Recently in World Cup Category

It's getting to be now or never for domestic-based players on the bubble for the U.S. World Cup roster.

Bonus quote -
Here's Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan on Stuart Holden, who he observed is probably his main rival for a World Cup roster spot. The two have never played for the U.S. in the same XI, he said:

"When I was out of the team he was just coming into the team. There's definitely a correlation between the two of us - we play a similar position, we play a similar style. Hopefully we both go, but we'll see. He's a good friend of mine, but it's going to be tough. Maybe one of us will go, maybe neither of us will go."

Good to see Omar Gonzalez keep his place; now the central defender needs to get his first cap.

He was the only Galaxy player named to the squad; Chivas USA contributes three players.

The 23-man roster of domestic-based players gathers Wednesday at Home Depot Center to prepare for the friendly against El Salvador Feb. 24 in Tampa, Fla.

Quotable:

"These are important opportunities for these players as we continue to formulate our plans for the roster for the World Cup," said Coach Bob Bradley. "This camp and the game against El Salvador provide a chance for the coaching staff to get one more long look at this group. El Salvador demonstrated during World Cup qualifying that they are a difficult team to beat, so we expect a good match."

Notable: All these players were in last month's USMNT camp in Carson except for striker Brian Ching and newly-signed Philadelphia Union defender Michael Orozco.

Here's the full roster:

goalkeepers - Troy Perkins (D.C. United), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), Zach Thornton (Chivas USA)

defenders - Kevin Alston (New England Revolution), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles Galaxy), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Michael Orozco (Philadelphia Union), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)

midfielders - Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Chris Pontius (D.C. United), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)

forwards - Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake)

And after his USMNT performance last month at the HDC, let's just be glad Jimmy Conrad wasn't picked again.

So this is why Harkes wrote that terribly written autobiography, "Captain for Wife, um Life."

And interesting, too, that England and the U.S. will meet this year in the nations' respective World Cup openers.

Will England's John Terry be there?

NEW YORK (AP) -- Breaking more than a decade of silence, former U.S. soccer coach Steve Sampson said Tuesday he dropped John Harkes from the national team roster two months before the 1998 World Cup because the American captain was having an affair with the wife of teammate Eric Wynalda.

Harkes has long denied having an affair with Amy Wynalda.

Wynalda brought up the situation Monday night during a discussion on "Fox Football Fone-In" about a scandal in England over an alleged relationship between current English captain John Terry and the former partner of Wayne Bridge, his teammate on the national squad.

Sampson told The Associated Press on Tuesday he was glad the story was coming out now because "maybe people will have a little better of an understanding of what happened in the final months leading up to the World Cup."

After advancing to the second round of the 1994 World Cup at home, the U.S. finished last in the 32-nation field at the 1998 tournament in France, getting shut out by Germany, then losing 2-1 to Iran and 1-0 to Yugoslavia.

"It wasn't about losing 2-0 to Germany or losing to Iran," Sampson said. "There was more to it than that that impacted I believe the outcome of this team."

Wynalda said he spoke out during the program he co-hosts on Fox Soccer Channel because he was asked about Terry, who has been front-page news since Saturday in British newspapers.

"There's a lot of similarities between what happened to us in '98 and what's happening now to England," Wynalda told the AP. "It's an unfortunate time for England, because I know how that can affect a team firsthand. Obviously, we all know how we did in the World Cup in '98."

Sampson was replaced by Bruce Arena after the tournament.

Harkes was a member of the 1990 and 1994 U.S. World Cup teams and became the regular captain before he was dropped by Sampson in a surprise move on April 14, 1998. He made 90 international appearances from 1987-90.

"I am not going to rehash the things that have happened in the past," Harkes said Tuesday in a telephone interview. "1998 was devastating to me and my family. It was hard enough not to play in the World Cup, but it was even difficult to go through that time period, the most difficult time period of my life."

Sampson said Tuesday that Roy Wegerle, another U.S. player, came to him and assistant coach Clive Charles between the Feb. 25 game at Belgium and the March 14 match against Paraguay in San Diego and said he had personal knowledge of the affair. Charles died in 2003 and Wegerle, now retired, did not return a phone call Tuesday.

