Photo by ISIPhotos.com
By DAN KARELL
The draw for the 2014 World Cup was not kind to the United States.
The U.S. Men’s National Team was handed one of the most difficult groups in World Cup history as they were placed in Group G with Germany, Ghana, and Portugal, with matches in the north (Manaus) and northeast (Natal and Recife) of Brazil. In addition, the distances between the venues they’ll play in and their home base in Sao Paulo are vast. The U.S. will likely end up traveling nearly 9,000 miles in the group stage alone.
Group G is filled with plenty of story lines, from USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann facing his native Germany to the never-ending rivalry between the USA and Ghana.
Here’s a closer look at the outcome of the rest of the draw:
2014 FIFA WORLD CUP DRAW
Group A: Brazil, Croatia, Mexico Cameroon
Group B: Spain, Netherlands, Chile, Australia
Group C: Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast, 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, South Korea
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What did you think of the draw? Worried about the USMNT’s chances? Think they can make it into the knockout stages? What other groups do you think are the toughest?
Share your thoughts below.
Group G is brutal… At first I was like “Damn…this is over”. Now that i think about it more… this is probably our greatest opportunity to finally be respected as a soccer nation. In order to be the best… you need to play against the best.
In my opinion, our current pool of players is solid, we have a combination of experience players (Donovan,Dempsey,Howard) and promising young talents (Mix,Johannsson,Altidore) that prove to us this year they can a tough opponent team.
being portuguese american I have never been so torn in my life…….damn
great challenge. who knows what might happen. hope we’re healthy come June
I can’t believe what I’m reading here. (I haven’t read all 300+ comments, but I get the gist.) I’m okay with this draw! Tough, sure. Aside from Brazil, Germany is the last team I wanted us to be drawn against. That being said, we beat them this year (I know, it was their C team, but also not our strongest squad), and we outplayed them the last time we met in the WC (twelve years ago, but still). Throw in European teams’ traditionally poor performance in South America, and, with a little luck, we can get a point here.
Portugal doesn’t intimidate me – they’re a one-man team that had to win a playoff to qualify. That one man is Ronaldo, who I personally think is the best player in the world, and the best I’ve ever seen. But remind me of what he, or Portugal, has done on the international stage that should give us trepidation. This is technically his third WC, but he didn’t really show up to the first two. It’s a winnable game.
Bring on Ghana. I am salivating at the thought of revenge, and can’t believe there are any US fans out there that don’t feel the same way. It could be a third consecutive heartbreaker, it one of the sweetest, most satisfying sporting moments we ever experience. I can’t wait to find out which it will be!
Tough group, maybe the toughest. But I believe we have a solid shot of advancing.
Agreed. Let’s do this thing.
wait… what does trepidation mean?
No.
So. Many. Story lines.
Ghana in the first game is very winable. I can see Jurgen delivering a draw vs Germany who hopefully are already qualified. Portugal in Manaus sounds like the hardest game, especially if they lose their first game vs the Germans. Ronaldo and Nani are going to all over the defense.
Hope to see some friendlies vs really good African and European teams this Spring/Summer. A team that plays with a lot of wing attack. England, Ivory Coast, Holland, France, Ecuador, Spain or even Mexico could be good test matches.
This team has surprised me many times on how well they can gear up for a big game.
So I was literally about to start drinking bleach but then I remembered something: no one does the underdog role better than the US. As a soccer fan, I take alot of pride in the fact that our national team plays with a huge chip on its shoulder when we play big teams. Maybe we don’t make it out of the group stages (yes, that will SUCK), but I think at the very least we will play spoiler to one of the other teams. Hopefully Ghana.
Past storylines going into the World Cup: “Can US squeak through our group with a lucky draw?”
Storyline in 2014: “Have the US finally reached the world stage?”
That in itself is progress I’d say.
