA boss calling the selection of Qatar a "mistake" earlier this month. Critics point to the country's lack of human rights for certain groups - homosexuality is illegal and women need permission from male guardians to drive or travel abroad - although efforts to boycott the tournament have not gained much ground. Qatar spent at least $220 billion on the World Cup, making it by far the most expensive World Cup ever. Thousands of dead migrant workers are linked to the massive construction of the tournament.

Odds courtesy of FanDuel SportsBook

SOUTH KOREA

By comparison, South Korea gave each player a roughly $15,000 bonus for making the team and will pay them about $23,000 for each win and about $8,000 for each draw, team spokesman Jay Ahn told Forbes in emailed comments ahead of the World Cup . The players would also receive $76,000 in bonuses for advancing through the group stage and $150,000 in bonuses for advancing to the quarterfinals, for a total of about $390,000 if Korea miraculously went undefeated. However, after Monday's loss to Ghana, Korea's hopes of advancing are all but dashed.

GERMANY

German players will receive bonuses of about $415,000 for the World Cup, team spokeswoman Franziska Wülle told Forbes, with a bonus of roughly $52,000 per player should Germany reach the round of 16, needing a win against Costa Rica on Thursday and a poor result. of Japan to do so.

DENMARK

Denmark players get a $124,000 bonus for making the team and can take home up to $688,000 if the team wins it all, according to the Danish Players Association website.

AUSTRALIA

According to a Sydney Morning-Herald report, the Australian players will receive a roster bonus of around $150,000 and split a 50% share of any additional prize money, bringing the total potential compensation to around $680,000.

SENEGAL

Perhaps no compensation will top the unique bonus the Senegalese players received for qualifying for the World Cup by winning the Africa Cup of Nations in February. Each player received a cash prize of $87,000 and 700 square meters of land in the country's capital Dakar and its suburbs.