Sampson Draws Some Straws
While flying from Los Angeles to Marseille, France, on Tuesday morning, Steve Sampson had two things to contemplate.
If he wanted to feel good, he could think about the new contract he had been handed by U.S. Soccer, a contract that will keep him in charge of the national team through the France ’98 World Cup and possibly beyond.
If he wanted to dwell on the less positive, he could consider the seedings that FIFA announced Tuesday for the June 10-July 12 tournament. A potentially daunting task awaits the United States.
It will, for instance, have to play one of the eight top-seeded teams, and there appears to be no weak link among them.
FIFA announced that in addition to France, as host country, and Brazil, as defending champion, the following nations would be seeded for Thursday’s World Cup draw in Marseille: Argentina, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania and Spain.
That means in one of its three first-round games, the U.S. will be playing either four-time winner Brazil, the reigning world champion; three-time winner Germany, the reigning European champion; Italy, a three-time World Cup winner and the runner-up in 1994; Argentina, a two-time champion; or France, beaten only once in its last 30 games and playing in front of its own fans.
If the U.S. somehow avoids all of them, it will still come up against either the Dutch, the Romanians or the Spaniards, all three quarterfinalists in 1994.
The United States’ all-time combined record against those eight nations is 2-28-4.
In a departure from previous tournaments, FIFA on Tuesday decided that non-seeded teams would be divided along geographic lines for the draw.
To that end, it put all nine remaining European teams in one pool; combined the Asian and remaining South American teams in another pool and threw the African and CONCACAF teams into the final pool. Which means the four unbalanced groups look like this:
POOL 1: Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania and Spain.
POOL 2: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, England, Norway, Scotland and Yugoslavia.
POOL 3: Chile, Colombia, Iran, Japan, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.
POOL 4: Cameroon, Jamaica, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia and the United States.
As a prelude to the draw, one of the nine teams in Pool 2 will be drawn out and put with the seven teams in Pool 3. The U.S., meanwhile, now knows it will not have to play either of its regional rivals, Mexico and Jamaica, in the first round or any African team, including Olympic gold medalist Nigeria.
No matter who it is drawn to play or which of the French cities it will be playing in, the United States, ranked No. 29 in the world, will spend next June on the road.
Sampson revealed Tuesday that the team will leave for France on June 1 and will stay in Lyon until three or four days before its first match. After that, it will travel from venue to venue rather than maintain a single headquarters as it did in Italy ’90.
As for potential opponents, Sampson did not want to be drawn in, no pun intended.
“I’ve often stated that I don’t give much thought to those things that I don’t have control over,” he said. “The best thing we have going for us is that we have experienced players, players who fear no one.”
There had been speculation throughout the qualifying process that Sampson’s job might be in jeopardy, but in the end it was never seriously under threat.
“We’re not going to comment on the terms of the contract except to say that this was all part of the original contract [that] gave the federation an option to continue the contract through World Cup, and that’s the option we’re exercising,” said Alan Rothenberg, president of U.S. Soccer.
“We never talked to and, in fact, never seriously considered any other coach besides Steve. While the media and the fans were fickle and inconsistent, many calling for Steve’s termination . . . we’ve been absolutely consistent.”
Sampson had been concerned about his job security.
“I’ve got to tell you, I’m a human being, and the indecision was a little bit worrisome,” he said. “. . . . I am very proud of what I’ve accomplished and what I’ve achieved and I look forward to achieving even more for the federation.”
Sampson, 40, of Agoura Hills, took over the team from Bora Milutinovic as interim coach on April 14, 1995. After winning U.S. Cup ’95 and reaching the semifinals of the Copa America in Uruguay, he was named coach on Aug. 2, 1995. His record is 20-16-11. Under him, the U.S. was 8-2-6 in 16 qualifying games for France ’98.
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World Cup Seedings
Seedings announced Tuesday by FIFA for Thursday’s World Cup draw. One team from each pool will be drawn into each of the eight first-round groups. No more than two European teams will be in each group. The ninth non-seeded European team drawn will be put in the Asia/non-seeded South America pool:
* Top-seeded pool--Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain.
* CONCACAF/Africa pool--Cameroon, Jamaica, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia, Mexico, United States.
* Non-seeded Europe pool--Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, England, Norway, Scotland, Yugoslavia.
* Asia/non-seeded South America pool--Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea.