Remember: In the past 12 years in World Cups,
– US beat Portugal, scoring 3 goals before Portugal knew what hit them
– But for an uncalled handball, would have beaten Germany
– But for a ridiculous PK against Gooch would have beaten Ghana
Yes, we lost two of those games, but with the dice landing a little differently US easily could have won both.
Since then, we have become a much deeper and better side.
This is doable. Tough, but doable.
Even the TIFO of the Brazilians will be mostly for Ghana, Portugal ( of course ) and Germany…..
France – those lucky bstrds!!!! They barely qualified.
Noooooooooo!!!!!!!!!! Soccer gods, why have you forsaken us?!?!?!
Bookies have us at 7:2 odds (22% chance) of advancing.
http://www.oddschecker.com/football/world-cup-groups/group-g/world-cup-group-g/to-qualify
American soccer fans are a bunch of whiney babies. How can we expect to be respected if we can’t get out of a difficult group? BRING IT ON.
A lot of them are, Brett, but I TOTALLY agree… Bring on the world… Bigger babies are Mexican soccer fans… (Married to one, I know first hand)
Absolutely, the USMNT fanbase is embarrassing at times.
If our starting XI continues to look like what generally has (injuries aside), I think nobody is going to need to perform more than Jermaine Jones. As maddening and inconsistent as he can be, a draw like this is exactly why Jones gets picked.
I agree, I think he is actually better against teams where we aren’t going to have much possession like this. When he builds a rhythm of breaking up attacks he preforms better. It’s when he is asked to break a team down he just can’t seem to get out of his own way constantly loosing possession. Also he should be familiar with Boateng.
Boateng and his bro are gonna have a face off
We did work against Portugal in 2002 against Portugal feat. Figo. Paulo Bento remembers that match very well don’t you Paulo. Also the US played a way better Germany in 2002 and should deserved the win, if it wasnt for bad ref calls and recently beat them in a friendly. Everyone here knows we can take ghana. Also they arent the same team they were in 2010. Be happy Agoos and Clark won’t he on this team. Contain Ozil and Ronaldo and the US can win!
ESPN gives the USA a 39% chance of advancing, which I think is based off their ELO rankings (Portugal is 1 place ahead and has a 40% chance). I hope they’re right… Those actually aren’t too bad odds.
based on ESPN’s SPI.
Oops. I hate acronyms.
Its time to beat Ghana, need to get a result against them, once and for all.
Portugal will be tough but I dont see a reason why we cant
get a result against them. Its a very tough group but
I sincerely believe we can get out of it but we are going to have to bring our A game.
A game meaning (Leave Evans, Parkhurst, Zusi, Beckerman, Orozco, and Wondolowski). Bedoya has shown hes miles above Zusi due to current form and the fact hes a big chunk of why nantes is doing so well. (Chandler, Magee/Corona,Lichaj, Gil (Dark horse) and Agudelo) should replace the ones i stated above. Magee can adapt easily we saw that in his Fire/La transfer and the fact he can play rm/lm/forward make him quite versatile. He links really well with landon. Gil well must I say? Agudelo he just needs to find a club that can use him. He has to make a move this summer. The ones l listed that should stay home are great players but to me they don’t cut it outside Concacaf. They are great within and the MLS but O just don’t think they’ll line up well against the Portugals and Germanys of the world
Where are you going to play Magee? Is he a striker or a winger? Zusi is far better in possession and gives better service. I just don’t see where Magee fits in. Also you say these players don’t cut it out of Concacaf but when has Magee done so?
Any chance, there is some trading done with regards to training bases. Is it ever done? I remember reading an article that USSF was getting offers for their Sao Paulo facility months ago.
One of the three teams – Spain, Netherlands or Chile – will play the other two teams among those three and then Brazil in their first four games.
Argentina will play Bosnia, Iran, Nigeria and someone who can’t even win Group E in their first four games.
Can anyone look at the disparities in this draw and honestly say this is a good way of doing things?
