U.S. Gets a Tough Draw
After swimming briefly with soccer’s big fish four years ago, when it reached the World Cup quarterfinals, the United States was tossed back into the bait tank Friday.
At the draw for the 2006 World Cup in Leipzig, Germany, the U.S. was put in a formidable group with three-time world champion Italy, the Czech Republic, which is ranked second in the world behind Brazil, and perennial African power Ghana.
As an indication of the immense task facing Coach Bruce Arena’s squad, the U.S. has never beaten any of its three first-round opponents.
The Americans are 0-3-2 against Italy, 0-1 against the Czechs when they were still part of Czechoslovakia and have never played Ghana.
As if that were not daunting enough, should the U.S. advance as the second-place team in Group E, it will play the winner of Group F -- most likely defending and five-time world champion Brazil.
“I’m optimistic that we can qualify out of the group, regardless of what anyone else thinks,” Arena said in a late-night conference call from Germany. “I think we’re capable of playing with any team in the world.”
Brazil’s coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira, who led Brazil to its 1994 World Cup title in the U.S., dismissed such thinking.
“We will probably play Italy or the Czech Republic after advancing from the first round,” he said.
The Americans, who will be based in Hamburg during their stay in Germany, will open play against the Czech Republic on Monday, June 12, at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen.
They then will play Italy on Saturday, June 17, at Fritz Walter Stadion in Kaiserlautern, and will close out the first round against Ghana on Thursday, June 22, at Frankenstadion in Nuremberg.
“It’s a very difficult group,” said U.S. midfielder and captain Claudio Reyna, who helped lead the team to victories over Portugal and Mexico and to a tie with South Korea in 2002 when the U.S. reached the final eight.
A first-round loss to Poland and quarterfinal elimination at the hands of Germany exposed U.S. limitations, however.
Italian reaction to the draw was muted.
“Two of the teams drawn with Italy have a higher FIFA ranking, but we don’t feel inferior,” Italy’s Coach Marcello Lippi said of the No. 2 Czechs and No. 8 Americans. Italy is ranked No. 12 and Ghana No. 50.
The U.S. is in what is perhaps the second-toughest of the eight groups. Only Group C, which features Argentina, the Netherlands, Serbia and Montenegro and the Ivory Coast, appears more difficult.
The Argentines and the Dutch are among the half a dozen favorites to reach the July 9 final in Berlin, as are the Brazilians, the Germans, the English and the Italians.
“If you start out with a tough group, you immediately know what you are worth,” said Dutch Coach Marco Van Basten, who as a player led Holland to the Euro ’88 title in Germany.
Defending champion Brazil faces Croatia, Australia and Japan in the first round, one of the few notes of interest being that Japan is coached by former Brazilian World Cup standout Zico.
Host and three-time champion Germany was given an equally unchallenging task. California-based Coach Juergen Klinsmann’s team will open the tournament June 9 against Costa Rica in Munich and also plays Poland and Ecuador.
“We are very pleased,” Klinsmann said. “We believe that this is a doable group. All rivals are difficult, we don’t want to underestimate anyone, but we have a good feeling.”
Runner-up to Brazil in 2002 and to Argentina in 1986, Germany last won the World Cup in 1990.
Former champions England and France were presented with seemingly uncomplicated paths into the second round. England’s most troublesome opponent figures to be Sweden, with Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago rounding out the foursome.
“On paper, we are the favorites, together with Sweden, to go through, but you never know,” said England’s Swedish coach, Sven-Goran Eriksson.
France, a World Cup winner in 1998 but ousted in the first round in 2002, will play Switzerland, South Korea and Togo in the first round.
“We could have done worse,” said ’98 veteran Laurent Blanc. “We avoided the Czechs and the Dutch.”
Mexico, which finished behind the U.S. in regional qualifying, was drawn into perhaps the most interesting group, along with Angola, Iran and Portugal.
“This is a group that you can compete in,” said Ricardo Lavolpe, Mexico’s Argentine coach. “It is very favorable. We can do things here.”
For Arena, the task is far more complicated.
“I’m not disappointed,” he said. “I expected us to be drawn into a difficult group. I really didn’t want to play in Brazil’s group and probably not in Argentina’s group and in some ways maybe not in Germany’s group.
“So for the most part, those wishes were met. However, we do know that it’s going to be difficult.”
The U.S., which opens a six-week training camp at the Home Depot Center on Jan. 4, will play at least 10 games in the six months leading up to the World Cup. Already scheduled are matches against Canada in San Diego on Jan. 22, Norway in Carson on Jan. 29 and Japan in San Francisco on Feb. 10.
More indicative of U.S. World Cup chances, however, will be the result of a March 22 game against Germany in Germany.
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2006 World Cup draw
The first-round opponents for the United States and Mexico, as drawn Friday, for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, with the tournament schedule (all times TBA):
*--* UNITED STATES
*--*
* The draw: The fourth-to-last team to be placed, the U.S. was drawn into Group E with three-time champion Italy, the Czech Republic and Ghana.
Italy
A traditional power, Italy has the reputation for starting slow in previous World Cups and slipping into the second round.
* How qualified: Easily finished first in European Group 5, with a 7-1-2 record.
Czech Republic
Rated No. 2 in the world in FIFA’s rankings, the offense-minded Czechs failed to be one of the seeded teams primarily because they missed the 2002 World Cup.
