Frozen in front of my television with a blank stare on my face, the vibration of my cell phone snapped me from the trance.
“Worst case scenario,” the text read. I could hardly disagree. The FIFA World Cup 2014 draw had just concluded on ESPN2, but even from the warm surroundings of my own couch in Erie, Pennsylvania, I couldn’t have felt more uncomfortable. The Stars and Stripes have been put in the firing line for Germany, Portugal, and a team we are getting all too familiar with, Ghana. I had done countless mock draws leading up to the big moment and admittedly they were never favorable. However, none were as bad as this – Group G. Not only did the Yanks get drawn into what some experts believe to be the “Group of Death”, but they also acquired the seed with the longest distance to travel out of the 32 teams involved.
In the group stage alone, the United States will accumulate 3,482 miles from the location of the first match to the third if they were traveling directly from game to game, according to the December 2013 issue of World Soccer. To put it in perspective, if you flew from New York City to Los Angeles, you’d still have just over 1000 miles to go in order to match the United States flight miles between match locations come June. However, this doesn’t even account for the fact the United States camp will be based in São Paulo, which is over 1,400 miles from the first match, over 1,600 miles from the second match and roughly, 1,300 miles from the final group stage game. When it’s all said and done, tragically team USA will have traveled nearly 9,000 miles in Group G without calculating the possibilities of advancing. Ouch! Better bring the sudoku.
It will all start on June 16th against the team that sent the USA packing from South Africa four years prior, Ghana – the last fixture for the Yanks in both 2006 and 2010. The two met in the round of 16 last go-around. The United States had just escaped from the group stage by the means a nervy victory over Algeria defined by a last gasp Landon Donovan winner. Ghana struck early through the efforts of Kevin Prince-Boateng but were pulled back even via a Landon Donovan penalty. Yet, in the end Asamoah Gyan spoiled the party by scoring two minutes into extra time. The rematch will take place in the coastal city of Natal three days after the first ball is kicked between Brazil and Croatia in São Paulo on June 13.
The flight to the second venue will take Klinsmann and his American troops west, deep into the enigmatic Amazon rainforest to the city of Manaus in order to come face to face with Portugal and their comandante, Cristiano Ronaldo. CR7 is in the peachiest of all forms at the moment and is widely tipped to collect the FIFA Balon d’Or next month but qualification was sketchy for the Iberian Selecção. Paulo Bento’s side only confirmed their qualification in a recent playoff against Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Sweden a few weeks ago. The aggregate tallied up to 4-2; Ronaldo claimed all four including a hat trick in the second leg. Klinsmann and his coaching staff will have that threat to worry about for the next six months. The last time the United States went head to head against Portugal in a World Cup dates back 2002 at the Korea/Japan tournament. Like 2014, Portugal was drawn together with the United States in the group stage but nobody could have predicted what happen next. Bruce Arena’s red, white, and blue raced out to a 3-0 lead when the game kicked off.
As a 12 year old boy, I was up at 5:30 AM to catch the history. When Brian McBride famously scored the third goal with a majestic diving header, I couldn’t suppress my screams any longer. No one was sleeping in at the Mohr household that day. The anxiety only amounted heavier when the Portuguese started to fight back but fell a goal short. It ended 3-2 and the U.S. started their World Cup in Asia three points to the good. But a lot changes in 12 years.
After the rumble in the jungle against Portugal, the yanks will be made to travel to Recife, only 158 miles south of the venue from their opening match against Ghana but 1,762 miles from Manaus.
The last opponent – Germany. It’s fair to say that the Germans are the most daunting task, the kingpin of Group G. However, if anyone will know how to go about beating them, it’s Jürgen Klinsmann. A former West German and German international himself, Klinsmann also took the reigns of his native Deutschland from 2004-2006, placing third as manager when Germany hosted the tournament in summer 2006.Since then, his assistant at that time Joachim Löw has been handed the torch to manage the national side.
The United States also met Germany in the 2002 World Cup like they did Portugal. The difference was Germany won that match and knocked out the U.S. in the quarterfinal. After a terrific first half for the yanks, Germany pulled ahead against the run of play. Micheal Ballack thumped a header past Brad Friedel just before halftime by the means of a set piece. Nonetheless Oliver Kahn was the hero of the first act, lying out to stop two valid efforts from Landon Donovan. It ended that way, 1-0 to the Germans but perhaps the memories wouldn’t be so painful if it wasn’t for a criminal penalty decision not given to the United States in the second half. Torsten Frings who was deployed on the far post for a defending corner clearly handled Gregg Berhalter’s header off the goal line if it hadn’t crossed the plain already. Since then, the animosity towards the fixture has had a bit more flavor to it.
Team USA have it all to do. The manager knows it too but isn’t making any excuses.
"I kind of had in my stomach that we were going to get Germany," claimed Klinsmann. He also remarked that it would not be a surprise if the United States advances, stating that his U.S. team are by no means “outsiders.” The German believes that all the teams in the World Cup deserve to be there so there are no easy opponents.
If the United States plans on advancing, they have a mountain to climb but if there’s one trait that runs strong in the stars and stripes’ DNA, it’s that famous never-say-die fighting attitude. And as much as Jürgen will deny being underdogs, the truth is that’s exactly what they are. Expectations are grand for the USA but not nearly as burdensome the ones weighing on the shoulders of their group rivals Germany and Portugal. If team USA can be proactive in their approach to the games and get after their opponents fearlessly with that ‘what have we got to lose?’ mentality, they could stir a cauldron of problems for the opposition. Can you imagine the crucifixion that will be awaiting Germany if they get beat by the United States? It may not be the greatest advantage but at this point you have to take what you can get. There is no redraw as much as we may beg. As Americans, you have no choice but to keep the faith. When up against the toughest challenges, we must face them with mettle. One thing is certain, when June 16, 2014 rolls around I'll be cladded in red, white, and blue.
“…home of the brave.”