The randomness just sucks…at least they could form the groups by ranking (high vs low, etc). Even though the FIFA ranking is problematic…it’s superior to random.
Bedoya just scored
just saw that too. gonna need that form to continue!
USA vs Nemesis
USA vs Ronaldo
Klinsmann, Germericans and Cherundolo? vs Germany
The TV has spoken. All hail the TV!
Man this summer it’s gonna boost soccer awareness to 11. Even if we get eliminated, it’s already a big win for the sport in the US
To be the best, we have to beat the best. I am tired of pundits hoping for “weak groups” and “easy roads.” This is a phenomenal opportunity for the US to demonstrate whether it is a legitimate soccer nation.
We will know we are a quality side when we quit caring so much about the draw. I doubt Brazil or Germany sit there hoping and praying for easy groups.
I don’t think anyone is going to question Argentina’s legitimacy after they breeze through their group.
Argentina is the fool’s gold of world soccer. Always loaded with talent, but they somehow fail to come together and play as a team in the big tournaments. They’re in Brazil, too, which is a huge mental disadvantage.
I agree with the concept, it just sucks though. The fact that Mexico & Honduras have easier groups is random as the damn draw.
The benefit is that the USMNT will have to show up & play on day one and win or be done…rather than slipping by the group stage & losing in the 16.
I don’t think Mexico has an easier draw. Brazil is an absolute lock, so Mexico is only competing for one available spot. Germany is no absolute sure thing, so at least we are competing for two spots.
It’s the top 2 teams…Croatia & Cameroon as good as Portugal & Ghana?
no of course not. but there is less room for error. The Tri is competing with those two for one spot.
Are kidding me, Germany is a lock. I think people are overstating the weather conditions here. Germany is Germany, no way they are not getting out of this group. You really have to hope that Portugal has a bad tournament, though I actually think Ghana has the most potential to upset things for the group. A lot of people seem to be counting them out, but they seem to play well when under pressure.
I am picking Germany to win the Cup. Incredible talent, top to bottom.
They can win if Klinsmann picks the right players. He should pick players who travel well. He might have an inkling from the last few European games. One of the reasons they didn’t score against Scotland or Austria is that they were probably tired. So they have to be in Brazil really early. And people who have been injured recently may get reinjured. So if I were Klinsmann I would only take players who are 100% healthy. There are some players on the USMNT who may claim they are well, but you never know what they are hiding. And then it is hoped that no one gets found out about eating performance enhancing materials such as Clenbuterol in meet (or whatever substances get “inadvertently” mixed in).
Love this draw. We can finally get some respect with a good group stage.
Also it seems like the rest ofConcacafa had a pretty good draw.
Cool! One and half German teams in the same group.
This is going to be the greatest World Cup of all time. Great matchups everywhere. Decent start times for viewing from u.s. Can’t wait.
There is a way that the Kings of CONCACAF should be treated… AND THIS IS NOT IT!! 🙁
I am truly looking forward to watching all of the games.
Was there any crowd reaction when the US was drawn? I wasn’t watching on TV.
There were pretty audibles noises coming out of the crowd when the USA was drawn into that group. It was one of the only real reactions.
Pants were shat, hilarious.
How would people rate our chances against Ghana if we didn’t have our history with them?
As other folks have said, it could have been worse. We could have been drawn with Spain/Netherlands/Chile or Uruguay/Italy/England. Both of those groups would be tougher. This is by no means an easy group, but we CAN get out of it. Worst case scenario is that there will be three very entertaining, hard-fought games.
What the heck- USA wins the group with 3 wins, becomes the darlings of the tournament, and finally loses in the semifinals.
Love the attitude. Put me down for $20 on this. And I’ll have another 20 on a Stu Holden hat trick against Germany. This thing only comes around every 4 years… eff the nonbelievers!
I love you guys
So this is what winning the Hex gets us, next time we should just barely make it in like Honduras and Mexico to get a better draw.
