Interaction: Men’s World Cup draw

Myers: Hello, and welcome to this week’s edition of Interaction, live from Cape Town, South Africa. We are here to talk about yesterday’s draw for the 2010 Men’s World Cup. Who will have an easy trip to the second round? Who will face the greatest challenge? Which match are you most looking forward to? Which match will you sleep through? To address these questions and more, we have assembled a panel of some of the world’s greatest football experts, as well as Charlize Theron.

Theron: Hey!

Myers: What?

Theron: I’m an expert! I know all about the World Cup, and the offside rule, and... okay, well, that’s about it.

Myers: Good. Well, as I say, we do have some great football minds here with us. Joining us first is a longtime defender for the Korea Republic, and currently the manager of the Korea Rep’s under 20 national side, Mr Hong Myung Bo.

Hong: Good evening.

Myers: Next is Republic of Ireland manager Mr Giovanni Trapattoni.

Trapattoni: Hello.

Myers: From Brazil, a FIFA accredited referee for over ten years, Mr Carlos Simon.

Simon: Hello Debbie.

Myers: And of course, as we mentioned, an Academy Award winner, and the cohost for last night’s draw, Ms Charlize Theron.

Theron: Hi Debbie.

Myers: Welcome to all of you. We’ll start with you, Bo. What was your initial reaction to being drawn into Group B alongside Argentina, Nigeria, and Greece?

Hong: Well, joy, to be frank, Debbie. I think we Koreans are all looking forward to this tournament. We all remember our wonderful performance at the 2002 edition, and while another trip to the semifinals is quite an ambitious goal, I think that we have a good chance at reaching the round of sixteen at the least.

Myers: All right. Giovanni, Ireland, of course, famously did not qualify. How did you feel about this draw?

Trapattoni: Debbie, I must confess that I was disappointed that France got a fairly easy draw. I was hoping that the football gods would punish them, if you take my meaning. Regardless, there are a great many interesting matches to be played. I for one am looking forward to the England-USA match. That should be a great one.

Myers: Carlos, you have served as a referee at many international tournaments, including the 2002 and 2006 Men’s World Cups. Do you, as a referee, have any preferences as to which sort of matches you would like to officiate?

Simon: I think most of us referees would prefer to officiate matches that are played at a high level between good teams who want very much to win, but to do so cleanly with fair play. Certainly the match between Italy and Ghana at the 2006 World Cup was greatly enjoyable. It was, after all, Italy’s first match of what would turn out to be a championship performance. Any match such as that one would be a delight.

Myers: Turning to you now, Charlize, you assisted FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke in conducting the draw. What was the highlight for you?

Theron: Getting a kiss from David Beckham.

Myers: Did I not hear you calling him “sweetie”?

Theron: You may have.

Myers: All right. How do you feel about South Africa being drawn into Group A with Mexico, Uruguay, and France?

Theron: I was expecting it. I was expecting a difficult draw like that. No one gets off easy in these sorts of things, but that is certainly a difficult draw.

Myers: Well, no doubt you at home have many questions you would like to pose to our panellists. You can do so now using your telephone, your text messaging device, your E-mail client, your facsimile machine, or your snail mail apparatus. The various numbers and codes needed to do those are currently being displayed on your screen, immediately below a list of odds for the World Cup title. Good news for England there. So we are ready for our first question, and it is a text message from Candy in Inglewood, CA, USA. Candy would like to know wtf whyd england get gr8 draw. Charlize, you were there. Wtf whyd england get gr8 draw?

Theron: I think it was bc got totaly lucky w/balls lol.

Myers: Okay. Thank you for that. Our next question is from Tom in Johannesburg, South Africa. Tom, are you there?

Tom in Johannesburg: Yes, I am.

Myers: Hello Tom. What is your question?

Tom in Johannesburg: Firstly I would like to welcome all football fans from around the world to South Africa, and I hope you have a wonderful time in our country. My question is, which match in the first round do you in the panel think will be the most important? Thank you, and I an excited to welcome all of you to our country.

