WC 06 USA vs Guyana or Grenada
Soccer News
U.S. to open World Cup qualifying against Grenada or Guyana
By NESHA STARCEVIC
The Associated Press
12/5/03 2:13 PM
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- The United States will play Grenada or Guyana in its 2006 World Cup qualifying opener.
Friday's draw determined that Grenada and Guyana will play a home-and-home series on Feb. 18 and March 31. The winner advances to a second-round series against the United States, which plays at home the weekend of June 12-13 and on the road June 19-20.
The United States has never played either nation before.
The 12 second-round winners in the North and Central American and Caribbean region advance to the semifinal round.
If there are no upsets, the United States would be in a semifinal group with El Salvador, Jamaica and Panama. The top two teams advance to the six-nation regional final round in 2005, with the best three teams qualifying for the 32-nation World Cup field. The No. 4 team advances to a playoff against the No. 5 team from Asia.
In Europe, England was drawn into a group with Wales and Northern Ireland. The Netherlands and the Czech Republic wound up in the same qualifying group for the third straight time, and Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia-Montenegro were drawn together.
Italy was drawn into a group with Slovenia, Scotland and Norway. Ireland is in a group with France, Switzerland and Israel.
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