You finally realized… winning the hex is meaningless.
have to win that first game against Ghana. and you have to hope that the USA will finally beat them the 3rd time around. first thing is first, move the training ground from Sao Paulo.
Here is the lineup of the 2010 WC side that lost to Ghana:
USA: 1-Tim Howard; 6-Steve Cherundolo, 15-Jay DeMerit, 3-Carlos Bocanegra (capt.), 12-Jonathan Bornstein; 10-Landon Donovan, 4-Michael Bradley, 13 -Ricardo Clark (19-Maurice Edu, 31), 8-Clint Dempsey; 20-Robbie Findley (22-Benny Feilhaber, 46) 17-Jozy Altidore (9-Herculez Gomez, 91)
Methinks we are miles better and deeper this time around.
agreed, i actually like our chances against Ghana. it’s the mental aspect we have to get past.
Also consider that many younger and “foreign” U.S. players won’t have that baggage, and MB90 fears nothing.
Does MB90 know what fear is?
Moving from Sao Paolo sounds like the right move to me. In such a big country there must be other spots with good facilities and such closer to the games, right?
for sure. our entire group will be played in the north/northeast, so a base in the northeast makes the most sense. especially considering that IF we get out of the group in 2nd, the Round of 16 game will be in Salvador (also in the northeast). that is very close Recife and Natal. Sao Paulo was a good call given it’s pretty central to most stadiums. but with our draw, it makes no sense to be in Sao Paulo.
Ghana beat the US on a flaky PK call in 2006, and beat the US with a long ball over the top that was not properly dealt with by either Boca or Demeritt. Gonzo clears that ball 9 times out of 10 in the air.
You can call me crazy but the 2014 USMNT defenders are better than the 2010 defenders.
Ghana doesn’t scare me at all.
Agreed. The Ghana game is very winnable.
This team is much better then the 2010 team pretty much all around.
Excuses.
This might be THE highest profile storyline group possible for the USA out of all possible combinations.
Klinsmann vs Germany. Another chance against Ghana. Germaricans. The most glamorous player in the world (and quite possibly the best right now,) in Ronaldo. Group of Death. So many storylines.
This is made for TV viewing between now and June and should help boost the national awareness of soccer in the US.
I’m excited for this group and I’d love to see us advance.
Let’s go USA!
It will be tough to beat us three times in a row, if the ticker starts now. All else equal, these games are independent. You might argue that the US wants revenge, but I’m sure Ghanians want to win the Cup equally as bad.
Sorry, that was meant to be a reply.
I will enjoy this if we don’t give up cheap goals on bonehead mistakes AND we create some quality scoring chances in every game. It’s the World Cup. You play the best teams in the world. It’s fun.
Beating Ghana in game 1 and getting over that demon will be huge momentum wise.
Losing to them again screws us so hard. It’s a HUGE game.
This is pretty ugly. I’ll be happy if we beat Ghana. The US will need to attack each and every game because if the other team scores first, we’ll be done for.
We better solve our fullback problems. Beasley and Evans just don’t cut it. Nani, Muller, Ronaldo and Gyan will have a field day against Evans and Beasley. Outright Scary. All the more important for Fabian Johnson and Cherundolo if he’s back, to play well. Maybe Cameron, Lichaj or Parkhurst can cover.
+1 We need Fabian Johndon and Cameron to be the best full backs
Hey, I have a stupid question, but it’s been bugging me.
What happens if every game in a particular group ends in a 1-1 draw? With no points/differentials separating any team?
I believe the final fifa tie breaker is “drawing of lots.”
And here I thought it was “thickness of plain brown envelope.”
My understanding is that if teams are equal on points, goal differential, and goals in head to head, FIFA does a random draw to see who advances.
