- Title: VARIOUS: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - South American soccer fans react to World Cup draw
- Date: 6th December 2009
- Summary: VARIOUS OF HONDURAN FANS WATCHING DRAW ANNOUNCEMENT ON TV FANS REJOICING WHEN HONDURAS WAS CALLED BY THE ANNOUNCEMENT HOST (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HONDURAS FAN, JORGE CASTRO, SAYING: "Well, in first place, we are very satisfied with the fact that we have made it to the World Cup. In second place, we think the group we have been placed in is very favorable, with Spain sin
- Embargoed: 21st December 2009 12:00
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- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA9CMKZF4AXE9HZ6ML3MM7Q9CQC
- Story Text: Latin American soccer fans were glued to their seats watching the 2010 World Cup draw on Friday (December 4) in which Mexico was chosen to play hosts South Africa in the opening match and Brazil came out in a tough group.
The draw for the 32-nation tournament took place at the end of a 90-minute global television spectacular. Hosted by FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke and South African actress Charlize Theron, it was broadcast to more than 250 million people.
Besides from having to play the hosts, Mexico will also face two other difficult rivals: former winners France and Uruguay.
But if the country did not get what it was hoping for, neither did five-time winner Brazil, who will play its European cousin Portugal, Africa's strongest team Ivory Coast and North Korea.
Although many Mexican fans were glad that their squad will open the competition, they admitted that a hard path lay ahead.
Fan Guillermo Celis said he was not too confident that Mexico would make it to the second round.
"Difficult, very difficult to have a starting game against the hosts, which is a match that gives the organizing team a good advantage. Secondly, we also have France, which has a history and we have never managed to beat them. Apparently, the easiest match for us will be against Uruguay, which is a traditional team as well and I don't think we have a strong enough team to beat them," he said.
But fan Juan Manuel Hernandez said Mexico had a strong enough team to beat its first opponents.
"I think Mexico has the team and the players to make a good start and now with (Coach) Javier Aguirre we believe that we will be able to make it to the second round of the championship," he said.
Mexican Coach Javier Aguirre reacted well to the news and said it was important for his team to get off to a strong start.
There is history between South Africa and Mexico, who have met three times before. The African squad beat Mexico in the group stage of the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Mexico won previous friendly matches in 2000 and 1993.
The opening match will be staged on June 11 at Johannesburg's Soccer City stadium with the final in the same stadium on July 11.
Even though most Brazilians were satisfied with the draw's outcome, the South American giant's group is perhaps the toughest of all.
In Rio de Janeiro, fans gathered in bars to watch the highly anticipated announcement.
Fan Rafael Araujo said he was glad with the result, but recognized that Portugal was a strong rival.
"It's (Brazil) in a good group, even though Portugal may bring us some trouble. But, this draw worked well for Brazil," he said.
Aline Souza, who works as a cashier in a Copacabana bar, said she was confident that Brazil would rise over its opponents.
"It (the group) doesn't matter. I definitely think we will win. It (Brazil) always wins and it won't stop winning now," she said.
Brazil versus Portugal will bring together two of the world's best players and teammates, Brazil's Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, who both play their club football for Real Madrid.
Neighbors Argentina, on the other hand, got luckier than Brazil. The two time world champion was drawn in Group B along with South Korea, Nigeria and Greece.
Many Argentines stopped wherever they could in the streets of Buenos Aires to watch the draw announcement and were mostly happy with the result.
There was a consensus among fans that the Argentina squad could step ahead to the 16-team knockout.
Fan Oscar Nunez said he was glad with the draw's outcome.
"We came out well in the draw; we are in with a good group. There are other groups that are a bit more difficult to play against, like Group One that South Africa is in is a hard group; it is the group Uruguay is in," he said.
Fan Claudio Beasin was also confident.
"Greece is a pretty easy team, you could say. And the other team, Nigeria, isn't the same Nigeria as there was a few years ago. So I hope we have good luck and the team will come together as we all hope for the World Cup," he said.
Coach Maradona was banned from attending any official soccer-related activities, including the draw ceremony, following his foul-mouthed tirade last month at the end of a decisive World Cup qualifier in Uruguay.
Chile, that classified second for the World Cup behind Brazil, came out in Group H along with Spain, Switzerland and Honduras, leaving most fans satisfied.
But some Chilean soccer experts have voiced out concern that the Andean country may face unexpected difficulties against their Central American rivals.
Chilean fan Roberto said only Spain would be a challenge for his country.
"Honduras is not as good as Chile, Switzerland is not as good as Chile, Spain more like Chile, and that's when the greater ones will be seen. The two (Chile and Spain) will pass on to the second round," he said.
But another fan, Augusto, said although the outcome seems positive, winning may be harder than expected.
"On the screen, everything is fine, but we still have to play the matches. Spain is difficult and Switzerland is recovering," he said.
In 2007, Chile lost 2-1 away to Switzerland in the debut of its Coach Marcelo Bielsa and were beat 2-0 by Honduras in a 2008 friendly in the U.S.
European champions Spain, that top the FIFA world rankings, were immediately named as 4-1 tournament favorites by British bookmakers following the draw.
In the streets of Honduran capital Tegucigalpa, most fans seemed hopeful that their national squad would pull through in its group.
Fan Jorge Castro said Hondurans were already glad to have made it to the World Cup and moving on to the second round would be a bonus.
"Well, in the first place, we are very satisfied with the fact that we have made it to the World Cup. In second place, we think the group we have been placed in is very favorable, with Spain since Honduras did a very good job when it debuted in a World Cup with Spain. The rest of the group, Chile and Switzerland, are very competitive, but so is Honduras and we expect to play well against them," he said.
Fan Marco Carrasco said the Honduran squad will have to work hard to beat its rivals.
"I'm very happy and satisfied. I think it is a good result and it could have been much worse. But we need to wait for these next six months for the national team to prepare well and give its best at the World Cup," he said.
The draw ceremony included a televised address to the world from former South African president Nelson Mandela.
The country's current president Jacob Zuma appeared on stage to make the bold prediction that the trophy would stay in Africa after the continent staged the tournament for the first time. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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