The day we have all been waiting for has finally arrived.
In just a few hours, the groups for the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be drawn (Noon, ESPN/FSC/Univision/ESPN360.com) and all 32 teams will know which opponents will be awaiting them at next summer's World Cup in South Africa.
For the United States, today's draw will be about hoping to avoid a brutal group, though the odds are against the Americans avoiding at least a tough path to the second round.
There is plenty of excitement as the buzz dominates the morning, but you are in luck. There are plenty of ways to pass the next few hours until the drawing is complete. For those who need a primer on the 32-team field, here is a rundown of all the World Cup participants. Can't get enough of mock draws? Give this mock draw generator a try.
I will be providing commentary on the draw when it gets closer to the actually picking of the groups (and using this same post for that commentary). For now, please feel free to share your thoughts on today's draw in the comments section below.
Enjoy the draw (Commentary is after the jump):
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DRAW– That's all for now. I will be providing a more detailed breakdown on the draw shortly. For now, please feel free to share your thoughts on the draw in the comments section below and thank you for following along.
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DRAW– So what lineup could we see for the USA against England? In a perfect scenario, this could be the starting XI:
————–Altidore———-Davies——————
Donovan—————————————Dempsey
—————-Bradley——–J. Jones—————
Bornstein—Bocanegra——Onyewu———Spector
————————-Howard————————–
Yes, Davies is still a long-shot, but there seems to be a growing believe that he can beat the long odds.
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DRAW– "(Slovenia is) probably a team we think we can beat," said Landon Donovan.
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DRAW– You can usually tell about ten seconds into a live TV interview with a random spectator if you've picked the wrong person.
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DRAW– Brazil, Portugal and Ivory Coast. Talk about a TON of talent on display there. My money is on Brazil and Ivory Coast advancing.
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DRAW– Are we going to get an Alexi Lalas-Ruud Gullit reunion on the air? That would be priceless.
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DRAW– I will call it now, Serbia wins the group with Germany, Ghana and Australia. The Germans do well seemingly in every World Cup, but their team isn't as strong as past German teams and this group is loaded with landmines.
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DRAW– For those writing off Argentina because of its World Cup qualifying struggles, keep this in mind. Brazil endured a poor run of form in 2002 World Cup qualifying. They went on to dominate and win the 2002 World Cup.
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DRAW– "If you're France, you should go to Vegas right now."– Alexi Lalas. Classic.
Here's a question. How many Ireland fans will travel to South Africa specifically to root against France?
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DRAW– Nice to see Javier Aguirre lift his self-imposed ban on speaking English. He's a great personality and a very good coach. Mexico is poised for a strong World Cup.
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DRAW– The more I look at the USA draw the more I find it hilarious how many American fans kept assuming the USA would be doomed by this draw. I said it before the draw, I had a feeling the Americans would dodge some bullets. The draw is perfect because it provides easier match-ups will also providing a very good challenge in England.
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DRAW– Freddy Adu's Tweeting leads him to get crushed by Alexi Lalas on the ESPN broadcast. Lalas is right though in that Adu is pretty far off the radar right now.
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DRAW– Bob Bradley: "We believe in playing our game."
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DRAW– Is it fair to say the USA-England match will break soccer TV ratings records? I'll say this, we will be spending the next six months breaking down that match-up and while some folks want to assume England will cruise, I see that being a very competitive match, particularly if the Americans are healthy.
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DRAW– Fabio Capello talking about the draw is priceless.
Some draw thoughts:
Argentina's group is trickier than you might think.
Germany's group has four teams that could all advance to the second round.
Over/under on North Korea's goal differential= -10
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DRAW– I have been saying for some time that Honduras could wind up being a surprise team this World Cup, and its group lends itself for that as a possibility. Spain will be tough, but the 'Catracho's could advance past Chile and Switzerland.
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DRAW– Apologies for the delays, hopefully the technical difficulties.
Here are the groups:
A- South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
B- Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, Greece
C- England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia
D- Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana
E- Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon
F- Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia
G- Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal
H- Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile
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DRAW– Spain, Honduras, Chile and Switzerland. Book it now, the 'Catrachos' reach the second round.
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DRAW– Potugal, Brazil, Ivory Coast and New Zealand. Group of Death.
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DRAW– Netherlands, Demark, Japan and Cameroon. INteresting group.
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DRAW– Germany, Serbia, Australia and Ghana is looking very Group of Death'ish.
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DRAW– It should be noted that Slovenia beat Russia in the UEFA playoffs, but I think the USA will take Slovenia over Portugal or France from that pot.
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DRAW– England, Algeria and Slovenia. No World Cup is easy, and you never know how things can go, but that draw is about as good as American fans could have asked for.
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DRAW– USA DRAWS SLOVENIA!!!!!!!
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DRAW– Spain-Chile-Honduras, a great group there.
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DRAW– Netherlands-Japan-Cameroon, Italy-New Zealand-Paraguay
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DRAW– Mexico drawn with Uruguay and South Africa. A dream draw for 'El Tri'
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DRAW– ALGERIA for the USA. Dream draw there for the USA.
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DRAW– Brazil draws North Korea
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DRAW– Italy faces New Zealand.
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DRAW– Germany draws Australia
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DRAW– South Korea grouped with Argentina.
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DRAW– USA vs. England to open the World Cup. Who will be there?
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DRAW– Not a great draw, but a great challenge for the Americans.
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DRAW– USA gets England. WOW.
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1:07pm– Mexico gets South Africa, what a shock.
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1:04pm– David Beckham is in the house. I wonder what the odds are right now that he makes the England team. Ladbrokes has to be taking action on that.
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1:02pm– If you have enough room on your computer screen, ESPN.com is running a live commentary on the draw as well. I am set to take part in it, but will stick with SBI for now.
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1:00pm– Are you ready? Have faith the Americans will get a good draw? I have a good feeling about the draw, not sure why.
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12:57pm– Any minute now. You just know some people have dozed off and will wake up wondering what happened.
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12:54pm– Can I be a Drawmaster?
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12:54pm– We're almost there. Bring on the bowls.
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12:52pm– Is this the draw, or a Broadway musical?
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12:51pm– Has there ever been this much excitement surrounding a World Cup draw? I can't remember anything coming close.
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12:48pm– We're about to get underway with the draw.
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12:43pm– I wonder what the odds are the USA get a dream draw, while Mexico winds up in a Group of Death? Let's face it, Mexico had a dream draw in 2006, so 'El Tri' could be do for a brutal group.
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12:40pm– We are still six months away from the World Cup, but it has certainly been a week of good news on the injury front for the US national team. Charlie Davies, Maurice Edu, Jay DeMerit and Jermaine Jones have all had positive news this week about their recoveries from injuries. When you think about adding that talent to the US team, it certainly makes the prospects of a Group of Death slightly easier to deal with.
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12:33pm– And the worst draw imaginable? Brazil, France and Ivory Coast would be a nightmare draw, and yes, you could substitute Spain for Brazil, but at least the Americans have actually beaten Spain (though according to Iker Casillas, that will only happen once out of ten times).
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12:32pm– So what is the dream draw for the USA? South Africa, Switzerland and Uruguay Algeria would be a draw that would have USA fans celebrating like it's New Year's Eve.
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12:30pm– Good afternoon all. We're getting closer to the moment of truth and I'm sure most of you are as anxious as can be. The draw generator is surely working overtime, and I won't lie, I've done a few. Unfortunately, South Africa only came out in the USA group once in ten draws.
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