Myers: All right. Thank you Tom. Most important first round match. Giovanni?

Trapattoni: I mentioned the England-USA match earlier, but I actually believe that the most important match in the first round will be the Portugal-Ivory Coast match.

Myers: Really? Portugal and Côte d’Ivoire? Why is that?

Trapattoni: That will likely be the match for second place in that group. Assuming Brazil are the top team in the group, Portugal and Ivory Coast would be playing for second place.

Myers: And that is in fact the first match of the group, on the fifteenth of June.

Trapattoni: And I believe that neither side can afford a slipup in that first match.

Myers: Well, that’s certainly a good point. Bo, which match would you consider the most important?

Hong: I don’t know. Germany and Ghana will be a good one, but I have to say, I am also looking forward to the match between England and the United States.

Myers: Well, you in fact played two years with the Los Angeles Galaxy, Bo.

Hong: Yes, I did.

Myers: And that match will feature two Galaxy stars in the USA’s Landon Donovan and England’s Dave Beckham. Did you play alongside either of them?

Hong: No, I didn’t. I retired after the 2004 season, and Landon joined the Galaxy in 2005. But he was a member of San Jose at the time, so I did play against him several times.

Myers: And Beckham? Have you ever played against him?

Hong: Yes, I have. We played a friendly against England shortly before the 2002 World Cup.

Myers: And what were your impressions of England in that match?

Hong: Well, it was nearly eight years ago, so it was a different side, obviously. But yes, England played very well, and they had a good attack that kept us busy in the defense.

Myers: And how do you think the Group C match between those sides will proceed?

Hong: Well, Debbie, I think it will actually go the USA’s way, at least early on. They will be looking to start their campaign with a bang. England will be playing cautiously, but the USA will score in the fourteenth minute through a header by Clint Dempsey off a Donovan cross. That will awaken England, and they will have the majority of possession through the remainder of the first half. Peter Crouch and David Beckham will be brought on early in the second half, and when England receive a free kick thirty five yards out in the 65th minute, Fabio Capello’s substitutions will prove prescient as Beckham’s free kick is headed in by Crouch at the far post, which everyone will agree would have been headed clear by Oguchi Onyewu were his knee completely healthy. And so the match will end at 1-1, leaving both sides to fall behind in the group, behind whichever team wins the other match.

Myers: And which team will that be?

Hong: How should I know? Am I a psychic?

Myers: Okay then. We have time for one more question, and it is an E-mail from Alex in Northampton, England, UK. Alex asks why everyone is considering Group G the Group of Death. He believes that Group E, with the Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, and Cameroon, is the most challenging group. Charlize?

Theron: Don’t be silly. Japan and Cameroon don’t match up against Holland or Denmark. But Group G has three quality sides, plus a dark horse that you simply cannot count out.

Simon: I agree.

Theron: Really? Because I was totally making that shit up.

Simon: Then you are good at making up shit. But I don’t agree with you about Japan and Cameroon. I think all four teams in that group can play well.

Trapattoni: I agree with you.

Myers: Good. Now that we’re all in agreement, excepting those of us who are not, it’s time to close things out for tonight. Thank you to Ms Charlize Theron, Mr Carlos Simon, Mr Giovanni Trapattoni, and Mr Hong Myung Bo for being here with us. Next week we will be back in Warwickshire, and our topic will be rail transit around the world and why Europe is still setting the bar. Our guests will be one of the world’s leading train conductors, one of the world’s leading trainspotters, one of the world’s leading train builders, and one of the world’s leading train ticket sellers. Join us then, won’t you? And please send us your questions for these experts whilst you’re waiting. From Cape Town, good night.

Theron: Hey Carlos, want some cereal?

Simon: Does it make sounds when you add milk?

Theron: It sure does. [adds milk]

Cereal: AAOOOOGAH!