In 1998, Sampson said Harkes, then 31, was dropped because the midfielder refused to play a more defensive role. Sampson also cited "leadership issues" but didn't elaborate.

Sampson, much criticized by players during the World Cup and fired after the U.S. was
eliminated, defended his decision to hide the truth. He said he discussed his decision at the time with then-U.S. Soccer Federation president Alan Rothenberg, secretary general Hank Steinbrecher and current president Sunil Gulati, a longtime member of the leadership.

"I felt that these are the kinds of issues that need to stay in the locker room and within the team and not (be) exposed to the public," Sampson said. "The private issues for me were the most serious issues. I think I could have lived with everything else and kept John on the team if it had not been for the private issues. It's one thing to have an affair outside the team. It's another to have one inside. ... There are just certain lines that one cannot cross."

Rothenberg said Tuesday he had no memory of any discussion of the matter, Gulati declined comment and Steinbrecher did not return a telephone message.

Wynalda, however, insists an affair did take place.

"I'm calling it an inappropriate relationship. It was a major contributor to why I'm no longer married," said Wynalda, a father of three who separated from his wife in 2003 and then divorced.

Wynalda said that when Sampson informed him in the spring of 1998 that he was dropping Harkes, Wynalda tried to persuade the coach to change his mind. Sampson didn't recall such a conversation, but said that doesn't mean it didn't take place.

"At that time, I felt that he was still a player that could help our cause and he was still one of the best 22 players in our country," Wynalda said.

Wynalda and Harkes played together just once after that, when called in by Arena for a January 2000 exhibition in Chile. "At that point, it was still manageable," Wynalda said.

Harkes, the U.S. college player of the year in 1987 at Virginia, was one of the first
Americans to make the move overseas, playing for Sheffield Wednesday, Derby, West Ham and Nottingham Forest in England during the 1990s. He also was among the early players in MLS, playing with D.C. United, New England and Columbus before his retirement in 2002.

Like Harkes, Wynalda was among the early U.S. players in Europe, playing for Saarbruecken and Bochum in Germany before appearing for San Jose, Miami, New England and Chicago in MLS.

Wynalda was an analyst for ESPN's soccer coverage in 2006 and 2007, and joined Fox last year.

He was appointed last month as a part-time assistant coach of the U.S. under-20 team.

Harkes also worked for ESPN's 2006 World Cup coverage and replaced Wynalda as a lead analyst for ESPN two years ago.

Now working for different networks, both are preparing for this year's World Cup. Wynalda also is writing a book.

"I've suffered quite a bit through this whole process. My healing is over, so I'm OK to talk
about it," Wynalda said.

Sampson, who plans to broadcast for Futbol de Primera radio at this year's World Cup, said he wanted people to know that he and Harkes mended their relationship in 2005 and exchanged a handshake.

"Maybe now people will have a little bit more of an understanding as to why I made such a critical decision back in 1998," Sampson said. "The last thing I wanted to do was drop John Harkes from the team because I really did believe that he was an outstanding leader on the field."

ESPN is firming up its World Cup coverage plans, including announcing today that it will show the U.S.-England game on ABC HD.

Gotta love this quote from ESPN's executive vice president of content from the story below:

"At some point you've got to treat it like the significant sporting event that is," said John Skipper. "I understand it has not traditionally stopped work and stopped the country to watch it in past years. But we're going to treat it like it should."

It will and it does, Skippy. Just not in your parochial world.

And let us know when ESPN starts taking MLS seriously, too. Hey, at least we'll get rid of those amateurish broadcasts with the announcers stuck in a U.S. television studio. About time.

Here's the story:

NEW YORK (AP) -- At ESPN's offices in Bristol, Conn., a World Cup countdown clock is outdoors, clicking down the hours until the kickoff on June 11.

A room inside has a "Wheel of Fortune" style spinner, where staffers can come in to pick up additional teams to root for. But when the action shifts to South Africa, ESPN and ABC will make a major shift in their coverage.

The U.S. networks will have crews on site for all 64 games at the 10 stadiums.
During the 2006 tournament in Germany, two of five crews stayed home and called 20 matches from the U.S. studios.

