World Cup Draw: There's No Group of Death

If he's still among the living, there's a sports reporter out there who probably wished he'd kept his mouth shut in 1970.

That's when he looked at Group 3 after the draw for slots at the World Cup in Mexico and noticed a pair of powerhouses combined with two strong challengers -- Brazil, England, Romania and Czechoslovakia -- and labelled it the Group of Death.

In World Cup terms, don't we wish.

The phrase really took off when Mexico hosted the tournament again in 1986. This time, it was Uruguayan coach Omar Borras who launched it into perpetuity. However, he used is as a double entendre.

Uruguay has never been a shrinking violet between the lines, and that group included the West Germans, Scots, and Danes. Those three didn't mind a physical challenge, and like the masters, gave as good as they got.

So, when capsules were pulled from the bowls in Moscow's State Kremlin Palace, two thoughts were on everyone's mind:

• How's the draw gonna be rigged this time, and
• Which pool will be the dreaded Group of Death?

With the tournament expanded to 32 clubs, it was relatively simple to keep the favorites separated. The only drama there was how they'd project into the brackets.

The anticipation would be where the clubs in the second bowl would be placed and whether any of the Scandinavian sides in the third bowl -- Sweden, Iceland, and Denmark -- could actually serve to create a Group of Death.

This year's designee is a matter of perspective.

As far as Mexico's concerned, though, they're in it:

It would behoove Mexico to think Group F's the one.

That way, if they don't make the bracket, they can at least claim they had the toughest qualifier.

Given how weak CONCACAF was in this qualifying cycle, El Tri is kidding itself. And yes, Sweden knocked out the Italians, but Bowl 3 was where they deserved to be. They're evenly matched, probably, but it's not a Death match.

Frankly, if any group's gonna morph into Death status, this tourney's gonna need a few upsets.