U.S. In Group Of Death

Italy. The Czech Republic. Ghana. Those three nations are the United States' opposition in the first round of the 2006 World Cup. My first thought? "That's not good". However, that thought lasted only a minute or so. Even after reading where many experts have proclaimed the U.S. draw as the feared "Group of Death", where nations' hopes for World Cup success go to die, I only held onto that first thought for about sixty seconds.

My second thought is the one that seems to be staying. That notion is that eventually U.S. Soccer has to beat the big boys. Why not start at Germany '06? We can all point to FIFA rankings, American players having more success in leagues abroad and winning CONCACAF, but until the U.S. Men's National Team starts dropping the big boys on the biggest stage, the United States soccer team won't get any respect outside its borders.

Does Italy concern me? Of course. They remain a super-power. The Czechs? They are, perhaps, the best team in the group. I know little about Ghana other than they got in, are ranked 50th in the world and have to be taken seriously because they are on the schedule and this is soccer.

Yet, Group E is the tabbed as the Group of Death, in part, because the United States is also in it. The boys in red, white and blue are pretty good. A solid argument can be made that they deserved Mexico's seeding. However, Mexico has history on their side. They also have what the U.S. needs to capture--international respect.

It will be hard for the Americans to achieve that, for many the '02 World Cup was a fluke for the U.S., but I know it won't happen at all until the U.S. can beat the big names--Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Italy, et al. Forget rankings, friendlies and anything else. If the United States team covets the title of soccer power they need to act like one.

Playing against football's elite is cool. Beating them is the objective. The time has come for U.S. Soccer to show the world that '02 wasn't a fluke or a fix. Bring on Italy, the Czechs and Ghana.