There are plenty of Americans still involved in the UEFA Europa League, but none will play against each other until the knockout stage at the earliest after Friday's draw revealed this season's 12 groups.
Jozy Altidore has been on fire as of late, and his AZ Alkmaar has a favorable outlook in Group G. Jonathan Spector's Birmingham City, on the other hand, got placed in a balanced Group H that includes 2011 Europa League runner-up Braga, Club Brugge and Maribor, the team that ended Rangers' hopes on Thursday.
Fulham's return to the Europa League group stage pits Clint Dempsey's team in Group K along with Dutch power FC Twente.
Brad Friedel's Tottenham and Atletico Madrid each figure to have strong showings in the tournament, but each also drew tough group assignments. Atletico drew Udinese and Stade Rennes in Group I, while Spurs must contend with Rubin Kazan in Group A. Group games begin on Sept. 15
Here are the groups for the 2011-2012 Europa League:
GROUP A - Tottenham, Rubin Kazan, PAOK FC, Shamrock Rovers
GROUP B - FC Copenhagen, Standard Liege, Hannover 96, FC Vorskla Poltava
GROUP C - PSV Eindhoven, Hapoel Tel Aviv, FC Rapid Bucuresti, Legia Warsaw
GROUP D - Sporting Clube de Portugal, Lazio, FC Zurich, FC Vaslui
GROUP E - Dynamo Kyiv, Besiktas, Stoke City, Maccabi Tel Aviv
GROUP F - Paris-St. Germain, Athletic Bilbao, FC Salzburg, SK Slovan Bratislava
GROUP G - AZ Alkmaar, FC Metalist Kharkiv, FK Austria Wien, Malmo FF
GROUP H - SC Braga, Club Brugge, Birmingham City, Maribor
GROUP I - Atletico Madrid, Udinese, Stade Rennes, FC Sion
GROUP J - Schalke 04, FC Steaua Bucuresti, Maccabi Haifa, AEK Larnaca
GROUP K - FC Twente, Fulham, Odense BK, Wislaw Krakow
GROUP L - Anderlecht, AEK Athens, FC Lokomotiv Moscow, SK Sturm Graz
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Which group do you think is toughest? How do you see the teams with Americans faring?
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