"At some point you've got to treat it like the significant sporting event that is," said John
Skipper, ESPN's executive vice president of content. "I understand it has not traditionally
stopped work and stopped the country to watch it in past years. But we're going to treat it like it should."

The networks, owned by The Walt Disney Co., announced Wednesday that 10 games will be on ABC, including the U.S.-England matchup on June 12 and the final on July 11.

ESPN will televise 44 matches, with the remaining 10 on ESPN2. All but the ABC games also will be on ESPN360.com, 46 games will be on ESPN Mobile TV and every game will be replayed at night on ESPN Classic.

In what appears to be an attempt to ambush Univision's Spanish-language coverage, ESPN Deportes will broadcast up to 40 matches -- Cristiano Ronaldo fans take note -- in Portuguese.

ESPN2 will go all soccer for a 24-hour countdown before the opener.

The pre-World Cup concert will be televised live on ESPN on June 10, with an edited version replayed on ABC the following night. ESPN plans about 250 hours of originally programming around the games.

Jed Drake, an ESPN vice president who is executive producer of its World Cup coverage, said the network is sending 165 people to South Africa and will have 50 local hires -- double the staff it used four years ago. The network will be broadcasting soccer 12 hours a day during the first round.

"The level of ambition we have for this project is second to none compared to anything we do at ESPN," he said.

ABC/ESPN acquired rights to the 2010 and 2014 tournaments directly from FIFA in late 2005 for $100 million. For the previous two World Cups, the rights were owned by Soccer United Marketing, an affiliate of Major League Soccer that bought them for $40 million and then purchased air time. Univision bought the Spanish-language U.S. rights for 2010 and 2014 for $325 million.

But South Africa especially will be an expensive place to produce.

One of ESPN's first actions was to hire its own private security company for the tournament. The logistical issues are unusual for a major event.

"How are you going to get around? Eat? Sleep? Get to the stadium? Get in and out? Get there on time? Park or take the bus in?" said Skipper, who thinks people will be safe as long as they don't go off the beaten track. "FIFA, the South African government, the South African police, international security, they can only control so much if guys get themselves drunk and wander down the street with 1,000-rand bills ($132) hanging out of their pockets."

Drake already has made four trips to South Africa in the past year to prepare and is scheduled to go back in February and March.

"It doesn't feel nearly as foreign as it used to," he said. "And the flight doesn't seem as
long. I know that sounds bizarre."

Soccer is one of the few sports whose ratings haven't declined.

ABC's 12 telecasts four years ago averaged 3.5 million households, according to Nielsen Media Research, up from 1.7 million for ESPN's 21 games and 919,000 million for ESPN2's 31 matches. In addition, Spanish-language coverage averaged 1.5 million for 56 games on Univision and 122,000 for four on Telefutura.

When ABC and ESPN broadcast the entire tournament for the first time in 1994 -- it was in the United States that year -- the 52 games were viewed by an average of 1.95 million households.

That was up from an average of 685,000 homes for the 25 games televised by Turner
Broadcasting's TNT network in 1990, when the U.S. made its first World Cup appearance in 40 years.

In an effort to widen soccer interest, ABC and ESPN televised the European Championship for the first time two years ago, and Spain's victory over Germany in the final was seen by 3.76 million viewers on ABC. Skipper said ABC/ESPN intends to bid aggressively for rights for the 2012 Euros, which likely will be put up for bid in about three months.

And this time it has jettisoned Dave O'Brien, criticized for his lack of soccer knowledge, and added Martin Tyler of Britain's Sky Sports along with a pair of retired European stars, Ruud Gullit and Steve McManaman.

For all the enthusiasm, Skipper keeps soccer in perspective. Speaking on Monday afternoon, he cited ESPN's broadcast of Spain's La Liga the previous day.

"It's great counterprogramming for us to the NFL," he said. "We didn't quite beat it
yesterday. I think we did a 0.2 and they did a 33."

This news would have been unheard of four years ago in Germany:

JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- World soccer's governing body says one-third of World Cup tickets remain unsold less than five months before the first tournament held in South Africa.

About 1 million of the 3 million tickets are still available, FIFA officials said Wednesday.

