Group G: England / USA / Algeria / Slovenia
FIFA World Ranking: 14
Manager: Bob Bradley
Captain: Carlos Bocanegra
World Cup Appearances: 9
Best Performance: 1930 Third Place
The 2009 Confederations Cup put the Americans on the map as a potential threat to top teams. The USMNT looks to make history in South Africa with a fast and fit squad of now mostly European clubs. Although not featuring many starters in their recent friendly with Czech Republic, the US failed to impress. Days later, the US came from behind to beat Turkey 2-1 before their sendoff to South Africa. The Red, White, and Blue will face England in the opening game of Group C and hope to match their performance in 1950 that has been dubbed the “Miracle on Grass.” England were 3-1 favorites to win the whole tournament and after the 1-0 defeat, papers in England read a victory of 10-0 or 11-0. The US, by the way, represents the best performance in the World Cup from a country outside of Europe and South America. The United States placed third in the first ever World Cup in Uruguay.
The USA attack is led by Landon Donovan, Jose Altidore, and Clint Dempsey, all who play or have played in England. Carlos Bocanegra and Oguchi Onyewu will anchor the defense.
Roster:
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, England), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton, England), Tim Howard (Everton, England)
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes, France), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany), Jay DeMerit (Watford, England), Clarence Goodson (IK Start, Norway), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan, Italy), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United, England).
Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany), Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus, Denmark), Stuart Holden (Bolton Wanderers, England), Jose Torres (Pachuca, Mexico).
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Hull City, England), Edson Buddle (LA Galaxy), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Herculez Gomez (Puebla, Mexico).
Group Stage Fixtures:
6/12 18:30 GMT vs England
6/18 14:00 GMT vs Slovenia
6/23 14:00 GMT vs Algeria
Prediction:
The US will face their biggest challenge in their first match versus England. A defeat by a large margin could mean disaster for the Stars and Stripes, but look for the boys to come out of the knockout stages behind England, most likely to face Germany in the second round. Could be considered a sleeper team, as they were in the Confederations Cup, but the USA is no longer a surprise in International football.
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