While most of us were out partying on Friday night, the United States National Team was busy learning its fate in the Far East. Around midnight Eastern Standard Time, FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, held the World Cup Finals Draw in the South Korean port city of Pusan. All 32 qualifiers were drawn into eight groups of four, with one of the eight seeded teams being placed in each group.
The U.S. was drawn into Group D alongside tournament co-host South Korea, the seeded team in the group because of its status as a host nation, as well as European powerhouse Portugal, which is currently ranked fourth in the world, and Poland. The Americans will play all three of their first round games in South Korea, and the only way that the squad will reach Japan is if it reaches the final for the first time in U.S. history.
The United States finished third during the final phase of CONCACAF qualification thanks in large to a 2-1 victory over Jamaica back on Oct. 7th at Foxboro Stadium, and as a result, earned its fourth consecutive berth to the world’s premier sporting event.
However, head coach Bruce Arena and whichever 22 he chooses to take with him to Japan/South Korea will not be satisfied by merely making an appearance in next year’s championships. The entire U.S. squad will be looking to make up for the embarrassment that was the 1998 World Cup in France, at which the Red, White and Blue finished 32nd out of 32 qualifiers, losing all three games including a humiliating 2-1 defeat at the hands of lowly Iran.
The best way for the U.S. to erase the debacle in France will be for it to reach the second round, something it last did during the 1994 World Cup here in the USA. In order for that to happen, captain Claudio Reyna and the rest of the American squad will need to take one of the group’s top two spots, a very realistic possibility given their first round opponents.
Most pundits agree that Portugal, who the U.S. meets in each team’s opener on June 5th in Suwon, should easily run away with the group behind world class talent like Rui Costa and Nuno Gomes, increasing the importance of the final two group matches.
Five days later the Americans will be back in action against the South Koreans in Daegu. There should be no surprises from either team, as they will meet twice in the next two months – first a friendly match on the Korean Peninsula on Sunday and again at the Gold Cup in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. early in the new year.
But it will all come down to the final group D encounter for the U.S. on June 14 in Daejeon against Poland. A win here, coupled with at least a tie in the match with South Korea, should be enough to see the U.S. through to the next round, where it would then meet either Germany, Ireland, Cameroon or Saudi Arabia.
While the U.S. seemed to receive a favorable draw, our allies from across the Atlantic, England, was not so lucky. The Three Lions were placed into what is widely accepted as “The Group of Death.” In order to reach the final 16, David Beckham and the rest of the English side will need to grab at least the runner-up spot of its group that is also comprised of tournament favorites Argentina, as well as Sweden, who finished third at USA ’94 and Nigeria, who reached the second round in each of the last two World Cup finals.
The tournament kicks off on May 31 from Seoul, South Korea, when reigning champions France take on African first-timer Senegal. Exactly one month later, the 17th World Cup will be concluded with the final from the International Stadium in Yokohama, Japan.
Justin Pearson is a Collegian Columnist.
