December 6 was the Friday that the entire world had waited for with anxious anticipation. Each of the 32 countries in the draw had gone through a rigorous 3 years of preparation since the 2010 world cup in South Africa. Each country had assembled the players from their nation that would represent them throughout the campaign. They had participated in numerous friendlies and summer camps, some in confederations-respective tournaments and some others the Confederations Cup. All of the nations had to play many World Cup qualifying matches over the course of the last 2 years, and thirty-two total teams were qualified for the 2014 world cup in Brazil.
The next step for the world’s 32 greatest soccer nations was finding out what four team group they would be playing in at the world cup. The draw was held on December 6th in Brazil, the host nation of the world cup.  In every world cup there are 8 groups with 4 teams in them. Each team will play one game against each of the other teams in its group over the course of two weeks. Each team will be awarded 3 points for each win, 1 point for each tie, and o points for a loss. The two teams with the most points from each group will advance to the round of 16. From the round of 16 on the world cup is a single game bracket. Two teams play until there is a winner and loser then the winner advances and the loser goes home. The process by which the four team groups are created is a complex mix of a few basic directions and a lot of random chance. There are 8 seeded teams. They are the 8 best teams in the world according to the mathematical formula created by FIFA.
There can’t be two teams from Asia, North America, or Africa in a group. There cannot be three European teams in the same group. After FIFA ensures that those things will happen it is all up to chance which nations are drawn. The United States was draw as the fourth team in group G. The other three teams in Group G are Germany, Portugal, and Ghana. Group G is undoubtedly the most difficult group of the eight. Germany is considered by most people the best team in the world right now. Traditionally European teams have not fared well in World Cups held in South America. The South American teams, on the other hand have dominated in South American world cups. By that line of thinking the United States would rather play the extremely talented Germany as opposed to the similarly talented but much closer to home Argentina and Brazil. Ghana is the best team from Africa. Any of the other African teams besides Ivory Cost would have been considered push overs for the United States. Additionally, Ghana has eliminated the United States from the last two world cups. Of the three teams the United States will face in the group stage Ghana is probably the worst. Portugal is the second European team in group G. This the only spot where Group G did not get drawn against the best possible team. Portugal struggled to qualify for the world cup. This does not necessarily mean that they are a push over team. Europe is the most difficult continent to qualify out of. Who they will be playing is not the only thing that the United States found out during the world cup draws. The united states wound out which cities they would be playing the games in.
They have the furthest distance to travel between games of any team in the entire world cup. The other three teams in Group G will also have to travel long distances but not as long as the United States. Most of the players in the world cup play in European leagues. These leagues are comprised of only teams from one European countries. European players are accustomed to taking bus or train rides between cities for games. They do not regularly take air planes from city to city. On the other hand almost all of the United States players played in the MLS at one point in their careers. MLS players routinely have to fly. The league stretches from New York and Montreal in the north east to Seattle, Vancouver, and Portland in the north west to LA, Salt Lake, Dallas, Houston, and Kansas City in the south. The United States players will be ready for the 9,000 miles they will travel across Brazil. The other teams will not be as prepared. Germany is the best team in Group G by a significant margin. It is a strong possibility the Germans win all three of their group stage games. If one of the three other nations gets any points from a game against Germany they will have a huge leg up on the other teams in the group.
The United States is significantly less talented then the Germans. They are slower and less technically skilled. The US will probably just sit back letting the superior Germans possess the ball and attack. This is the way the former coach Bob Bradley approached many games. Jürgen Klinsmann hasn’t resorted to these tactics as frequently during his tenure as the US manager. In friendly matches where there were no stakes he tried to maintain possession and have the team play with superior opponents in the midfield. This tactic has yielded relatively good results. The only world cup qualifying match the US played against significantly superior opposition was the game on March 26th against Mexico in Mexico City. The US sat back in their own half allowing the Mexicans to take shot after shot. The game ended in a 0-0 tie. Ghana the team in this group that the US matches up against the best. They are a strong slow physical team similar to the US. Portugal is a team that relies a little bit more on speed.
There is one key to Portugal and that is Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo is the second best player in the world. He can single handedly win games, and he has, on the domestic, European, and international stage. Besides Ronaldo Portugal lacks great players. If the United States can shut down Ronaldo then Portugal will find it almost impossible to score. The United States still lacks one elite defender so it is unclear right now who will be charged with the task of defending Ronaldo. Both of the United States outside back positions have been positions of weakness throughout world cup qualification. Jürgen will most likely be searching for another outside back option during the time between now and June.  He will definitely be keeping Ronaldo in mind throughout the process. All three teams the US will face in Group G are good teams. There is no one push over.
But the United States is also a good team. They can beat Ghana or Portugal. A tie against Germany is not out of the question. Group G is going to be called the group of death around the world thousands of times before June. The entire world will watch to see which two teams will come out of the blood bath. If the United States manages to advance out of the group it will do a lot to change the perception of United States soccer around the world and among casual sports fans in the United States who don’t think that we can ever be soccer powerhouse.
