Team Guide: USA

The USA team deserves your sympathy. Ignored at home by a soccer-resistant population and hated abroad for George Bush's foreign policy, this is a team caught between a rock and a hard place. And to make things worse they've been drawn into Group E, so put down those anti-war placards and say "howdy" to team USA.

USA, Group E

12 June vs Czech Republic (5pm*, Gelsenkirchen)
17 June vs Italy (8pm, Kaiserslauten)
22 June vs Ghana (3pm, Nuremberg)
*all times BST

World Ranking 5 (no, seriously)

How They Qualified
Panama, Guatemala and the rest of CONCACAF don't scare many, and these easyish games are part of the reason for the artificially high FIFA rankings enjoyed by the US (5) and Mexico (4). But you can only beat what's in front of you and the US topped the group courtesy of a famous 2-0 win over Mexico.

World Cup History
Semi-finalists at the inaugural 1930 World Cup, this is a nation that peaked early. An unexpected 1-0 win over England in 1950, was followed by 40 years in the World Cup wilderness. Italia '90 brought three straight defeats but an inspired performance as hosts saw them through to the second round in 1994, before a return to losing ways at France '98 (featuring coach Steve Sampson's infamous 3-6-1 formation.) Sampson was duly replaced by Bruce Arena, who led a young team to the quarter finals in Japorea 2002.

Star Man

Landon Donovan will wear 21 but he's very much a number 10. Slight but skillful, the Los Angeles Galaxy star will play as either a second striker or attacking midfielder, and the US will rely on their 'all time assist leader' to unpick opposition defences (or dee-fenses). Donovan will also have a point to prove to the Germans, after two frustrating spells at Bayer Leverkusen.

Here's what Bruce Arena had to say about his playmaker: “Four years ago he was just an excited player going to a World Cup. This time around he’s one of those players that realises the challenge of the World Cup and the responsibility he has now as a more senior player on our team, and we’ll see if we can get performances from him game in game out for 90 minutes.”

Strengths
Arena has earned total devotion from his players, and they follow his carefully thought out game-plans to the letter. With a top keeper in Kasey Keller, and a solid group of defenders (particularly Standard Liege's gigantic Oguchi Onyewu) they won't be easy to break down. A high tempo, high pressure counter-attacking strategy should utilise the talents of PSV winger DaMarcus Beasley and playmaker Landon Donovan.

Weaknesses
Will rely heavily on Brian McBride up front, but the Fulham forward will turn 34 during the tournament. Brian Ching and Josh Wolff are unconvincing replacements, while Eddie Johnson's 9 goals in 15 appearances have all come against CONCACAF cannon fodder. One important mental aspect: the USA have never had a good European based World Cup.

Did you know?
The first ever World Cup hat-trick was scored by American Bert Patenaude in 1930.

Odds 66-1 Blue Sq

Verdict
If Italy or the Czech Republic fail to take them seriously, the USA could make it out of Group E. Equally, the Americans should be careful not to focus too much on the big boys and underestimate the Ghanaians. With a well organised defence but a lack of firepower, it's entirely possible for this team to draw all three games and just miss out.

Daryl Grove