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4 Reasons USA’s 2014 World Cup Expectations Must Be Realistic
Published: November 19, 2013
They put together a runaway World Cup qualifying campaign and won the Gold Cup championship this summer.
They also beat Germany, Mexico and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Considering all of that, it might seem odd to be pointing out the team’s limitations right now, but following two listless performances in Europe over the past week, it is necessary.
Here are four reasons U.S. fans should be realistic about the team’s prospects at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The Draw
The one factor the USMNT and head coach Jurgen Klinsmann cannot control is the group the U.S. ends up in. And, if U.S. fans really want to see what that might be like, they can tinker with the draw simulator here. Be warned, it’s likely to be ugly.
Because of the way the pots are likely to be arranged, the U.S. is very likely to end up in a “Group of Death”. As it stands now, Pot 1 would include Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay (if they qualify), Spain, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. The Swiss are the only team the U.S. would not be a severe underdog to in Pot 1.
However, the truly terrifying part of the draw are the teams in Pot 4.
This group currently includes the Netherlands, Italy, Bosnia, England, Portugal, France, Greece and Croatia. The U.S. would struggle mightily against most of those teams and, paired with a likely loss against one of the seeded teams from Pot 1, the U.S. would see their World Cup end in the group stage.
For those fans hopeful that Pot 3 could provide some relief, that group would currently include Chile, Ecuador, the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Algeria and Russia. Any of those teams, save Algeria, would likely provide a serious test for the U.S. as well.
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