* How qualified: After finishing second to the Netherlands in European Group 1, defeated Norway, 2-0, in a two-game playoff, on goals by Vladimir Smicer and Tomas Rosicky.
Ghana
Ghana has been a power in youth championships, winning the FIFA Under-17 World Championship in 1991 and 1995, but has yet to translate that success to the senior level.
* How qualified: Won African Group 2, twice defeating World Cup 2010 host South Africa.
GROUP E SCHEDULE
* June 12 -- United States vs. Czech Republic at Gelsenkirchen; Italy vs. Ghana at Hanover.
* June 17 -- Italy vs. United States at Kaiserlautern; Czech Republic vs. Ghana at Cologne.
* June 22 -- Czech Republic vs. Italy at Hamburg; Ghana vs. United States at Nuremberg.
*--* MEXICO
*--*
* The draw: One of the eight seeded teams, Mexico was drawn to head Group D and joined by Portugal, Iran and Angola.
Portugal
Portugal, the 2004 European Championship runner-up, isn’t likely to take Mexico lightly, having been stunned, 3-2, in its first game in the 2002 Cup by another CONCACAF team, the United States.
* How qualified: Easily finished first in European Group 3, with a 9-0-3 record.
Iran
Another former World Cup opponent of the United States, Iran scored a 2-1 victory in France over the U.S. in 1998. Ali Daei, a standout striker, led Asian qualifying with nine goals.
* How qualified: Finished second to Japan in Group B of the final round of Asian qualifying.
Angola
Ranked No. 62 by FIFA, Angola would appear to be headed for last place in the group. But much the same was said in 2002 about another African team, Senegal, before it stunned France in its opener and reached the quarterfinals.
* How qualified: Tied for first in African Group 4, but advanced on head-to-head performance over Nigeria.
GROUP D SCHEDULE
* June 11 -- Angola vs. Portugal at Cologne; Mexico vs. Iran at Nuremberg.
* June 16 -- Mexico vs. Angola at Hanover.
* June 17 -- Portugal vs. Iran at Frankfurt.
* June 21 -- Portugal vs. Mexico at Gelsenkirchen; Iran vs. Angola at Leipzig.
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THE OTHER GAMES
GROUP A
* June 9 -- Costa Rica vs. Germany at Munich; Poland vs. Ecuador at Gelsenkirchen.
* June 14 -- Poland vs. Germany at Dortmund.
* June 15 -- Ecuador vs. Costa Rica at Hamburg.
* June 20 -- Ecuador vs. Germany at Berlin; Costa Rica vs. Poland at Hanover.
GROUP B
* June 10 -- Trinidad and Tobago vs. Sweden at Dortmund; England vs. Paraguay at Frankfurt.
* June 15 -- Sweden vs. Paraguay at Berlin; England vs. Trinidad and Tobago at Nuremberg.
* June 20 -- Paraguay vs. Trinidad and Tobago at Kaiserlautern; Sweden vs. England at Cologne.
GROUP C
* June 10 -- Argentina vs. Ivory Coast at Hamburg.
* June 11 -- Serbia and Montenegro vs. Netherlands at Leipzig.
* June 16 -- Argentina vs. Serbia and Montenegro at Gelsenkirchen; Netherlands vs. Ivory Coast at Stuttgart.
* June 21 -- Netherlands vs. Argentina at Frankfurt; Ivory Coast vs. Serbia and Montenegro at Munich.
GROUP F
* June 12 -- Australia vs. Japan at Kaiserlautern.
* June 13 -- Brazil vs. Croatia at Berlin.
* June 18 -- Brazil vs. Australia at Munich; Japan vs. Croatia at Nuremberg.
* June 22 -- Japan vs. Brazil at Dortmund; Croatia vs. Australia at Stuttgart.
GROUP G
* June 13 -- South Korea vs. Togo at Frankfurt; France vs. Switzerland at Stuttgart.
* June 18 -- France vs. South Korea at Leipzig.
* June 19 -- Togo vs. Switzerland at Dortmund.
* June 23 -- Switzerland vs. South Korea at Hanover; Togo vs. France at Cologne.
GROUP H
* June 14 -- Spain vs. Ukraine at Leipzig; Tunisia vs. Saudi Arabia at Munich.
* June 19 -- Saudi Arabia vs. Ukraine at Hamburg; Spain vs. Tunisia at Stuttgart.
* June 23 -- Ukraine vs. Tunisia at Berlin; Saudi Arabia vs. Spain at Kaiserlautern.
SECOND ROUND
* June 24 -- Group C winner vs. Group D runner-up at Leipzig; Group A winner vs. Group B runner-up at Munich.
* June 25 -- Group D winner vs. Group C runner-up at Nuremberg; Group B winner vs. Group A runner-up at Stuttgart.
* June 26 -- Group E winner vs. Group F runner-up at Kaiserlautern; Group G winner vs. Group H runner-up at Cologne.
* June 27 -- Group F winner vs. Group E runner-up at Dortmund; Group H winner vs. Group G runner-up at Hanover.
QUARTERFINALS
* June 30 -- June 24 winners at Berlin; June 26 winners at Hamburg.
* July 1 -- June 27 winners at Frankfurt; June 25 winners at Gelsenkirchen.
SEMIFINALS
* July 4 -- June 30 winners at Dortmund.
* July 5 -- July 1 winners at Munich.
FINALS
* July 8 -- Third-place game at Stuttgart.
* July 9 -- Championship game at Berlin.
