2010 FIFA World Cup Draw Results: U.S., England In Same Group

“It’s a great way to start. It’s certainly a big challenge, but that’s what we’re there for. It will be a very special start to the tournament for us playing England – a team we know very well. We can be dangerous against very good teams. We feel that this is a group that gives us a very fair chance to get through to the next round.”

"It's a tough game because they will be fit, organised and while they won't outplay us, they could out-sprint us,'' he said on Sky Sports News. "It could be a difficult game for us."

The complete results from today's 2010 World Cup draw (via Yahoo! Sports):

If the United States advances (two countries from each group move on to the round of 16), they would face someone from Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia or Ghana.

The 2010 World Cup draws are finished, and the "Group of Death" is clear: it's Group G.

Brazil, Korea DPR, Côte d'Ivoire and Portugal. If you care about the Fifa World Rankings, Group G features the world's No. 2, No. 5 and No. 16 teams.

The fun gets started June 15, with Côte d'Ivoire squaring off against Portugal.

The final draw isn’t complete, but Group C is, and the United States gets the following lineup: England, Algeria, and Slovenia, a group best called “the Group Of Minor Inconvenience.” Overall it is an extremely promising draw for the US and England, and you should have yourself a lunchtime frosty beverage if you like in celebration.

The United States was not drawn into Group A (with host country South Africa), but also avoided the likes of Spain, Italy and Brazil when they were drawn into Group C. The Americans will join England in Group C (the seeded team from Pot 1), meaning on June 12, the World Cup will feature the Revolutionary War, Pt. II.

The announcement ceremony of the World Cup Draw is taking place in the cavernous convention center in Cape Town, and the glossy set and pomp make the whole thing feel not unlike a round of the Eurovision Song Contest. If a Finnish death metal band walked on and began firing away at full blast it would not feel entirely out of place.

ESPN is going wall-to-wall with their coverage, taking the hydra approach they take to every sport by throwing a podium with four talking heads attached to it at the viewer as well as putting Jeremy Schaap on location. The signal delay has already made for one awkward exchange between Bob Ley and Schaap, who doubled the awkward by jamming a joke about Jets fans into my World Cup Coverage. If someone on the ESPN crew is reading this, please staple hundred dollar bills to the back of his jacket and drop him off on a strange and dark Cape Town street. Thanks in advance.

Having Bob Ley on ESPN is a nod as serious commitment, though, as Ley is the fluffy bathrobe of broadcast hotel amenities. When you bust out the Bob Ley, it’s a sign you’re setting your controls on "classy." Meanwhile, on Univision, they too are set on "classy," as they only have one woman in a low-cut dress on their set at the moment, an all-time low as far as we know. 

So you're stuck at work and can't watch the 2010 World Cup draw live? Not to worry, because the Internet is an amazing place, complete with live video streams.

ESPN360 is showing the live coverage from the Worldwide Leader.

But if you're at the mercy of your cable provider's decision to not carry ESPN360, here's your "other" link.

And don't forget, we'll be here throughout the draw, providing commentary and updates.

The World Cup draw has not been kind to the American's lately.

In 2002, they drew South Korea, the host, and Portugal. In 2006, in Germany, the U.S. was grouped with the Czech Republic, Italy and Ghana. ("I remember a famous coach coming up to me," then coach Bruce Arena recalled. "He said two words to me: 'I'm sorry."')

So you can understand if they are a bit nervous today, especially when they glace at Pot 1 and see Spain and Brazil as possible opponents. For now though, they're keeping it in perspective.

"Since we have no control over something that is by definition random, we're just looking forward to the draw but we're not making any predictions," U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati said. "I'm sure secretly all of us have preferred opponents and a preferred sequence of games." [...]

"I think we hope for a group where you feel like it gives a good opportunity to move forward," said Bob Bradley, who replaced Arena as U.S. coach after the Americans' first-round elimination in 2006. "There's always going to be, at the end, a 'Group of death,' and you say to yourselves, 'Well, hopefully we're not part of that.' It's out of your control."

With one team from each pot joining The Yanks, just what exactly are some of their possible groupings? Martin Rogers has the answers. First, the good.

South Africa, USA, Uruguay and Switzerland.

If the draw comes out this way, then you will probably be able to hear the whoops of delight from the American delegation – even from a couple of continents away.

As host nation, South Africa is installed as one of the seeded teams and is the one that everyone wants to face.

Hey, well that's not so bad. In fact, if balls bounce that way, the U.S. would probably be the favorite to win the group.

Now, what about the bad?

Brazil, USA, Ivory Coast and France.

No team wants to be drawn with Brazil, which invariably saves its finest performances for World Cup time.

The U.S. played the game of its life against Brazil in the Confederations Cup final – and it still wasn't enough. The Samba kings have emerged victorious the last two times the event was staged outside Europe and will be a strong favorite again.

The prospect of being drawn with Ivory Coast in the group stage isn't anyone's idea of fun, either, with Didier Drogba and company considered Africa's best chance for a deep run.

Then there is the small matter of France, the 1998 champion, which squeezed into the tournament (helped in part by the Hand of Henry) and will have a point to prove after receiving heavy criticism at home.

That would probably result in a pretty quick return home. And Rogers doesn't even mention that by missing Brazil, the Americans would still face the possibility of playing Spain, the world's No. 1 ranked team.