•U.S. Will Open World Cup against England on June 12 in Rustenburg
•USA’s Group Games will be Shown Live on ESPN Networks and Univision
The U.S. Men’s National Team has been drawn into Group C with England, Slovenia and Algeria for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The groups and schedule were determined during the Final Draw at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in Cape Town, South Africa.
The U.S. will open its sixth consecutive World Cup finals tournament against England on June 12 in Rustenburg, and will follow that game with matches against Slovenia on June 18 in Johannesburg and Algeria on June 23 in Tshwane/Pretoria.
“It’s a big challenge but when you come to the World Cup and you have a chance to kick it off against an opponent like England, it gives it a real special start,” said U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley. “It gives us a great opportunity to challenge ourselves in the first game.”
“We know that Algeria and Slovenia are very good teams and we have respect for what they accomplished. We’ll do our preparation and prepare our team. It’s a four year period of growing, and we’ve played very tough teams along the way.”
The U.S. commences its World Cup by facing England in a rematch of the famed 1950 game in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. In that match nearly 60 years ago, an unfancied USA team defeated heavily favored England 1-0 to cause one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history. Joe Gaetjens’ goal proved a memorable winner in the only World Cup meeting between the two teams.
The USA has faced England, ranked ninth in the FIFA World Rankings, on nine prior occasions and holds a 2-7-0 record against the 1966 World Cup champions. Most recently the two sides met in a friendly on May 28, 2008 at Wembley Stadium, where Fabio Capello’s side earned a 2-0 victory. England qualified for its 13th World Cup, setting aside the disappointment of missing out on the 2008 European Championship by marching imperiously to a 9-1-0 record in Group 6 of UEFA qualifying.
Slovenia (ranked 33rd) and Algeria (28th) have never faced the United States and the games in South Africa will mark the first meetings between the countries in any competition.
Rustenburg will play host to the USA’s opening game with England, in a stadium which holds fond memories for Bradley’s team. It was at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium where the USA defeated Egypt 3-0 on June 21, 2009, to improbably advance to the semifinals of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, where they subsequently defeated Spain to reach the final. The 42,000 seat stadium is the smallest venue in next year’s World Cup.
Should the U.S. advance to the second round, they would a team from Group D (Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia) in either Rustenburg on June 26 on Mangaung/Bloemfontein on June 27.
For more interesting facts on some of the other group pairings fans can log on to ussoccer.com’s DrawTracker. The DrawTracker includes up-to-date and detailed information on each of the 32 tournament finalists, and a complete 2010 World Cup schedule.
Reprinted from the U.S. Soccer (www.ussoccer.com)