Difficult draws for US, Argentina; Germany hosts Costa Rica in opener

LEIPZIG – The World Cup draw was kind to defending champions Brazil and host Germany.Argentina and the United States didn’t fare as well.

Five-time champions Brazil will play its first match against 1998 semi-finalist Croatia, followed by games against Australia and Japan in Group F. “It’s a group many will consider technically easy, but it won’t be like that,” Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said.”We will need to be very alert.”As will the Argentines and Americans.Argentina wound up in Group C with the powerful Netherlands, Serbia-Montenegro and a talented Ivory Coast team which may well mark its debut with some upset victories.Argentina assistant coach Hugo Tocall said his players were not intimidated, even though they slipped from second to fourth in the odds at 8-1.”No, we are not.We have a lot of confidence, we have no fear,” Tocalli said.”On the other hand we have faith.”Netherlands coach Marco van Basten said it was a colourful group.”They’re all countries with a rich history and technically skilled players,” he said.”We’re going to make sure that we’re well motivated from the start.If you start out with a tough one, you immediately know what you are worth.”The Dutch open with the Serbs.For the United States, which advanced to the quarter-finals of the last World Cup in 2002, opponents in Group E are Italy, the Czech Republic and Ghana.It’s the only group with three teams ranked in the top 12: the Czechs are second, the Americans eighth and the Italians 12th.”It’s a very difficult group,” US captain Claudio Reyna said.”You have perhaps three teams that could have been top seeds.”The United States opens against the Czech Republic on June 12 at Gelsenkirchen, then plays Italy on June 17 at Kaiserslautern and finishes the first round against Ghana on June 22 at Nuremberg.”We will have our hands full.We know they are all going to be difficult games,” US coach Bruce Arena said.”Italy is always nice because of my heritage.”The Americans lost to Czechoslovakia and Italy in their first two games of the 1990 World Cup, the first appearance in the tournament for the US team since 1950.The Americans are 0-3-2 against Italy and have never played Ghana or the Czech Republic, which split from Slovakia in 1993.”Please write down ‘Italy is the favourite,’” Czech Republic coach Karel Bruckner said of Group E.The opening match will be host Germany against Costa Rica in Munich on June 9.Three-time winners Germany also play Poland and Ecuador.Despite a favourable draw in Group A, coach Juergen Klinsmann and former World Cup winning captain and coach Franz Beckenbauer were cautious, especially about the opening game.”Don’t expect too many goals in the opening game,” Klinsmann said while Beckenbauer reminded the Germans how Argentina lost the opener to Cameroon and France tumbled to Senegal.”The Germans should not underestimate Costa Rica because, in the opening games, there are often surprises.”France, the 1998 champions, must start against one of the teams they faced in qualifying, Switzerland.South Korea, a semi-finalist in 2002, and newcomer Togo are also in Group G.England faces Sweden for the second straight World Cup, and will also play newcomer Trinidad and Tobago and Paraguay in Group B.”It’s not an easy group, but it could have been worse, much worse,” said England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, whose team hasn’t beaten his homeland of Sweden since 1968 and has just six victories in 21 meetings.”I asked to avoid the Netherlands and we did that, and I asked to avoid Australia and we did that, as well.”England moved up to second favourite at 13 – 2 behind Brazil, which is 11 – 4.Mexico, the top seed in Group D, has to play Portugal, Iran and Angola.Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari led Brazil to its fifth triumph three years ago.”We can’t complain.You make your own luck on the pitch,” Scolari said.”It’s a balanced group.Nobody can say there’s one big favourite.”The game against Angola could be “a very special moment,” Portugal forward Luis Boa Morte said.”It’ll be a great festival because our countries are related.”But the last time Portugal and Angola met in an exhibition game in Lisbon four years ago, four Angolan players were ejected for brutal tackles and dissent and the game was suspended with 20 minutes to play.The game was supposed to be a celebration of the long-standing cultural ties between the European country and its former African colony.In Group H, another debuting nation, Ukraine, starts against Spain and then meets Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.Half of the 32 teams, two from each group, will advance after round-robin play.Then come single-elimination games leading to the final on July 9 in Berlin.