'No easy games' but England get luck of the draw

Published on Friday 4 December 2009 23:12

EVERYONE needs the luck of the draw from time to time.

&#149 Charlize Theron watches Fifa's Jerome Valicke draw the French

And no-one can doubt that England manager Fabio Capello had his fair share of fortune after a World Cup draw which placed England in a group with the United States, Algeria and Slovenia.

Of course there will be those such as David Beckham who say they are "all hard games" at this level, but the fact is Algeria are one of the weaker African nations and Slovenia one of the poorest European countries. And the United States? Well, their journey to the final of the Confederations Cup, where they led Brazil 2-0 before losing 3-2, suggests they will provide a tough opening test on 12 June in Rustenburg.

We should also remember they inflicted a first defeat in 36 games upon Spain in the semi-finals and possess tidy footballers in Fulham's Clint Dempsey and Beckham's LA Galaxy team-mate Landon Donovan.

There is also history to overcome, England having lost 1-0 to America in the 1950 World Cup to take a first-round exit. While no-one wants to build the sort of unrealistic expectations which have hampered England's progress in previous World Cups, it is fair to say that this USA side should hold no fears for Capello's men.

No wonder the manager looked composed, serene even, as the draw unfolded and he sucked in a flavour of the fervour which accompanies England around World Cup time.

In many ways the details were of no great significance to Capello. Unlike some of his predecessors, he is in it to win it. He is not going to South Africa next summer to put on a brave face. He would not deem it success just to go one better than the two quarter-finals which Sven-Goran Eriksson managed in Japan in 2002 and Germany in 2006.

There is a growing sense emanating from Capello that anything short of bringing the trophy home in July would be seen as a career failure. That is not to heap pressure on the Italian's shoulders, even if he deserves to carry a heavy burden for his 6m-a-year salary. It is just the way it is when Italians put on their tournament faces. With Capello there will be no WAGS, no dodgy hotels. No ill-discipline and no lack of preparation. He will demand the best and ensure England give of their best.

"You should not fear any country," said Beckham. Not on paper. Not on grass if you are going to progress deep into football's most prestigious tournament.

If England cruise through their group it is guaranteed to get measurably tougher immediately considering they could face one from a group containing Germany, Serbia, Ghana and Australia in the second round. That would present the possibility of an early flight home but there were managers with much more to worry about than Capello. Imagine what might have been going through the mind of Portugal manager Carlos Queiroz as he saw his team deposited in a group which included favourites Brazil, Didier Drogba's Ivory Coast and North Korea.

There is always one 'Group of Death' and Group G looks like the one everyone else wanted to avoid in 2010.

Spain will be happy with group opposition of Honduras, Chile and Switzerland and champions Italy could hardly have placed their opposition any better. They will expect a smooth ride against New Zealand, Paraguay and Slovakia.

Not that it is ever so straightforward. Remember defending champions France being humbled by Senegal in 2002 and taking an early exit? That is the beauty of the World Cup.

Already, South Africa have been dismissed as the worst host nation, in terms of their football prowess, in the history of the competition.

Yet who knows? Home advantage and a passionate following might raise their game, just as it did when South Korea reached the semi-finals back in 2002.

An African nation might be carried along on a carpet of pride to become the first from the continent to reach a World Cup final, something Pele predicted would have happened 20 years ago.

The truth is last night's draw whetted the appetite for what promises to be one of the great World Cups. One of the most open, too.

Argentina, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Brazil, Spain. They are all good enough to go all the way. And England? Perhaps.

Capello's meticulous planning and the luck of the draw is a formidable combination.

Capello accepted that there are tougher groups than England's but recalled Italy's disastrous 1974 campaign in which he played, when the Azzurri went out from a group they were expected to dominate. "There are other groups that are stronger than ours but I remember when I was a player in Germany in 1974 sometimes you can think the group is easy and it will not be so. That is what I will tell the players – because psychologically the games you have to play in a World Cup are different to other games," he said.

The USA do have proven pedigree, having reached the final of the Confederations Cup in South Africa earlier this year, beating Spain on the way, a game which Capello was at.

He added: "The USA are strong physically and technically they are good enough. I saw the game against Spain when they won and it will be no easy game."

Slovenia were beaten 2-1 at Wembley in September but it was no pushover – something they proved by seeing off Russia in the play-offs.

Capello said: "I suffered in the second half when we played against Slovenia in September, I remember it very well. Slovenia's style is Balkan. They are technically good, a lot of passes and imagination.

"There will be no easy games – Algeria will also be confident after their exploits against Egypt when they played very well. I saw only some moments of the play-off games against Egypt. I saw the goals they scored but not too much to understand much about them. For me it's important to see a lot of videos of games they have played."