Here’s a story about this from 2010. I don’t know if the rules have changes since then:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/soccer/world-cup-2010/writers/georgina_turner/06/16/fifa.regulations/
Dumb question maybe, but why not relocate training and ‘home base’ to the Northeast? Overall travel would be reduced and training in the heat/humidity of the north would be better prep for game conditions?
This whole thread just shows how far not the soccer team but soccer fans have to go. We are complaining about our draw instead of thinking about how we can advance. Instead of embracing a challenge we are wishing for the easy way out. England, Uruguay, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Chile, Mexico, Croatia, Mexico, Portugal, Germany, and Australia don’t have it easy either. Every nation knows it won’t be easy to win so play and hope for the best and stop bitching about who you play. Sound like a punch of pussies. Man up there are plenty of teams who didn’t make it. The team will bust their ass for the full 90 and see where they stand. And that’s all I can ask for.
I’m not complaining. I want our honest goals to count this time! I complain about crap like that 😉
Most soccer fans across the globe complain about World Cup draws. I have some wonderful friends from Argentina: they have always complained about draws and decry the favor that FIFA shows Brazil.
We beat Portugals golden generation. We owe Ghana, and I am not as scared of this years team as much as past teams. Germany is Germany. If we get a result against Ghana, we have all to play for, and lets hope Germany can demoralize Portugal with 3 or 4 goals in the first game.
It’s possible that by the third game both Germany and the US will be exhausted. Does that increase the unpredictability, i.e., reduce the importance of true quality as a factor? I’m grasping for straws here . . .
Germany could also already have 6 points
So could the US
That’s the spirit!
“Git ‘er dun!” . Round of 16 here we come.
Ronaldo, Ozil, and Boateng are probably saying, “Great, we get to play USA.”
I doubt any of them are saying that, unless it’s sarcastically. They would have much rather had anyone else in our pot.
The draw defintitley could have been worse. For a seeded team would you rather Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Belgium? For the non-ranked Euro would you rather Italy, Holland, France, England(well maybe England)? I sure wouldn’t want to be in Australia’s boots.
This is going to be the cup where we get to to exercise some demons past. A chance to right two wrongs. First Ghana for past heartbreaks, then Germany for the hand ball in Korea. Opening with Ghana is perfect. The boys will be ready and chomping at the bit! It will be tough for Ghana to beat us three times in a row. A win here and confidence will be soaring for the game against Portugal. A win is possible against them too! However, finishing off with a couple of draws would see us through.
This is the best American team we’ve ever had and the boys should relish this opportunity. This is a statement group and I am taking the optimistic path and saying that this is going to be our coming out party!
C’mon you YANKS!
Please let’s exorcize them, not let them exercise.
The key game is beating Ghana first. Maybe Germany would have qualified by the time we play them, so we get the extra points. Low will gift Klinsmann the win, so we get second place.
Its champing at the bit. Its a dumb word, so you are better off just finding another cliche to use there. Used right=dumb word. Used wrong=dumb person.
Yeah… But “chomp” is just a variant spelling of “champ” and has been used since the late 16th century. As that was the middle of the great vowel shift, no one knew how to spell anything properly. The spelling and accompanying pronunciation, “Chomp” has since mostly superseded “champ” for describing someone or something that is biting nosily and enthusiastically.
Mostly superseded by improper users in this case.
Oh? So you walk around seeing people champing on sandwiches? How quaint.
hahaha
My point is: You are wrong, because you have ignored the history of the vowel shift. Chomp is champ is chomp. It’s the same word.
I can give you something to “chomp” on champ. How is that my dimwitted friend.
Great post. We will find out if they can but thank you for embracing the challenge instead of complaining about it.
Question for everyone! Against Portugal would you mark Ronaldo out of the game with Jermaine Jones or Bradley? See if Portugal’s other 10 can beat us? I’m not afraid of Nani! He has a terrible end product for all his dancing.
I choose option #3: Break Ronaldo’s legs.
Option #3 is it. Jermaine Jones breaks Ronaldo’s legs!
+1 there is only one option there.