The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: The World Cup draw

The 2010 World Cup draw took place earlier today in Cape Town, South Africa. So how did the luck of the draw affect the qualified teams from the Americas? Here’s a quick look at a few of the teams from where I sit:

Lo Bueno

• U.S. - The U.S. was drawn into Group C with tourney favorites England but also African minnows Algeria and European side Slovenia. Los gringos should make it out of the group phase (before probably getting blown out by Germany in the second round).
• Argentina – Despite qualifying to the World Cup on the final date Argentina was seeded as one of the group leaders. Their rivals (South Korea, Nigeria, Greece) should be relatively easy and they should reach the quarters if head coach Diego Maradona can keep his head together.

Lo Malo

• Mexico – El Tri will be facing extra pressure in that they will be playing the hosts South Africa in the inaugural game of the tourney. Their road to the second round may be bumpy in facing a strong French side and a physical Uruguayan team.
• Paraguay – The South Americans are in Group F along with defending champs Italy but also with one of the weakest teams in New Zealand. The key match will be against Slovakia with the winner likely to qualify into the next stage.

Lo Feo

• Brazil – In every World Cup there is a “Group of Death” and surely that can be designated to Group H. Brazil will definitely need to play its A-game against a stacked Portugal, one of the strongest African sides in the Ivory Coast, and possible dark horses North Korea.
• Honduras – Simply put, Honduras will need plenty of luck to at least get a point against Spain, Chile, and Switzerland.

Click here to check out the configuration and match dates of all eight groups. Let the speculation begin!

Image- BBC Sport (Italy is the reigning World Cup champion).

Online Sources- Guanabee, FIFA.com