Americans drawn with Italians, Czechs at World Cup

U.S. faces rough road

LEIPZIG, Germany (AP) -- Defending champion Brazil will play its first match of next year's World Cup finals against 1998 semifinalist Croatia, while Argentina has to face the Netherlands in a tough first-round group.

Five-time champion Brazil also faces Australia and Japan in Group F, while Argentina has games against Serbia and Montenegro and the Ivory Coast. Argentina failed to get past the first round in 2002 and this draw means it could struggle again.

The opening match will be host Germany against Costa Rica in Munich. Three-time winner Germany also plays Poland and Ecuador.

France, the 1998 champion, must start against one of the teams it faced in qualifying, Switzerland. South Korea, a semifinalist in 2002, and newcomer Togo are also in the group.

The draw began with the eight top-seeded teams -- Brazil, Germany, Argentina, England, France, Italy, Mexico and Spain -- put into their groups.

England faces Sweden for the second straight World Cup, and will also play debutant Trinidad and Tobago and Paraguay, a team it beat at the 1986 World Cup.

Italy's first game will be against newcomer Ghana before meeting the United States and the Czech Republic in a tough group. The Italians, Czechs and Americans also were in the same group in 1990, with Italy and then-Czechoslovakia reaching the second round.

Another debutant, Ukraine, starts against Spain and then meets Tunisia and Saudi Arabia in a comparatively easy group.

Mexico, which was seeded, has to play a talented Portugal along with Iran and Angola in another seemingly easy group.

But the last time Portugal and Angola met in a friendly match in Lisbon four years ago, four Angolan players were sent off for brutal tackles and dissent and the game was abandoned with 20 minutes to play.

The game was supposed to be a celebration of the long-standing cultural ties between the European country and its former African colony.

	World Cup First-Round Draw Group A Germany Costa Rica Poland Ecuador Group B England Paraguay Trinidad & Tobago Sweden Group C Argentina Ivory Coast Serbia & Montenegro Netherlands Group D Mexico Iran Angola Portugal Group E Italy Ghana United States Czech Republic Group F Brazil Croatia Australia Japan Group G France Switzerland South Korea Togo Group H Spain Ukraine Tunisia