Draw gets tough for U.S. women
The United States has, arguably, the strongest women’s soccer team in the world, but if it is to regain the Women’s World Cup it won in 1991 and 1999, it will have to do so the hard way.
The draw for the 2007 tournament was held in Wuhan, China, on Sunday and the Americans were grouped with three formidable opponents for first-round play. They will open, intriguingly, against North Korea in Chengdu on Sept. 11, then play Sweden in the same city on Sept. 14 and Nigeria on Sept. 18 in Shanghai.
North Korea was a surprising winner of the 2006 Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Russia. Sweden was runner-up to Germany at the 2003 Women’s World Cup in the U.S. and Nigeria is the reigning African champion.
“It presents an incredible challenge to this team,” said U.S. Coach Greg Ryan, who is unbeaten in 39 games since taking charge of the squad two years ago.
“We’re a young team, we’ve got great veteran leadership, and we’ve got great young players. But I think it’s here where you say, ‘OK, look, everything that you could have go against you in this draw did, so you will have to play every game like an elimination game, even the first game.’
“ ‘If you lose the first one, you are in trouble to get through the group. So ... let’s take that challenge and go out and prove to the rest of the world that we can get this done against the worst odds they could possibly throw at us.’ ”
There was controversy even before the draw began when it was announced that North Korea would arbitrarily be put in Group B along with the U.S., ostensibly so that the Koreans would not have to play China before the semifinals.
North Korea routed China, 5-0, in the Under-20 Women’s World Cup final last year.
Ryan was perplexed by the decision. “It’s just one that I don’t understand,” he said. World Cup officials dodged questions about the move.
China, which will stage the Sept. 10-30 tournament in six cities, was the seeded team in Group D and was drawn to play New Zealand, Brazil and Denmark. The Brazilians were the silver medal winners at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and Denmark has long been one of the leading teams in Europe.
Group C, led by former world champion Norway, includes Ghana, Australia and Canada. The Canadians finished fourth in 2003 and are coached by Evan Pellerud, who coached Norway to its 1995 world title.
Defending world champion Germany got what appeared to be the easiest of passages to the quarterfinals by being drawn to play Japan, England and Argentina in Group A.
The top two teams in each group will advance to the quarterfinals.
Midfielder Kristine Lilly, the only player still active from the 1991 and 1999 world championship-winning teams, said the draw would make little difference to the U.S. approach to China ’07.
“I say, ‘Bring it on,’ ” Lilly said. “I’m looking forward to it. People say, ‘You guys got the hardest group,’ and this and that. But the World Cup is hard. Whether we face them early on or later on, you’re going to have to play the best. For me, I’m excited.”
