United States grouped with England; Mexico gets France at World Cup draw

December 5, 2009

Los Angeles Galaxy teammates Landon Donovan and David Beckham will face off in the first round of the World Cup, as the United States and England were drawn together in Group C at Friday’s ceremony.

The Americans also will play Algeria and Slovenia, while Mexico was placed in Group A with host South Africa, Uruguay and France.

Honduras, making its first World Cup appearance since 1982, was put in Group H with Spain, Chile and Switzerland.

Mexico will play its first game against South Africa June 11 in Johannesburg, the second straight time a CONCACAF team has opened the tournament. Costa Rica played Germany in the opener four years ago in Munich.

“I think that for Mexico to be able to play the opening game is very attractive, its something special for Mexico in this World Cup,” El Tri midfielder Giovani dos Santos said. “It’s an extra motivation, all eyes of the world are going to be focused on the World Cup’s first game against the host nation and there will be an incredible amount of expectation in the match.”

The United States will play England in Rustenberg the following day in the opening game of Group C, pitting Donovan against Beckham in a highly anticipated match. The pair just completed a third season at the Galaxy, a period which included a much publicized spat between the two.

In a book entitled “The Beckham Experiment” by Sports Illustrated sports writer Grant Wahl published earlier this year detailing Beckham’s first two years in U.S. Major League Soccer, Donovan criticized his English teammate for a lack of commitment to the American club. The two said they resolved their differences and led the Galaxy to the MLS Cup Final last month, where it lost on penalties to Real Salt Lake.

“Now it’s fun. We’ve moved past what happened,” Donovan said during a draw viewing media reception in New York. “It will be fun to talk before the game. I’m sure we’ll talk trash (to each other).”

Mexico will play France on June 17 in Polokwane and then finish against Uruguay on June 22 in Rustenberg.

Uruguay was the last nation to qualify for the 32-team field, beating Costa Rica in a two-game playoff 2-1 on aggregate. France made the World Cup with a goal following a much-publicized handball by Thierry Henry.

“It’s very open, with three teams with very different styles from one another, like France and South Africa,” Mexico manager Javier Aguirre said. “Therefore it will be very important that we arrive in good shape for the World Cup.”

Honduras will be facing the European champion in Spain, a Swiss team playing for the ninth time and second straight in the World Cup and Chile, which finished second in South American qualifying behind Brazil.

“Spain and Chile, are the strongest teams in the group,” Honduran coach Reinaldo Rueda said. “Their FIFA rankings and their current form puts them at the top of the group, as teams to beat, especially Chile.”

Many American pundits were quick to characterize the United States’ draw as fortunate compared to 2006 — when it was grouped with eventual champion Italy, the Czech Republic and Ghana — and 2002, when it drew co-host Korea Republic, Portugal and Poland.

“It would appear that way,” echoed Donovan. “I want to be cautious because you don’t know what will happen. You have six months to get better.”

Group A
South Africa
Mexico
Uruguay
France

Group B
Argentina
Korea Republic
Nigeria
Greece

Group C
England
United States
Algeria
Slovenia

Group D
Germany
Australia
Ghana
Serbia

Group E
Netherlands
Japan
Cameroon
Denmark

Group F
Italy
New Zealand
Paraguay
Slovakia

Group G
Brazil
Korea DPR
Ivory Coast
Portugal

Group H
Spain
Honduras
Chile
Switzerland

CAPE TOWN, South Africa

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