South Africans and Americans had made the most bids for tickets in the third round of sales, which will be settled by lottery on Monday.

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke dismissed concerns that South Africa -- notorious for its high crime rates -- would be dangerous for visiting fans.

"Don't kill the World Cup before the World Cup is taking place," Valcke said. "I mean give us a chance. Give South Africa a chance to organize a great World Cup. Give a chance to people to fly to South Africa and don't tell them every day that they should not fly to South Africa."

FIFA has received 1.2 million ticket applications from 192 countries for the Feb. 1 draw and said that the semifinal and final matches are attracting the most demand. Some 960,000 applications came from South African residents, who are eligible for cheaper tickets.

U.S. residents sent in some 50,000 applications, followed by Britain with 41,000. Neighboring Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia made a combined 5,500 bids.

Two ticket draws remain before the World Cup begins June 11.

Valcke's words echoed those of South African President Jacob Zuma. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Zuma said Wednesday that his country would ensure the safety of fans.

South Africa has one of the world's highest murder rates, with at least 50 people killed each day. The country plans to beef up police and training by investing in high-tech equipment and crime-busting surveillance to combat crime as well as threats from terrorists and hooligans.

Safety fears mounted after three people were killed this month when the Togo national soccer team bus was attacked en route to the African Cup of Nations in Angola.

For a more vitriolic (sensationalistic?) view of this apparently unfolding debacle check out this story from frequent FIFA critic Andrew Jennings.

Is MIA DaMarcus Beasley, seen here at the Confederation's Cup last summer, worth a U.S. roster spot in South Africa? (AP file photo).

I was unable to make it out to the U.S. Men's National Team training camp in Carson today, but the Associated Press filed this report:

CARSON -- U.S. coach Bob Bradley sounds willing to consider midfielders DaMarcus Beasley and Maurice Edu for his World Cup roster.

The U.S. will be missing many of its regulars for its 2010 opener, an exhibition against Honduras on Saturday night, and for a Feb. 24 match against El Salvador on Feb. 24 in Tampa, Fla.

Far more significant is a March 3 game against the Netherlands in Amsterdam, the last game before Bradley selects his 23-man World Cup roster.

Beasley, a veteran of the past two World Cups, hasn't played for the national team since a poor performance against Brazil at last June's Confederations Cup. Last month he scored his first two goals for Glasgow Rangers since April 2008, then
strained a thigh muscle.

"It was nice to see DaMarcus after a period when he wasn't seeing much playing time at Rangers work his way back into the fold," Bradley said Thursday. "Obviously, he's had a little setback with this injury but, hopefully, that's not going to be a big one."

Edu, Beasley's Rangers teammate, returned to first-team action Dec. 27 for the first time since injuring a knee ligament on May 24.

"It's great that he's back," Bradley said. "That's a good example I think of a guy that we've got to look at closely to see exactly where he is in the next few months."

While the Honduras match is a vehicle for players from Major League Soccer and Scandinavian clubs, the March 3 game will be played on an international fixture date and should draw from virtually the entire player pool.

"It's the one opportunity we have for the group as a whole to be together before May, and so I think that time, just to set the tone for May is important. I think in certain cases there will be some players that now you're still a little bit unsure of," Bradley said. "The more guys that you have that are now healthy, playing, certainly that may mean that it's a little tougher in some cases for decisions, but those are good problems to have."

While Beasley and Edu could be called in for the Netherlands match, the U.S. will be without midfielder Clint Dempsey, who injured his right knee Sunday playing for England's Fulham.

After fearing initially that he might have torn the posterior cruciate ligament and needed surgery, the Cottagers said Tuesday that damage was moderate and that he should return before the end of the Premier League season in May.

Still, Bradley doesn't know exactly when Dempsey will be able to play.

"I don't think anybody wants to give a time frame at this point," he said. "I'm not the doctor. I'm not the trainer."

Bradley also won't have Oguchi Onyewu back by the Dutch game. The AC Milan defender is recovering from knee surgery in October.

"I think one of the hopes is that he'd be ready to get back into regular training in March," the coach said. That means the earliest Onyewu could play in matches would be in April.

Sighs of relief all round.

