A B C D
E F G H
Cup draw gives Americans hope
MARSEILLE, France (AP) -- A security nightmare is a soccer player's dream.After drawing Germany and Yugoslavia as first-round opponents in next summer's World Cup, U.S. players were worried. Then the final team in the group was picked: Iran.
"When we got Iran," midfielder Claudio Reyna said, "it kind of gave us more hope, in all honesty, because we needed a team we felt we could definitely beat."
Thursday's draw produced a difficult group for the Americans, with the tough games against Germany and Yugoslavia overshadowed by the attention-grabbing game against Iran.
"This is going to be a great opportunity to show that soccer and the World Cup can do what politicians and diplomats can't," U.S. Soccer Federation president Alan Rothenberg said. "Maybe we can have soccer diplomacy like we had ping-pong diplomacy with China."
The United States and Iran have been enemies since the Islamic revolution toppled the American-backed Shah in 1979 and 52 hostages were held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran for 444 days. Eighteen years later, the nations have not resumed diplomatic relations, and Iran still refers to the United States as "The Great Satan" during demonstrations.
"I don't think President Clinton is going to that game," U.S. captain John Harkes said.
Both teams will attempt to avoid the political distractions
"The meaning of FIFA is peace and unity," Iran Football Federation president Darius Mustafavi said. "We are thinking only of soccer, not politics. We are friends of the people of the USA."
Playing in Group F, the Americans open against Germany on June 15 in Paris. The U.S. team plays Iran on June 21 in Lyon and Yugoslavia on June 25 in Nantes.
"I don't think it's the group of death," U.S. coach Steve Sampson said. "I think there are one or two more groups that are stronger than ours."
Realistically, the U.S. team might assume a loss against Germany, a team that beat the Americans 4-3 and 3-0 in exhibition games in 1993. To advance to a second-round matchup -- most likely against the Netherlands, Belgium or Mexico -- the Americans probably would have to beat Iran -- a "must-win game," according to Sampson -- Yugoslavia.
"This is the goal, this is my dream -- to get to the third round," Sampson said. "To get to the second round I think is realistic."
As the host nation in 1994, the Americans opened with a 1-1 tie against Switzerland, upset Colombia 2-1 and then lost to Romania 1-0, finishing third in their group and advancing as a wild card.
With the expansion of the tournament from 24 teams to 32, only the top two teams in each group advance.
"I guess it could have been worse," said Harkes, who will be playing in his third World Cup. "It's a tough opener. Germany is very disciplined. Yugoslavia is an unbelievably strong team, which it has shown through qualifying. The strange one is Iran."
The rest of the first round, drawn before 38,000 fans in the Stade Veledrome, looks like this:
Group A: Brazil, Morocco, Norway, Scotland.
Group B: Austria, Cameroon, Chile, Italy.
Group C: Denmark, France, Saudi Arabia, South Africa.
Group D: Bulgaria, Nigeria, Paraguay, Spain.
Group E: Belgium, Mexico, Netherlands, South Korea.
Group G: Colombia, England, Romania, Tunisia.
Group H: Argentina, Croatia, Jamaica, Japan.
The United States will prepare for the tournament with several exhibition games, probably against the Netherlands (Feb. 21 at Miami), Belgium (Feb. 25 at Brussels) and Scotland (May 30 at East Rutherford, N.J.). The Americans also are talking about playing England at Washington on March 25 and at Wales on June 3.
Opening against European champion Germany is a formidable challenge. The Germans won the tournament for the third time in 1990 after losing the final in 1982 and 1986. In 1994, they were upset by Bulgaria in the quarterfinals.
"We know the United States. It's an interesting opponent," Germany coach Berti Vogts said. "We still have a lot of work. And our problem is fitness. We have to improve our game."
Jurgen Klinsmann, Thomas Hassler, Andy Moller, Jurgen Kohler and Stefan Reuter remain from the 1990 championship team, and Oliver Bierhoff scored six goals in qualifying.
"There will be no surprises," Sampson said. 'This is a team we will know very well."
Of those in the U.S. player pool, 11 have spent time with German clubs.
"I probably will have to keep an extra eye out on how the national team is doing and how the players are going," said Reyna, who has three goals for VFL Wolfsburg in the current Bundesliga season.
NEXT ROUNDS: Round of 16 || Quarter-finals || Semi-finals
GROUP A: Brazil, Morocco, Norway, Scotland
GROUP B: Austria, Cameroon, Chile, Italy
GROUP C: Denmark, France, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
GROUP D: Bulgaria, Nigeria, Paraguay, Spain
GROUP E: Belgium, Holland, Mexico, South Korea
GROUP F: Germany, Iran, United States, Yugoslavia
GROUP G: Colombia, England, Romania, Tunisia
GROUP H: Argentina, Croatia, Jamaica, Japan
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