Both U.S. teams well-drawn for Beijing

The draw for the men’s and women’s soccer tournaments at the Beijing Olympics was held in China today, and for the two U.S. teams things couldn’t have gone better.

Coach Peter Nowak’s U.S. men’s team was drawn into the same group as the Netherlands, Nigeria and Japan and stands an even chance of advancing to the second round.

Coach PiaSundhage’s U.S. women’s team was drawn into the same group as Norway, New Zealand and Japan and should face no difficulty whatsoever in reaching the last eight.

Before getting to the reaction from the U.S. coaches and players, here is how the draw went:

Men

Group A: Ivory Coast, Serbia, Argentina, Australia.

Group B: Netherlands, United States, Nigeria, Japan.

Group C: China, Belgium, New Zealand, Brazil.

Group D: South Korea, Italy, Cameroon, Honduras.

The top two teams in each group will advance to the second round.

The U.S. will open against Japan in Tianjin on Aug. 7 and will play the Netherlands in the same city on Aug. 10. It finishes first-round play against Nigeria at the Workers’ Stadium in Beijing on Aug. 13.

Women

Group A: China, Canada, Argentina, Sweden.

Group B: North Korea, Brazil, Nigeria, Germany.

Group C: Norway, Japan, U.S., New Zealand.

The top two teams in each group and the two best third-place finishers will advance to the second round.

The U.S., the defending gold medal winner from Athens 2004, will open against Norway on Aug. 6 in Qinhuangdao and will play Japan on Aug. 9 in the same city. It closes first-round play against New Zealand at Shenyang on Aug. 12.

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Nowak, ultra-cautious as always and offering very little in the way of constructive comment, said the U.S. men had been placed in “a difficult group,” even though the Americans dodged 2004 goal medal winner and 2008 favorite Argentina, as well as Brazil, which should challenge for the title.

“It’s not an easy group, but that’s what it is,” Nowak said on the U.S. Soccer website.

Nowak said that Michael Bradley, who plays for Heerenveen in Holland, should be able to help with identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the Dutch players.

Odds are that the U.S. chance of advancing will come down to the Aug. 13 game against Nigeria in Beijing. Nigeria won the gold at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

“The Nigerian team calls themselves the ‘Dream Team’ right now,” Nowak said. “I think when you add the overage players, they’re going to be a very difficult team.”

Midfielder Maurice Edu said playing the third game in Beijing would be a plus.

“It will be nice to play in the Olympic city and get a chance to be part of the whole atmosphere of the Games,” he said.

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Sundhage was far more forthcoming than Nowak in assessing the opposition the U.S. women will face in trying to win a fourth consecutive medal after winning the gold in 1996 and 2004 and the silver in 2000.

She described Norway as strong and organized, Japan as technically gifted and New Zealand as enthusiastic.

“We play three very different teams with three very different styles of play, which will test our ability to adapt in a world championship tournament with just a few days’ rest between games,” she said.

Midfielder Carli Lloyd said the players’ focus in the lead-up to the Olympics would be on their own team, not the opposition.

“We need to continue to come together as a team,” she said. “We need to keep working on the attacking side of things … building from the back, keeping possession and dictating tempo.

“These next few months are going to be pretty tough and tiring as we keep building our fitness, and hopefully when we get to China we’ll be peaking.”

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The first of Europe’s significant league championships was decided today when PSV Eindhoven overcame Vitesse Arnhem, 1-0, on a goal by Serbian striker Danko Lazovic to win the Dutch title for the fourth year in a row. Ajax Amsterdam finished second and NAC Breda third.

Elsewhere, Olympiakos finished atop the Greek league, but will have to await a ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) before knowing whether it will be champion for the 11th time in 12 years. Olympiakos was awarded a victory in one game when the opposing team used an ineligible player, but that is being appealed. If CAS rules against Olympiakos, AEK Athens would be champion.

Standard Liege, the home of U.S. national team defender Oguchi Onyewu, won the Belgian title for the first time in 25 years Sunday when it defeated defending champion Anderlecht, 2-0, on goals by Congolese forward Dieumerci Mbokani. If Standard Liege can avoid defeat in its final three matches, it would become the first team in 42 years to go through the entire Belgian season unbeaten.

Elsewhere, Lyon in France, Inter Milan in Italy, Manchester United in England, Real Madrid in Spain and Bayern Munich in Germany all moved closer to securing their respective titles.

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For comments or questions on soccer, e-mail: grahame.jones@latimes.com