I was tempted to blog about it over the weekend but I thought it wasn't worthy since the U.S. women's national team has higher expectations than simply qualifying for a major tournament.
Being forced to beat Italy in a home and home series for the last spot in the 2011 Women's World Cup (in Germany) isn't exactly the way you want to get in there but they won 2-0 on aggregate so let's move on.
The draw was held today and no surprise, the top-ranked Americans have a tough road ahead with Sweden (No. 4), North Korea (No. 6) and Colombia.
"It's good because it's a very strong group. That's the best thing that could happen to us,'' U.S. coach Pia Sundhage said Monday from the draw in Frankfurt, Germany. "That will be inspiring for us, the fact we're playing high-ranked teams like Sweden and North Korea and a new team Colombia, which will be so enthusiastic going into the World Cup.''
The U.S. opens with North Korea on June 28 against North Korea. It's the fourth straight time the two teams have met in the group stage. The U.S. won 3-0 in 1999 and 2003 but tied 2-2 in 2007.
They meet newcomer Colombia on July 2 then wrap up the group play with a match against Sweden on July 6.
The Americans cannot play Germany until at least the semifinals. The Germans beat the U.S. 3-0 in the 2003 semis but the Americans are 5-0-2 against the world's No. 2 team since, including a 3-2 victory in the Algarve Cup final this year.
I can't say we'll have much about the Women's World Cup 2011 before next summer but it's a good bet that once the men's domestic seasons and Champions League have concluded in the spring, we'll start to think about this event.
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