U.S. national player Landon Donovan watches the World Cup draw during a gathering in New York. (Richard Drew/AP)
By Steve Cavendish
The United States was handed a favorable path at the World Cup draw today, drawing England, Slovenia and Algeria in Group C.
Unlike 2006, where the Americans were clear underdogs in two of their games, they will be favored against Algeria and Slovenia, who both qualified in final-day playoffs.
"We feel that this is a group that gives us a real fair chance to move on," U.S. coach Bob Bradley told ESPN from Cape Town, South Africa. "We know their team (England). Obviously, (Fabio) Capello is a great manager. We are excited about this one.
"Believe me, we know that Algeria and Slovenia are very good teams. We respect what they have accomplished. We've played tough teams along the way. We played tough teams in the Confederation Cup and in the final round of qualifying."
Asked about England and a game that will receive six months of hype,
Bradley responded, "It just creates a huge match. Great for the fans and
the players."
Perhaps not as fortunate were current world No. 1 Brazil -- which drew Portugal, ranked No. 5 in the world and a potential seed -- and Ivory Coast, Africa's best side. Group G was immediately labeled the "group of death," maybe most of all by North Korea, which gets a rude return to the World Cup after 44 years away.
The draw was as follows:
Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, Greece
Group C: England, United States, Algeria, Slovenia
Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana
Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon
Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia
Group G: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal
Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile
U.S. hopes may be buoyed by geography. Notoriously poor performers on
European soil, all of the Americans' signature wins have come
elsewhere. Their best finish, third place in 1930, came in Uruguay and
a trip to the 2002 quarterfinals was made in South Korea. Even a non-World
Cup victory some have called one of the best in U.S. history, a 2-0 win
over then-No. 1 Spain, was in South Africa last summer.
Group C is matched up with Group D in the second round, meaning a
successful first-round campaign could bring opponents from 2002
(Germany, a 1-0 loss in the quarterfinals) or 2006 (Ghana, a 2-1 loss
in the first round).
CONCACAF rival Mexico was handed a somewhat favorable path, drawing
host South Africa from the seeded teams, but must also face a powerful
French team that controversially qualified through Thierry Henry's
handball.
"I'm very excited about playing in the first game. It gives us a chance
to show the world who we are," Mexico coach Javier Aguirre told ESPN.
"For our young players and me in particular, playing in the first game
is very important."
The full U.S. schedule:
Game 1: vs. England, June 12
Game 2: vs. Slovenia, June 18
Game 3: vs. Algeria, June 23
The positioning of the games, in Rustenberg, Johannesburg and Pretoria,
respectively, may be advantageous for the Americans as they are all
within driving distance of base camps that Bradley and the Americans
have scouted.
The U.S. campaign begins in earnest in January with a training camp for
prospective players. They are expected to announce a friendly against
the Netherlands in the coming weeks. The game would be played March 3,
the only international date on the FIFA calendar between now and the
World Cup kickoff on June 11.
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Aw, this was a really quality post. In theory I'd like to write like this too - taking time and real effort to make a good article... but what can I say... I procrastinate alot and never seem to get something done.
Helo, thanks so much for this very informative article. i am very happy that I read it, I will definitly come back for new updates !!
We are a group of volunteers and starting a new initiative in a community. Your blog provided us valuable information to work on.You have done a marvellous job!
shut up Stupid Egyptian Mac .. Who Tell you that Algerians fan Destroy every things .. And we are very proud that we won on Egypt .. and plz d'ont let me be very Angery .... ( for the first comment)
I WANT TO SAY: JUST TAKE CARE ABOUT ALGERIAN FANS IN 2010,
THEY CAN DESTORY ANYTHING AND ANYONE,
PLS TAKE CARE AND SAY IT TO EVEYONE.
Thanks, Alex. Brain fart on my part. I always think of them as the World Cup champions.
"Perhaps not as fortunate were current Cup holders Brazil"
Brazil are not the current holders of the World Cup, Italy are.