Angel Eyes
12-07-2013, 12:49 AM
The final draw of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil was announced Friday. The U.S. team will face Germany, Portugal and Ghana in Group G; host Brazil will face world No. 16 Croatia in Group A. Only the top two teams of each group advance to the next round.
The draw puts the U.S., currently ranked as the world's No. 14 team, in the same group with the world's No. 2 (Germany) and No. 5 (Portugal). Ghana is ranked 24th. The showdown with Germany has the potential to be bittersweet for Jürgen Klinsmann, the coach of the U.S. team who was a star for German World Cup teams in the 1990s.
The draw determines the makeup of eight groups of four teams that will play each other in the first round. Every World Cup usually has a "group of death" — an especially competitive collection of teams that can bounce a highly regarded team in the first round.
An argument could be made that the U.S. is in that group this time around. But another group that looks to be especially tough is Group D, featuring three previous champions — Italy (currently No. 7), Uruguay (No. 6) and England (No. 13) — along with Costa Rica (No. 31).
http://s27.postimg.org/etenktd4j/world_cup_draw_complete_custom_fb835c371293478d7.j pg
The U.S. team will play its first match against Ghana on June 16 in Natal. They then travel to Manaus to face Portugal. The Manaus location has been a point of contention , who have said they don't want their teams playing in the heart of the Amazon
From Brazil, NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro notes that the draw will make the U.S. travel thousands of miles during the first round alone.
The team could rack up nearly 9,000 miles in air travel for its games, which also include a stop in Recife, in Brazil's northeast, according to .
"We hit the worst of the worst," Klinsmann says of today's result, The Times reports. "It's one of the most difficult groups in the whole draw. It couldn't get any more difficult or any bigger. But that's what the World Cup is about and we'll take it on. Hopefully we can surprise some people."
For the geographically challenged, we note that at nearly 3.3 million square miles, Brazil is the .
Also of note, the first round will bring a rematch of the 2010 World Cup final, as Spain will play the Netherlands.
You can see the draw at , soccer's international governing body.
Our original post continues:
Brazilian soccer legend Pele, who took part in the ceremony, said he likes the home team's chances.
"I think we will be in the final," he said.
The draw was announced Friday to a packed auditorium in Bahia, Brazil. The tournament featuring 32 national teams is set to begin in June.
The draw puts the U.S., currently ranked as the world's No. 14 team, in the same group with the world's No. 2 (Germany) and No. 5 (Portugal). Ghana is ranked 24th. The showdown with Germany has the potential to be bittersweet for Jürgen Klinsmann, the coach of the U.S. team who was a star for German World Cup teams in the 1990s.
The draw determines the makeup of eight groups of four teams that will play each other in the first round. Every World Cup usually has a "group of death" — an especially competitive collection of teams that can bounce a highly regarded team in the first round.
An argument could be made that the U.S. is in that group this time around. But another group that looks to be especially tough is Group D, featuring three previous champions — Italy (currently No. 7), Uruguay (No. 6) and England (No. 13) — along with Costa Rica (No. 31).
http://s27.postimg.org/etenktd4j/world_cup_draw_complete_custom_fb835c371293478d7.j pg
The U.S. team will play its first match against Ghana on June 16 in Natal. They then travel to Manaus to face Portugal. The Manaus location has been a point of contention , who have said they don't want their teams playing in the heart of the Amazon
From Brazil, NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro notes that the draw will make the U.S. travel thousands of miles during the first round alone.
The team could rack up nearly 9,000 miles in air travel for its games, which also include a stop in Recife, in Brazil's northeast, according to .
"We hit the worst of the worst," Klinsmann says of today's result, The Times reports. "It's one of the most difficult groups in the whole draw. It couldn't get any more difficult or any bigger. But that's what the World Cup is about and we'll take it on. Hopefully we can surprise some people."
For the geographically challenged, we note that at nearly 3.3 million square miles, Brazil is the .
Also of note, the first round will bring a rematch of the 2010 World Cup final, as Spain will play the Netherlands.
You can see the draw at , soccer's international governing body.
Our original post continues:
Brazilian soccer legend Pele, who took part in the ceremony, said he likes the home team's chances.
"I think we will be in the final," he said.
The draw was announced Friday to a packed auditorium in Bahia, Brazil. The tournament featuring 32 national teams is set to begin in June.