It appears the USMNT will have striker Clint Dempsey available for the World Cup after all.

From a U.S. Soccer press release this afternoon:

U.S. Men's National Team midfielder Clint Dempsey will not require surgery on an injured knee, according to a statement from Fulham Football Club following an MRI evaluation. Dempsey suffered moderate damage to a ligament in his right knee during Fulham's 2-0 loss on Jan. 17 at Blackburn. The club expects Dempsey to be back in action prior to the end of the season.

"The news about Clint's injury is positive, especially given the fact that he will not require surgery," said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley. "We are confident that Clint will be ready to be an important part of our team during the World Cup."

Not much of a surprise given the Rose Bowl hosted the 1994 World Cup final.

The USA Bid Committee today released the locations of 18 cities - the maximum allowed by FIFA - as potential World Cup game hosts after an eight month process that winnowed the field from the 45 stadiums in 38 cities identified last June.

This time around San Francisco, which hosted games in 1994, was cut, but San Diego is in.

The two stadiums in Southern California are the aging Rose Bowl (alleged capacity 93,607) and the crumbling Coliseum (listed at an equally uncomfortable 89,000).

The other 16 cities named: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Miami, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Seattle, Tampa and Washington, D.C.

"Today our hopes of becoming a host nation are strengthened many fold by the announcement of the 18 cities we will submit to FIFA on May 14," said Sunil Gulati, president of the bid committee and U.S. Soccer. "These 18 cities share outstanding leadership with a vision and understanding of what a FIFA World Cup would mean to the United States, along with how well we can play the role of host to visitors from throughout the world."

England, hosts in 1966, are considered the frontrunner for the 2018 World Cup and the U.S. is one of the favorites in 2022.

From the U.S. Soccer press release:

The United States, Australia, England, Japan and Russia have formally declared their desire to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018 or 2022. Netherlands-Belgium and Portugal-Spain have each submitted joint bids for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, while Indonesia, Qatar and South Korea have applied as candidates to play host only to the tournament in 2022. Mexico withdrew its bid in September.

The winning bidders for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments will be announced in December.

In other news today, Fox will start a new soccer channel picking up rights to the EPL and other leagues relinquished by Sentanta:

From AP:

NEW YORK -- Fox is launching its second all-soccer network in the United States on March 1.

The new network, called Fox Soccer Plus, will televise matches of the European Champions League, England's Premier League, the English Football Association Cup and the Italian Serie A.

Fox Soccer Channel began operation in 1997 as Fox Sports World and changed its name to FSC five years ago.

"As America's interest in the world's game is increasing, the launch of Fox Soccer Plus will complement and enhance our current programming on Fox Soccer Channel," new FSC general manager David Nathanson said Tuesday.

The new network will draw content from Setanta USA, whose sublicenses with Fox are expiring, a person familiar with the negotiations said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity because that detail won't be included in the announcement.

Fox, a division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, is negotiating with cable carriers to determine whether they want to place it on a select tier or offer it as a monthly subscription service for a fee. The new network will be broadcast in high definition; Fox also has been preparing to start high definition telecasts of FSC.

Fox has been televising the Premier League in the U.S. since 1998 and sublicenses some of the games to Setanta USA and ESPN2, which is televising 48 matches this season.

Also Monday, FSC said it was hiring Andy Gray of News Corp.'s Sky Sports in Britain for its studio show during this year's World Cup. Gray, a former Scotland national team player, worked for ESPN's U.S. coverage of the 2008 European Championship.

The first live telecast: the Mexico-South Africa game from the World Cup.

A minimum of 84 other live events will follow this year including 25 other World Cup games.

"ESPN 3D marries great content with new technology to enhance the fan's viewing experience and puts ESPN at the forefront of the next big advance for TV viewing," said George Bodenheimer, co-chairman, Disney Media Networks, and President, ESPN and ABC Sports.

From the ESPN press release:

ESPN has been testing ESPN 3D for more than two years. Last fall, ESPN produced the USC vs. OSU college football game which was shown in select theaters as well as to 6,000 fans at the Galen Center on USC's campus. ESPN has developed best practices for utilizing the technology in live game applications which have provided ESPN the ability to streamline workflow operations, adjust 3D camera positioning, test transmission and gauge fan reaction to a 3D telecast versus a traditional telecast.

