The World Cup is all about the draw, and Friday the United States got drawn and quartered, stuck in the Group of Death. When the U.S. players take the field in Brazil in June, they’ll face Germany, Portugal and Ghana, having to deal with arguably the world’s best team, arguably the world’s best player, a nemesis they never beat, and a tournament-worst 9,000-mile travel itinerary.
If coach Jurgen Klinsmann and his team had a clear vision of what to avoid, a worst-scenario nightmare, they just started living it.
“I kind of had in my stomach that we were going to get Germany,” Klinsmann said. “Obviously it’s one of the most difficult groups in the whole draw, having Portugal with Cristiano Ronaldo and then Ghana, who has a history with the United States. It couldn’t get any more difficult or any bigger.
“But that’s what a World Cup is about. It’s a real challenge, and we’ll take it. We’ll take it on, and hopefully we’re going to surprise some people there.’’
Ranked 14th in the latest FIFA poll, getting dumped in a Group G that includes second-ranked Germany, No. 5 Portugal and No. 24 Ghana (all four teams made the knockout stages in 2010) will be a bitter pill to swallow.
The U.S. will open June 16 in Natal, Brazil, against Ghana, which has knocked them out of the last two World Cups. Then they face Portugal and Ronaldo six days later in Manaus, deep in the humid Amazon rain forest and the city seemingly every coach dreaded. They have just three days’ recovery before their group finale on June 26 in Recife against Germany, Klinsmann’s old team.
Based in Sao Paulo, the U.S. has to fear vast Brazil as much as its vaunted foes, with a 1,400-mile trip to Natal, a 1,800-mile journey to Manaus and a 1,300-mile trek to Recife. If they somehow advance, they’ll get a team from modest Group H (Algeria, Belgium, Korea Republic and Russia). But that’s a colossal “if.”
“I think it is the Group of Death,’’ left back DaMarcus Beasley said. “We’ve lost to Ghana the last two World Cups. Playing them the first game we need to get a point, at least to keep hopes alive. But at the same time, I’m pretty confident of what we can do. We have experience, a good mix of youth and experience.
“Of course, we’re always going to be the underdogs. Being in this type of group, no one’s going to be looking for the U.S. to get out of the group. In our minds, we’re going to use that to our advantage. Playing Ghana in the first game, we have to go in there and get a result. Germany and Portugal, the next two games, if they underestimate us we can do OK.’’
The key to advancing is likely the openers. The U.S. must at least tie Ghana — which beat them 2-1 on an extra time winner in 2010 — and hope Germany beats Portugal, and doesn’t to have to win their group finale. Ronaldo can beat teams single-handedly — as he did in the second leg of last month’s playoff series against Sweden — yet the Portuguese are beatable. But are the Germans?
Klinsmann led the Germans to the 1990 World Cup title as a striker and the 2006 semis as a coach, while almost a third of the 23-man U.S. roster may end up being German born, bred or based. Advancement may come down to Klinsmann matching wits with former assistant Joachim Loew.
Group A: Brazil, Croatia, Mexico, Cameroon
Group B: Spain, Holland, Chile, Australia
Group C: Colombia, Greece, Cote d’Ivoire, Japan
Group D: Uruguay, Costa Rica, England, Italy
Group E: Switzerland, Ecuador, France, Honduras
Group F: Argentina, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran, Nigeria
Group G: Germany, Portugal, Ghana, USA
Group H: Belgium, Algeria, Russia, Korea Republic
Quick hits
The Americans’ dramatic win in their final qualifier put underachieving rival Mexico in the World Cup. The Mexicans face the host Brazilians in Group A, but got an easy draw with Cameroon and Croatia.
Tough Group B features the first time a group stage has ever opened with a rematch of the previous final. Champion Spain plays the Netherlands, and — if it wins the group — avoids Brazil until the final.
England manager Roy Hodgson said all he wanted was to avoid Manaus, with the rain-forest city’s mayor shooting back he’d rather have “well-mannered teams who play better football.” Naturally, England plays its June 14 Group D match in Manaus against Italy, which knocked it out of last year’s Euros.