- Nampa- AP”It’s a group many will consider technically easy, but it won’t be like that,” Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said.”We will need to be very alert.”As will the Argentines and Americans.Argentina wound up in Group C with the powerful Netherlands, Serbia-Montenegro and a talented Ivory Coast team which may well mark its debut with some upset victories.Argentina assistant coach Hugo Tocall said his players were not intimidated, even though they slipped from second to fourth in the odds at 8-1.”No, we are not.We have a lot of confidence, we have no fear,” Tocalli said.”On the other hand we have faith.”Netherlands coach Marco van Basten said it was a colourful group.”They’re all countries with a rich history and technically skilled players,” he said.”We’re going to make sure that we’re well motivated from the start.If you start out with a tough one, you immediately know what you are worth.”The Dutch open with the Serbs.For the United States, which advanced to the quarter-finals of the last World Cup in 2002, opponents in Group E are Italy, the Czech Republic and Ghana.It’s the only group with three teams ranked in the top 12: the Czechs are second, the Americans eighth and the Italians 12th.”It’s a very difficult group,” US captain Claudio Reyna said.”You have perhaps three teams that could have been top seeds.”The United States opens against the Czech Republic on June 12 at Gelsenkirchen, then plays Italy on June 17 at Kaiserslautern and finishes the first round against Ghana on June 22 at Nuremberg.”We will have our hands full.We know they are all going to be difficult games,” US coach Bruce Arena said.”Italy is always nice because of my heritage.”The Americans lost to Czechoslovakia and Italy in their first two games of the 1990 World Cup, the first appearance in the tournament for the US team since 1950.The Americans are 0-3-2 against Italy and have never played Ghana or the Czech Republic, which split from Slovakia in 1993.”Please write down ‘Italy is the favourite,’” Czech Republic coach Karel Bruckner said of Group E.The opening match will be host Germany against Costa Rica in Munich on June 9.Three-time winners Germany also play Poland and Ecuador.Despite a favourable draw in Group A, coach Juergen Klinsmann and former World Cup winning captain and coach Franz Beckenbauer were cautious, especially about the opening game.”Don’t expect too many goals in the opening game,” Klinsmann said while Beckenbauer reminded the Germans how Argentina lost the opener to Cameroon and France tumbled to Senegal.”The Germans should not underestimate Costa Rica because, in the opening games, there are often surprises.”France, the 1998 champions, must start against one of the teams they faced in qualifying, Switzerland.South Korea, a semi-finalist in 2002, and newcomer Togo are also in Group G.England faces Sweden for the second straight World Cup, and will also play newcomer Trinidad and Tobago and Paraguay in Group B.”It’s not an easy group, but it could have been worse, much worse,” said England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, whose team hasn’t beaten his homeland of Sweden since 1968 and has just six victories in 21 meetings.”I asked to avoid the Netherlands and we did that, and I asked to avoid Australia and we did that, as well.”England moved up to second favourite at 13 – 2 behind Brazil, which is 11 – 4.Mexico, the top seed in Group D, has to play Portugal, Iran and Angola.Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari led Brazil to its fifth triumph three years ago.”We can’t complain.You make your own luck on the pitch,” Scolari said.”It’s a balanced group.Nobody can say there’s one big favourite.”The game against Angola could be “a very special moment,” Portugal forward Luis Boa Morte said.”It’ll be a great festival because our countries are related.”But the last time Portugal and Angola met in an exhibition game in Lisbon four years ago, four Angolan players were ejected for brutal tackles and dissent and the game was suspended with 20 minutes to play.The game was supposed to be a celebration of the long-standing cultural ties between the European country and its former African colony.In Group H, another debuting nation, Ukraine, starts against Spain and then meets Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.Half of the 32 teams, two from each group, will advance after round-robin play.Then come single-elimination games leading to the final on July 9 in Berlin.- Nampa- AP