ESPN's goal: to drive adoption of 3D television sets.

Oh, great. And I just got a 46-inch HD TV a little over a year ago. Wonder if I can just get away with wearing those funky cardboard glasses?

A catamaran glides past Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, site of the England-Algeria World Cup group game among others. (AP Photo)

Thinking of going to South Africa for the World Cup?

Read this.

AP Photo

Not to put a damper on this, but I should point out that Becks is little more than a role player for England these days and often comes on as a sub. So it's conceivable the two will not be on the field at the same time when the U.S. and England meets.

But that doesn't make for a great story, so I'll shut up now.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Landon Donovan repeated the words, unable to wipe the smile from his face.

"It never ends," he said.

The American midfielder and England star David Beckham may be forever linked by their tumultuous time together with the Los Angeles Galaxy. And just when they seemed to have fully embraced the idea of playing for the same MLS team, Friday's World Cup draw put the United States against England in their opening match in South Africa next June.

Indeed, their story never seems to end.

"I wish we could have got a shot of his face as that happened," said Donovan, who promised to text Beckham in the start of playful banter sure to consume the next six months. "I'm sure he was thinking the same thing, to play against your own teammate is obviously pretty incredible."

Their conversations haven't always been playful, though, and Donovan didn't always smile when he heard Beckham's name.

Two of the brightest stars on two different continents have had a tenuous relationship ever since Donovan's comments this year in Grant Wahl's "The Beckham Experiment."

The highly critical book, in which Donovan ripped the England midfielder's leadership and effort, chronicled Beckham's first two seasons with the Galaxy. Donovan eventually apologized for airing his thoughts in public, and the two tamped down the potential locker room division enough to lead the Galaxy to the MLS Cup final this season.

"I'm sure there will be a lot of talking before the tournament starts," Donovan said of the
World Cup, where the U.S. and England are joined by Algeria and Slovenia in Group C.
"We talked about seeing each other there and hoping we're both there. I don't think it entered our minds that we might be playing each other."

Former national team coach Bruce Arena called it "stupid" to make anything of their
first-round matchup. He served as the peacemaker when he coached the Galaxy this season.

"The only story is that they're teammates, that's all it is. They're two guys with the
greatest respect for each other," Arena said. "There's nothing else to discuss."

That didn't stop current national coach Bob Bradley from weighing in.

"I think that this game will have many different story lines," he said. "The fact that Landon and David are teammates is a very good one."

Teammates who apparently work quite well together when they're not bickering.

The crisp passing of Beckham and Donovan set up the Galaxy's first goal in the MLS final two weeks ago, although Donovan -- the league's MVP -- became a non-factor until the shootout and Beckham struggled through discomfort from a bone bruise in his right foot.

Beckham later scored in the shootout against Real Salt Lake, but it was Donovan's miss moments later that made headlines as the Galaxy lost 5-4 on penalty kicks.

"To have David and Landon playing against each other wearing opposite jerseys is just going to be a terrific story and something that I think the entire country will get excited about," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said. "It will probably be one of the most exciting and anticipated games of the World Cup."

U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati said the meeting could help raise the profile of Major League Soccer, which counts Donovan and Beckham as its two biggest stars.

"The league will be under a microscope," he said. "We'll all be under a microscope because of the English media's interest, David's presence in the league, his teammate Landon and so on."

Beckham plans to report on time Dec. 28 to start his second consecutive season on loan to AC Milan, something he initially did to help maintain his fitness for the World Cup. There are rumors Donovan may do the same, although he declined to say for certain.

The career leader in national team appearances, goals and assists, Donovan did say that if he remains in Los Angeles, having Beckham playing for the Italian club would help dim the harsh spotlight surrounding their budding rivalry.

"England's a very good team and we'll see how the rest plays out," he said, rocking backward on a stool and slapping his hands on a soccer ball. "In lots of ways it's a great matchup and it should be exciting. Lots of story lines, that's for sure."

One that stands out more than any other.

