Today’s draw for the World Cup 2010: the US finds itself in the same group with England, Algeria, and Slovenia — not nearly the worst possible result for the US’s chances of getting to the second round; England will be difficult (in the opening match, to boot), but Slovenia and Algeria, while both decent squads, are definitely winnable games.
And the Group of Death is pretty obvious: Brazil, Portugal, North Korea, and Ivory Coast — ouch! The Koreans are the odd team out there, but the other three are top squads and one of them is going home after the first round. A shame, since they’re not only all terrific teams, but they are also all great fun to watch.