Last Friday afternoon, Jonathan Bornstein had a smile on his face. The Chivas USA defender had just finished painting his house and was happy with the result. He had also watched the draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup that morning, which might also have had something to do with his grin.
The United States was placed in Group C, along with England, Slovenia and Algeria. And while there are arguably no weak teams in the World Cup finals, the USA will be glad of their luck in the draw.
"I think it went pretty well for us," said Bornstein. "After we got England, I started to think that it might become a group of death, but I think it ended up pretty good for us. I think we're pretty happy as a team. Everyone is positive about what we can accomplish."
The U.S. will open its World Cup campaign against England on June 12 in Rustenburg, South Africa. The team will then meet Slovenia on June 18 in Johannesburg before finishing up group play against Algeria on the 23rd in Pretoria.
"I think it's a good thing [to be playing England first]," said Bornstein. "They're considered the toughest team in the group; why not face them first? If you can get a result, you set yourself up pretty well to go forward from there. It's something to look forward to. A lot of the guys play in Europe and will have strong emotions for that game which will help to life the whole team. It's a great way to start the World Cup."
If the U.S. is able to advance past the group stages, they will face opposition in the round-of-16 from one of the top two teams in Group D, which contains Germany, Australia, Serbia and Ghana. A match against either Ghana or Germany would provide the opportunity for a bit of revenge, the former having ousted the USA from the 2006 World Cup and the latter eliminating them from the 2002 event.
"You can't think too far ahead because you have to get there first, but if we do qualify, we face Group D," Bornstein said. "I think Germany will be the favorite and obviously we lost to them in 2002, so there is definitely some revenge to be had if we get there, but we have to deal with that as it comes."
While the U.S. national team has enjoyed a good run of form in 2009, finishing at the top of the CONCACAF final qualifying tournament and earning surprise runner-up honors at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, the team has struggled with injuries. Central defender Oguchi Onyewu sustained a torn patellar tendon in his left knee in the October 14 draw with Costa Rica and could be out to up for four months. Striker Charlie Davies is likely out for much longer after a car accident the day before the qualifying finale left him with several broken bones in his right leg.
"Both of those guys are important players for us," said Bornstein. "Obviously Onyewu is an integral part of the defense and we'll see where he's at when the time comes. Charlie is a great guy for the offense, but we've got other guys who can step in and fill their shoes. When guys are called upon, they've done a good job."
Bornstein will enjoy a break over the course of the next few weeks before returning to Chivas USA for preseason camp at the end of January. The 2010 season will be a busy one for him, but he's ready to handle the load.
"I'm trying to focus on each task as it comes up," he said. "I don't like to get too far ahead of myself. When the Chivas USA season starts, I hope that I'm playing well with my team so that we can do the best that we can do. Obviously there are big implications for the World Cup, but I'm going to do my best to stay clear-minded for the work with Chivas before I ultimately switch gears for South Africa in June."
Jeffrey King is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