Capello also revealed England are likely to face Egypt in a friendly on 3 March as preparation for facing Algeria. "I think it's a nice choice to know the style of these north African players," he said.

GROUP PHASE

Friday 11 June 2010

Group A: South Africa v Mexico (Johannesburg Soccer City); Uruguay v France (Cape Town)

Saturday 12 June

Group B: Argentina v Nigeria, (Johannesburg Ellis Park); South Korea v Greece (Port Elizabeth)

Group C: England v United States (Rustenburg)

Sunday 13 June

Group C: Algeria v Slovenia (Polokwane)

Group D: Germany v Australia (Durban); Serbia v Ghana (Pretoria)

Monday 14 June

Group E: Netherlands v Denmark (Soccer City); Japan v Cameroon (Bloemfontein)

Group F: Italy v Paraguay (Cape Town)

Tuesday 15 June

Group F: New Zealand v Slovakia (Rustenburg)

Group G: Ivory Coast v Portugal (Port Elizabeth); Brazil v North Korea (Ellis Park)

Wednesday 16 June

Group H: Honduras v Chile (Nelspruit); Spain v Switzerland (Durban)

Group A: South Africa v Uruguay (Pretoria)

Thursday 17 June

Group A: France v Mexico (Polokwane)

Group B: Greece v Nigeria (Bloemfontein); Argentina v South Korea (Soccer City)

Friday 18 June

Group D: Germany v Serbia (Port Elizabeth)

Group C: Slovenia v United States (Ellis Park); England v Algeria (Cape Town)

Saturday 19 June

Group D: Ghana v Australia (Rustenburg)

Group E: Netherlands v Japan (Durban); Cameroon v Denmark (Pretoria)

Sunday 20 June

Group F: Slovakia v Paraguay (Bloemfontein); Italy v New Zealand (Nelspruit)

Group G: Brazil v Ivory Coast (Soccer City)

Monday 21 June

Group G: Portugal v North Korea (Cape Town)

Group H: Chile v Switzerland (Port Elizabeth); Spain v Honduras (Ellis Park)

Tuesday 22 June

Group A: Mexico v Uruguay (Rustenburg); France v South Africa (Bloemfontein)

Group B: Nigeria v South Korea (Durban); Greece v Argentina (Polokwane)

Wednesday 23 June

Group C: Slovenia v England (Port Elizabeth); United States v Algeria (Pretoria)

Group D: Australia v Serbia (Nelspruit); Ghana v Germany (Soccer City)

Thursday 24 June

Group F: Slovakia v Italy (Ellis Park); Paraguay v New Zealand (Polokwane)

Group E: Denmark v Japan (Rustenburg); Cameroon v Netherlands (Cape Town)

Friday 25 June

Group G: Portugal v Brazil (Durban); North Korea v Ivory Coast (Nelspruit)

Group H: Chile v Spain (Pretoria); Switzerland v Honduras (Bloemfontein)

KNOCKOUT PHASE

Last 16

Match 49: Saturday 26 June: Winner Group A v Runner-up Group B (Port Elizabeth)

Match 50: Saturday 26 June: Winner Group C v Runner-up Group D (Rustenburg)

Match 51: Sunday 27 June: Group D v Runner-up Group C (Bloemfontein)

Match 52:Sunday 27 June: Winner Group B v Runner-up Group A (Soccer City, Johannesburg)

Match 53: Monday 28 June: Winner Group E v Runner-up Group F (Durban)

Match 54: Monday 28 June: Winner Group G v Runner-up Group H (Ellis Park, Johannesburg)

Match 55: Tuesday 29 June: Winner Group F v Runner-up Group E (Pretoria)

Match 56: Tuesday 29 June: Winner Group H v Runner-up Group G (Cape Town)

Quarter-finals

Match 57: Friday 2 July: Winner of Match 53 v Winner of Match 54 (Port Elizabeth)

Match 58: Friday 2 July: Winner of Match 49 v Winner of Match 50 (Soccer City, Johannesburg)

Match 59: Saturday 3 July: Winner of Match 52 v Winner of Match 51 (Cape Town)

Match 60: Saturday 3 July: Winner of Match 55 v Winner of Winner of Match 56 (Ellis Park, Johannesburg)

Semi-finals

Match 61: Tuesday 6 July: Winner Match 58 v Winner Match 57 (Cape Town)

Match 62: Wednesday 7 July: Winner Match 59 v Winner Match 60 (Durban)

Third-place play-off

Match 63: Saturday 10 July: Loser Match 61 v Loser Match 62 (Port Elizabeth)

Final

Match 64: Sunday 11 July: Winner Match 61 v Winner Match 62 (Soccer City, Johannesburg)