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U.S. looking forward to World Cup
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Steve Sampson wasn't upset when the United States played a scoreless tie against Macedonia in the first of three exhibition games scheduled to prepare for next month's World Cup."I'm looking forward to next week," he said after Saturday night's game. "It's a good step in the right direction."
Tab Ramos and Joe-Max Moore returned to the U.S. lineups, which still was missing several key players expected to start in the World Cup.
Ramos, who hadn't played for the national team since Oct. 2, 1997, because of torn knee ligaments, played 60 minutes.
Moore, who hasn't played since spraining his left knee on Feb. 21, went the entire game.
"It will take time for Moore and Tab to become more familiar with their roles within the system," Sampson said. "It was very positive that we were able to give them as much time as we did. I take it as an advantage having given them a significant amount of time already."
By the time the Americans (5-3-2) play Kuwait on May 24 at Portland, Ore., they expect to have Eric Wynalda (arthroscopic knee surgery), Claudio Reyna (calf strain), Ernie Stewart (left ankle sprain) and Frankie Hejduk (hamstring strain).
After the Kuwait game, the United States plays Scotland on May 30 at Washington, then opens World Cup play on June 15 at Paris.
U.S. forward Brian McBride left in the 63rd minute with a concussion after knocking heads with Macedonia's Ljubo Milosevic.
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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