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Luck of the draw for U.S.

Fri 4th, December 2009

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - U.S. coach Bob Bradley nodded his head and cracked a small smile Friday when asked whether he liked the draw for the 2010 World Cup, then added a simple, but telling, "Yes."

The Americans were paired with England in what will be an anticipated match in South Africa in June, but when all the little soccer balls were finally pealed open in Cape Town, Group C also included Algeria and Slovenia.

Heard of them? Don't worry, you're not alone.

"To be candid," American Landon Donovan said, "we have some work to do to find out more about Algeria and Slovenia."

Obviously, there are no easy games at the World Cup. But really, the Americans could not have dreamed of a much better scenario.

Out of the 32 teams in the tournament, Algeria could easily be the worst - New Zealand and South Africa are also in pre-tournament contention for that honor.

Algeria did beat Egypt twice, including in a winner-take-all playoff, to reach the World Cup, but otherwise has proved nothing on the international level.

Slovenia also deserves credit for reaching the World Cup - it needed to defeat Russia in a two-game playoff in European qualifying - but played in an overall weak qualifying group.

"We feel," Bradley added, "this is a group that gives us a very fair chance to get through to the next round."

Besides the slight reaction, Bradley was subdued about the draw. But somewhere at the draw, out of sight, the U.S. coach had to be outwardly excited.

Unless the U.S. was lucky enough to land in Group A with South Africa - seeded one of the top eight countries as tournament hosts - Bradley knew his side was facing Argentina, Brazil, England, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands or Spain.

Once the U.S. was paired with England, it was possible the draw could have put African power the Ivory Coast and a European elite, either France or Portugal, in the group as well.

The Americans avoided all three, and now expectations are high. And along with it, the pressure is on.

The U.S. will play England at the World Cup for the first time since 1950, the "Miracle on Grass" 1-0 win for the Americans.

England is the clear favorite again, to beat the U.S. and win the group. Heck, even Donovan wouldn't deny that.

"Are we as talented as England? Probably not," he said. "But on a given day we have a chance to beat them."

The U.S. shouldn't have to, thanks to the luck of the draw.

Following the Americans' tournament opener on June 12, the U.S. plays Slovenia on June 18, and closes group play with Algeria on June 23. The U.S. is capable of winning the last two - and should.

"Any time now that we don't advance, we're going to be disappointed," Donovan, who helped lead the U.S. to the final of the Confederations Cup, said. "That's our expectation level now.

"As a team, that's good."

The U.S. last escaped the knockout stage in 2002, when it beat Mexico and lost to Germany in the quarterfinals. The expectations were higher in 2006, when it managed a 1-1 draw against eventual champion Italy, but otherwise flopped.

The Americans can't afford another poor performance, especially in this group.

Bradley has done everything he could to test the Americans against the best in the world in the last four years, and a win over Spain and a strong showing in the Confederations Cup final in South Africa against Brazil earlier this year, a 3-2 loss, showed the team can compete with the best in the world.

So, just getting out of the group should not be enough.

"We need to get out of our group," U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra said, "and we need to make some noise down in South Africa."

The Americans will be playing in their sixth straight Cup next summer and with the draw they were handed, it is time to dream of a deep run in the event.

The U.S. has concerns with the World Cup just six months away, namely the loss of striker Charlie Davies to injuries from a fatal car accident, and an injury to center back Oguchi Onyewu.

But the attitude has changed, as Bocanegra expressed about the Americans' pair of losses in Europe to close out the year. The U.S. dropped friendlies against fellow Cup qualifiers Slovakia and Denmark last month, and "we were pissed off because we didn't better results," he said.

"Hopefully," Bocanegra added about next year's Cup, "we do something special."