England, US To Meet In 2010 World Cup In South Africa

United States winger Landon Donovan was upbeat after being drawn in Group C with England, Algeria and Slovenia for the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa.

Donovan, the USA's all-time leading goalscorer, has a potential head-to-head meeting with Los Angeles Galaxy team-mate David Beckham when the two countries open their Group C campaigns in Rustenberg.

"It could have been worse," Donovan said after watching the draw from New York. "It's going to be fun. Depending on where I play, playing against [Frank] Lampard, [Steven] Gerrard in a midfield against those guys is going to be pretty fun.

"I can't think of a better match-up personally."

Meanwhile, England boss Fabio Capello was keen to preach caution after his team's fairly easy-looking World Cup draw telling Sky Sports News: "We know two of the teams - the United States and Slovenia - from friendly games but we don't know Algeria.

"With the draw, people will think it is easy but I think we have to respect all of the teams.

"I know from my experience as a player that when you play here (in the World Cup) the pressure is different and the mentality is different.

"We have to respect the teams we have to play against. For me, no groups are easy. We have to play the first game which will be the most difficult. If we win the first game then in the second you play in a more relaxed way because you don't need the points to qualify."

As for how much he knows of Algeria, Capello was brutally honest: "Nothing," he said. "I saw only some moments of the play-off games against Egypt. I saw goals they scored but not too much to understand much about them.

"For me it's important to see a lot of videos of games they have played."

Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber was thrilled with the draw when it matched the USA and England in the opening Group C encounter: "This particular game is very important for MLS as it should have two of our biggest stars playing against each other on the world's stage. It will be an exciting day for soccer in this country as we have an incredibly special matchup that has the potential to draw a massive audience on ESPN and Univision.".

"It's a matchup that has the potential to be one of the most memorable games in the history of our country. We are playing against a team that has so many connections with us, and it is an opportunity to replay the 1950 World Cup."