Pseudo Corner Kick

USA QUALIFYING FOR THE 2006 WORLD CUP

The process of Qualifying for the 2006 World Cup is no easy task. It takes years of preparation for a handful of games that will decide if your country can participate in the greatest sporting event in the world. The United States path was no different as they battled the diversity of weather, opponents and injuries over roughly a year and a half. A brief overview of the journey follows:

HOME AND AWAY

The first obstacle was to play a home and away series with Grenada. In soccer, most playoffs are determined by a two game series. The winner is the team which scores the most amount of aggregate goals in both games. The first game was handled pretty easily but Grenada put up a good fight at home for the second game but the US triumphed.

SEMIFINAL ROUND

Next up was the semi-final round. There were three groups with four teams in each group. Each team plays every other team twice. The top two from each group advanced to the final round. For the U.S. it was rough going in the initial games and a major point in the qualifying process came when veteran Cobi Jones scored in the 92^nd minute to tie Panama in Panama City. A loss there would have put some pressure on the U.S. team but with the last two games at home and riding a hot Eddie Johnson (5 goals last 3 games) they finished top in their group to advance to the next stage.

Teams in italics advance.

FINAL ROUND

The last hurdle was the biggest. In the final round the top three teams qualify directly for the World Cup. The fourth-placed finisher will played home and away against the playoff representative from the Asia region for a chance to qualify as the fourth CONCACAF representative. The U.S. started off with a 2-1 win at Trinidad and Tobago but then suffered a hard loss to Mexico in Mexico City. Not sitting too pretty after two games and with home games upcoming, the U.S. took the initiative and won their next five games with a combined score of 11-0. To top it off, the US qualified for the 2006 World cup against arch-rival Mexico in Columbus with a convincing victory. They finished off the round with a tie, loss and a win and finished first in the group

Teams in italics advance. *Trinidad and Tobago played Bahrain in a home and away playoff for the fourth spot and after tying Bahrain at home 1-1, they beat Bahrain in Bahrain 1-0.

WORLD CUP DRAW

Once all 32 teams qualified for the World Cup they are put into an elaborate and complicated selection process. The United States ended up in a tough group, Group E, with Italy, Czech Republic and Ghana. Their schedule for the World Cup follows: