NEW YORK — With the United States in a tough first-round group with Italy, the Czech Republic and Ghana, Claudio Reyna sees a perilous path to the knockout stage of next year's World Cup — for everyone in the group.

"Teams will be also concerned about us. I think we need to realize that," the U.S. captain said after Friday's draw. "We've earned respect from the last appearance in the World Cup and our current ranking. We know we have players that can also hurt the opponents."

The Americans open June 12 against the Czech Republic, the world's second-ranked team. Next up is three-time champion Italy on June 17, followed by four-time African champion Ghana on June 22.

Back at the 1990 tournament in Italy, a nervous bunch of post-college all-stars was beat up 5-1 by Czechoslovakia in the Americans' first World Cup appearance in 40 years. Then they lost 1-0 to the Italians in Rome before exiting with a 2-1 loss to Austria.

"I sat in the stands in Italy and shook my head," U.S. coach Bruce Arena said following the draw in Leipzig. "And not to disrespect the performance of our players, but it was so obvious to me at that point in time that we had a long way to go, and 16 years later we get to replay these matches. So it will be interesting to see where we are."

The Americans have never beaten any of their three opponents, and their group is the only one with three nations among the top 12 in the FIFA world rankings: the Czechs are second, the Americans eighth and the Italians 12th. They're 0-3-2 against Italy, never played Ghana and had just that one match against the Czechs. British bookmaker William Hill increased the U.S. odds from 80-1 to 100-1 after the draw.

"I'm optimistic that we can qualify out of the group, regardless of what anyone else thinks," Arena said. "I think we're capable of playing with any team in the world."

After beating Portugal and Mexico at the 2002 World Cup and outplaying Germany for much of a 1-0 quarterfinal loss, American players are confident. The only holdover from the 1990 team in goalkeeper Kasey Keller, voted 2005 U.S. player of the year.

"If you are Italy or Czech, you can't take the U.S. or Ghana for granted," midfielder DaMarcus Beasley said.

Players were dispersed around the United States and Europe as they watched the draw ceremony on television.

"I think it's a group where we can have a lot of success," forward Eddie Johnson said. "I think we can go in with great confidence and match up really well."

The Czechs advanced to the 2004 European Championship semifinals before losing to Greece 1-0 in overtime and were the top-scoring European team in qualifying with 37 goals. Led by Pavel Nedved, the 2003 European player of the year, they have a strong corps that includes Tomas Rosicky, Milan Baros and Vladimir Smicer.

Jan Koller, second in European qualifying with nine goals, may miss the tournament after tearing knee ligaments in September.

"Please write down, 'Italy is the favorite,'" Czech coach Karel Bruckner said.

Italy, known as the Azzurri, has a fan base that expects a World Cup title from an underachieving team that hasn't won the championship since 1982.

"I don't think they're as strong as they've been in the past," Johnson said. "Italian soccer isn't as good as it used to be."

Newcomers Luca Toni and Alberto Gilardino join veterans Francesco Totti and Alessandro Del Piero in the attack, while Andrea Pirlo is outstanding in midfield and Alessandro Nesta anchors the defense.

"Two of the teams drawn with Italy have a higher FIFA ranking, but we don't feel inferior," Italy coach Marcelo Lippi said.

Ghana, nicknamed the Black Stars, is in the World Cup for the first time, but was African champion in 1963, 1965, 1978 and 1982 and outscored opponents 24-4 in qualifying. Michael Essien, a tough-tackling midfielder who plays for Chelsea, is among the five finalists for African player of the year.

"It's going to be very difficult," Ghana coach Ratomir Dujkovic said. "This is going to be big pressure on my players."

If the U.S. team advances to the second round, it most likely would play defending champion Brazil, Croatia or Australia. What will Arena do if the Americans get past the first round?

"I'll be drinking in the hotel bar," he said.