World Cup Draw Announced; U.S. To Face England First

Sports News - December 4th, 2009 - Written by John

On the 60th anniversary of the United States' stunning upset of England in the World Cup in Brazil, the team's will meet again in the 2010 tournament. The two countries were paired together to play first in the upcoming games in South Africa, along with Algeria and Slovenia.

For the first time since 1950, the U.S. will face England in the first round in Rustenberg, on June 12, a game that will certainly conjure up images of the American's 1-0 win more than a half a century ago.

"This is the best draw we've ever had in any World Cup," former U.S. forward Eric Wynald said on the Fox Soccer Channel. "No disrespect to England, but this is an ideal group for us."

The U.S. will play Slovenia at Johannesburg, and Algeria in Pretoria - the first time the countries have ever met.

For the opening match, familiarity hasn't exactly bred contempt for America and England, but it won't be necessarily friendly either.

"It will be like a Premier League game," Fulham manager Roy Hodgson said because many of the American players play in the European league. "The USA is like a team you meet every week. It's better than meeting North Korea and a style of play you're not used to."

What won't be lost in the proceeding weeks will be the inevitable match-up between Landon Donovan and David Beckham, who recently traded verbal blows while teammates on the MLS team, the Los Angeles Galaxy. Donovan, apparently jaded by Beckham's disinterest in American soccer, wrote in a book: "When David first came, I believed he was committed to what he was doing," an excerpt in the book read. "But somewhere along the way he just flipped a switch and said "Uh-uh, I’m not doing it any more."

"All that we care about at a minimum is that he committed himself to us. If someone’s paying you more than anybody in the league, more than double anybody in the league, the least we expect is that you show up to every game, whether you’re suspended or not.

"I can’t even say he’s a good team-mate any more. He’s not shown that. I can’t think of another guy where I’d say he wasn’t a good team-mate, he didn’t give everything through all this, he didn’t still care."

The Associated Press reported Donovan as giddy when he learned of the draw.

"This is going to be awesome," he said. "I can't wait. This is going to be great."

Not so great is the fact that the U.S. has lost to England in seven of it's nine meetings against England, one being the win in 1950, and the other coming in 1993. It will be interesting to see what kind of Soccer Betting Odds we will find listed on the online sportsbooks, as the event draws near.