Here are a couple of quotes from today's conference call:

*On playing England -

"They're physical, they're big and they're used to playing the game at a very high pace ... The game is going to favor them because they're used to making decisions under those circumstances ... Are we talented as England? Probably not. But we think on any given day we have a chance to beat them."

*On the assumption - and pressure - that has the U.S. advancing out of its group -

"The expectation level around the sports fans and the soccer fans is we have a good chance to advance .... Those of us who were around in 2006 - we have been waiting a long time for this opportunity. ... Any time now that we don't advance, we're going to be disappointed."

I am hoping to talk to LD one on one on the phone within the next hour. We'll see if that happens.

Carlos Bocanegra just jumped on the call and I asked him about the different level of expectation from U.S. fans this time around compared to four years ago when most merely hoped the Americans could hang with the likes of Italy and the Czech Republic:

"To be fair maybe it's our performances over the past few years -- American fans think we should advance out of this group and I like that, I like that thinking. ... That's just something we've got to live with."

More quotes and reaction here.

Updated:

U.S. Coach Bob Bradley said today we should know the opponent for the by now traditional U.S. game at Home Depot Center "in the next few days." He also said it wasn't important that the opponent be from Eastern Europe or North Africa given the World Cup draw because the players in the January camp will be very different from those he will take to South Africa.

Those of you not near a television can follow the draw live here.

Updated:

*Mexico plays the opening game June 11 against South Africa.

*The U.S. is drawn in England's group; the nations play June 12.

*Algeria is drawn in the group with U.S. and England.

*Mexico gets France, Uruguay and South Africa.

*The U.S. is drawn with Slovenia, England and Algeria. A good group for the U.S.

*The draw is complete.

The Galaxy's Landon Donovan, watching the World Cup draw in New York, looks pretty happy (as well he should) with the outcome for the U.S. (AP Photo).

Here's the U.S. schedule:
*June 12 Vs. England in Rustenberg.
*June 18 Vs. Slovenia in Johannesburg
*June 23 Vs. Algeria in Tshwane/Pretoria

Points out SI's Grant Wahl in a tweet: "If US makes second round, its opponent would come from Group D: Germany, Serbia, Ghana, or Australia.US-Germany again?"

Update:

Here are the World Cup groups.

Here is the complete schedule.

On a day when Palos Verdes Estates' Kyle Nakazawa of UCLA was named a semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy Award and UCLA's Sydney Leroux and Lauren Cheney, USC goalkeeper Kristin Olsen, Palos Verdes Estates' Christen Press of Stanford and Rolling Hills Estates' Whitney Engen of North Carolina were all named semifinalists for the corresponding women's award,it's the pending World Cup draw Friday that has center stage.

Said Bruce over at DuNord: "My whole body is nearly shivering with nervous energy about the draw. This might be worse than day before big game jitter for me."

Calm down folks.

Coverage begins at 9 a.m. on ESPN2 and 8 a.m. on Univision.

The breakdown:
Pot 1: South Africa (hosts), Argentina, Brazil, England, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain.

Pot 2: Australia, Honduras, Japan, Korea DPR, Korea Republic, Mexico, New Zealand, United States.

Pot 3: Algeria, Cameroon, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Paraguay, Uruguay.

Pot 4: Denmark, France, Greece, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland.

Technical details courtesy U.S. Soccer:

*The 32 qualified teams will be divided into eight groups. No two teams from the same confederation will be drawn into the same group, with the exception of Europe which can have a maximum of two teams in the same group.

*As hosts, FIFA announced that South Africa will automatically be positioned as A1, and the other teams from Pot 1 will be drawn into Position 1 in groups B-H. For the remaining pots, the teams will be drawn into groups A to H and Positions 2-4 during the draw.

Quotable:

"It's a period when we'll have a lot of work to do in terms of preparation," said U.S. Coach Bob Bradley of what happens from now on once the draw is complete. "Certainly we will go to great lengths to prepare the scouting reports on our three first round opponents, there's always going to be finishing touches on the details in terms of where we're staying, our needs, what we want to put together in terms of our whole training schedule leading into the World Cup. And of course, we look forward to some of the opportunities when we'll be together. The main one in 2010 will be the March 3 fixture date, the only one on the FIFA calendar, but there will be other times, of course starting in January, where we'll have a chance to look at some other players and size up the depth of our pool."

