Hello, I'm Landon Donovan and...

Randomness on the World Cup Draw

• Charlize Theron played the dumb blonde role really well. Much better than Sepp usually does...
• I freaked out when I thought the US had drawn Ivory Coast into their group. Thank you for silly rules FIFA! Or, should I thank @ConcacafJack?
• If the US doesn't advance out of its group, this campaign has been an absolute failure. Excuses are not allowed, we have to be able to advance through Algeria and Slovenia to be considered remotely serious.
• Honduras has a decent chance to compete in their group. Spain will be nearly impossible, but upsets are possible against Chile and Switzerland. I'll be pulling for them, but I think Chile is too strong.
• Mexico should get through their group, along with the despicable French. Uruguay looked ordinary against Costa Rica in their playoff, and the Ticos have been weak in the last year.
• Toughest group is obviously G, with one of Brazil, Portugal, and Ivory Coast going home after the group stage. North Korea will pull at least a point somewhere in the group.
• B could be the most fun to watch due to the clash of styles. I'll take Argentina and Nigeria there.
• Germany should be fine in D, I'll take Serbia for now but will be watching out for Ghana to surprise.
• Group E is another competitive one. It should be a battle between the Danes and Cameroon for 2nd place, but I'll be curious to see this high powered Japanese offense in action.
• F is the easiest one, Italy and Paraguay are locks.
• The US v. England game on Saturday, June 12 at 2:30 pm on ABC could be the biggest game in American soccer history when it comes to publicity and PR. Let's hope the USMNT can make the most of it. A win there could create some serious World Cup hype in this country like we've never seen before.

World Cup Draw musings

Today's the big day, isn't it? The day when the hopes of the USMNT are determined by some celebrities, some bowls, and some ping pong balls.

Sadly, I'm not kidding. Today can make or break the US chances of advancing at next summer's World Cup. If we get the true GROUP OF DEATH of Brazil, Ivory Coast, and France things will be much tougher than if we were to draw South Africa, Algeria, and Slovenia.

We have no control over this, so we just have to wait to see how this plays out this afternoon. Let's hope there's no back room dealings involving Sepp, Mr. Warner, and any other FIFA authority figures/shady figures...

What can the USMNT control in the run up to South Africa?

• Friendlies: Thankfully, it looks like Bradley will not be following Arena's 2006 model of playing a bunch of nobodies. I kept waiting for East Timor to end up on the schedule. Depending on the draw, hopefully he'll look to add some African teams since we rarely play them.
• Media relations: Looking good so far, Landon has been everywhere talking about the draw. Hopefully this can help control the WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE hysteria if we do fall in a Group of Death. Get some other guys out there giving interviews and spreading the word.

Let's get off of this obsession with Donovan going on loan in January. Just because Beckham is doing it doesn't mean Landon has to do the same. The USMNT will have a January camp as always, which will help keep Landon sharp prior to the MLS kickoff. England won't do that, so Beckham going back to Milan is a good move in his case. Besides, there's a lot of jerseys to sell...

Besides the draw, keep your fingers crossed for the recovery of Onyewu and Davies. I just don't see the depth out there to replace those two if they can't come back in time. Regardless of the group, we might be in big trouble without those two...