The U.S. men’s national team has played plenty of important matches against tough competition in recent years.
The challenged posed by a strong English team will make the match important enough, but the appeal added by England’s star power and all the long-standing ties between the United States and England have turned the match into much more than just another World Cup clash.
“It’s kind of special,” U.S. national team goalkeeper Tim Howard said. “I think our country is going to stop, I really do. I think everyone is going to stop and be watching, have one eye on the result.”
The United States will go in as underdogs, but the team’s success in last summer’s Confederations Cup has raised expectations. That, coupled with what is expected to be a record- breaking television audience, will pile on even more pressure to a United States team expected to reach the World Cup Round of 16.
“It’s a lot of pressure but it's also pretty cool to see how far we’ve come,” Howard said. “There’s a lot of pressure on us to win and to get a result. It’s a massive game, and I’ve said all along that I’d much prefer to play England in the first game than the last game, because it is such a massive game and we are so ready and prepared and hyped up.”
The Americans will face an England squad that boasts international stars Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, Coached by highly-respected manager Fabio Capello, England is being projected by some to make a deep World Cup run. That is even after losing captain Rio Ferdinand to a knee injury.
“Last year (in the Confederations Cup) we learned that very clearly,” Donovan said. “We thought we were out after two games and we played a great game against Egypt and it changed everything. We have to keep the big picture in mind, for sure.”
The United States stand a good chance of starting most of the same lineup that upset Spain last summer. Red-hot striker Edson Buddle is looking like the favorite to fill in the spot filled by Charlie Davies, while Steve Cherundolo appears likely to get the nod over Jonathan Spector at right back.
If Buddle is called on to start alongside Jozy Altidore at forward, the midfield is likely to be the same foursome that defeated Spain, with Landon Donovan on the left, Michael Bradley and Ricardo Clark in the middle and Clint Dempsey on the right. If Beasley or Holden earn the start, then Dempsey would move into a second striker role.
Another potential scenario could see Altidore benched in favor of Buddle, with speedy Robbie Findley started alongside his fellow MLS striker. Altidore wouldn’t go as far as to say his ankle was 100 percent on Thursday, and he also made a point to add the disclaimer “if I’m called on to start.” If Altidore isn’t fully recovered, Bob Bradley could very well send the speedy Findley at a relatively slow English central defense, with Altidore offering a second-half alternative.
The United States defense should feature Carlos Bocanegra at left back, with Oguchi Onyewu and Jay DeMerit in central defense, especially given Bob Bradley’s assertions that Onyewu is healthy and capable of playing 90 minutes.
Ives Galarcep is a senior writer for FoxSoccer.com who will be covering U.S. Soccer and MLS.