You can go live with Landon Friday. Joining him will be Chivas USA's Jonathan Bornstein of Los Alamitos, Fulham's Clint Dempsey and the Crew's Robbie Rogers of Rolling Hills Estates. With any luck, I'll grab a quick word with LD Friday afternoon.

Also:

* Local viewing parties. Chivas USA players Claudio Suárez, Mariano Trujillo, Gerson Mayén and Jorge Flores will all be at the event, BTW.

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador David Beckham poses for a photograph with local mother Tamara, who is living with HIV and her three-year-old son Sesiphi who was born free from HIV, during a visit to a clinic in Cape Town, South Africa. During the visit Beckham met and talked to young pregnant women and new mothers who are living with HIV. The UNICEF "Mothers to Mothers" program supports HIV positive pregnant women and new moms.

*Meanwhile, for Beckham it's all about World Cup 2018.

Updated - the adidas World Cup ball unveiled:

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) -- Nelson Mandela will address soccer officials by video message at Friday's World Cup draw, while Archbishop Desmond Tutu and South African Oscar winner Charlize Theron will attend the event in person.

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke also will welcome former South African President Frederik W. de Klerk at the International Convention Center.

The 91-year-old Mandela, the former president, is frail and makes few public appearances. Mandela and de Klerk shared the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize for their role in ending apartheid.

Part-time Galaxy player David Beckham, who scored in three consecutive World Cups, is also expected to attend. He hopes to make the England squad for the June event.

South African President Jacob Zuma will start off the 1½ hour show. The draw, led by Valcke, will set up the eight groups of four teams.

Thousands of guests will attend the draw, which will be televised in numerous countries.
From Greece to Japan, Ghana to New Zealand, soccer fans have been waiting to find out what teams their country will face in the opening round of the World Cup, which starts June 11.

Valcke will swirl the balls in the pot and come up with combinations of groups that will look fortunate for some and cruel to others.

One spot is secure. Host South Africa will kick off the tournament at the Soccer City Stadium on June 11, and play its other first-round matches at Pretoria and Bloemfontein.

After the draw, FIFA expects a global rush on tickets.

"It is the kickoff for all people who are waiting and looking, knowing where they should fly
and in what cities they should stay," Valcke said.

Other guests include former greats Michel Platini, the current UEFA president, and Franz Beckenbauer, who has won the World Cup for West Germany as a player and coach.

Hosting the World Cup is widely seen as a coming of age for South Africa, which has made giant strides since Mandela became the first president of the desegregated nation in 1994.

Underscoring the historic feat, Makhaya Ntini, the first black player in South Africa's
national cricket team, will be assisting the draw. He'll be joined by Matthew Booth, the only white player on the Bafana Bafana national soccer team during the Confederations Cup.

"We cannot wait for Friday to arrive," Cape Town mayor Dan Plato said. "It will be a wonderful show."

What you need to know about the draw:

*ESPN2 will show it from 9 a.m. to noon with the show hosted by Bob Ley and also featuring former World Cup stars Efan Ekoku, John Harkes, Alexi Lalas and Steve McManaman. Jeremy Schaap files live reports throughout the day from the Cape Town International Convention Center in South Africa, site of the draw.

*Also included will be an interview with U.S. striker Charlie Davies, seriously injured in an automobile accident in the outskirts of Washington, D.C., on the eve of the last U.S. World Cup qualifier, as well as interviews and reaction from U.S. Coach Bob Bradley, Jozy Altidore, Beckham and newly-hired ESPN World Cup play-by-play commentator Martin Tyler, who has called all World Cups since 1978.

*A list of Southern California viewing parties is here.

*ESPN launched a dedicated World Cup Web site today.

Finally, the Los Angeles City Council voted today to submit a bid for Los Angeles to
become a host city of the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.

"I hope we get it," said Councilman Tom LaBonge. "The Memorial Coliseum is the place to play."

Actually, Tom, it's fairly obvious you don't get it, if you'd actually tried to watch a game from the cruddy Coliseum in recent years. Maybe we'll have an NFL stadium by then, though.