Fulham striker Clint Dempsey's 55th-minute goal was the difference between the two sides at the Luigi Ferraris stadium.

Italy had numerous chances to equalise but was denied by some good goalkeeping from Everton's Tim Howard.

The United States, which had failed to beat Italy in its previous 10 attempts, claimed its fourth straight win under coach Jurgen Klinsmann, while Italy suffered its second straight loss after defeat against Uruguay in November.

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli had emphasised the importance of the game as he looked ahead to EURO 2012, and was keen to test alternatives in attack.

The home side was without injured strikers Antonio Cassano and Giuseppe Rossi, while Manchester City forward Mario Balotelli and Roma striker Daniel Osvaldo were omitted after breaching Prandelli's code of conduct due to recent indiscipline with their clubs.

Prandelli played Alessandro Matri alongside Sebastian Giovinco in attack and Italy almost went ahead in the fifth minute when Christian Maggio set up Thiago Motta and his shot from close range was saved by Howard.

The home side continued to push forward and in the 19th minute Giovinco saw his goal-bound effort saved by Howard.

The USA was limited to long-range shooting and midway through the first half Maurice Edu's powerful drive from 30 yards went wide.

At the other end, Andrea Pirlo fed Domenico Criscito and his diagonal effort towards the far post was saved by Howard.

Dempsey was the first to test Gianluigi Buffon in the 38th minute with a right-footed shot from 30 yards that was kept out by the goalkeeper.

The host ended the opening half in attack and Howard kept out Motta's attempt from outside the area.

The United States took a surprise lead early in the second half when Jozy Altidore superbly controlled Fabian Johnson's cross from the left and set up Dempsey, who made no mistake from 10 yards.

Prandelli made a double substitution on the hour mark, bringing on striker Giampaolo Pazzini and handing Roma forward Fabio Borini his debut.

Italy twice had the chance to equalise as Pazzini found Borini in the area and his central effort from 10 yards was saved by Howard.

Pazzini shot wide from a good position as Italy wasted another good opportunity.

With seconds remaining, substitute Riccardo Montolivo fired inches wide of the far post from outside the area.

The Los Angeles Galaxy forward, who enjoyed a successful second loan spell with English Premier League side Everton in the Major League Soccer off-season, is suffering from bronchitis and will miss the match in Genoa.

Nurnberg defender Timmy Chandler and Pachuca midfielder Jose Torres have also been forced out, both by hamstring injuries.

Coach Jurgen Klinsmann has called up FC Dallas winger Brek Shea and Anderlecht midfielder Sacha Kljestan to his squad following the withdrawals, with further additions still possible ahead of the game.

The attacking pair were among 21 players selected for Wednesday's (Thursday AEDT) match in Genoa.

Borussia Dortmund forward Terrence Boyd was the only newcomer on the squad announced on Thursday. He had been selected last week for the American under-23 team for a friendly against Mexico, also on February 29.

Goalkeeper Brad Guzan, who made seven starts for Aston Villa while Shay Given was injured in December and January, was selected for the first time since November 2010.

Just four players are from Major League Soccer, which is in its preseason. Six are based in Germany, four in England, two each in Denmark and Scotland, and one apiece in Italy, Mexico and the Netherlands.

Craig Levein's side will take on its host in Jacksonville on Saturday, 26 May, a week after the Scottish Cup final.

Scotland will end a training camp with a friendly against Jurgen Klinsmann's side at EverBank Field, the home of NFL team Jacksonville Jaguars.

Levein said: "Following the match against Slovenia in February, this provides another opportunity to get the group together ahead of the World Cup 2014 qualifiers in September.

"We will have an extended period together in May, with a training camp in the USA prior to the match on the 26th, which is very important as we prepare for the qualifiers.

"We're all looking forward to this match, which gives us a chance to test ourselves against a nation that is emerging as one of the top sides in world football."

The countries last met in 2005 at Hampden when Andy Webster scored Scotland's goal in a 1-1 draw. The previous meeting in the US was a goalless draw in Washington in 1998.

Redknapp is the overwhelming favourite to succeed Fabio Capello as England manager after the Italian's shock resignation last week.

Although Redknapp admits it would be heart-breaking to leave a club where he has enjoyed so much success, the 64-year-old has already declared his interest in taking on the national side, conceding last week that the role would be the 'ultimate' for any English manager.

United States coach Klinsmann, a fan favourite from two playing spells at Spurs, has been mentioned as a possible successor but he played down those rumours.

He said: "I'm very happy in my role as USA manager and busy preparing for the start of World Cup qualifying this summer."

Redknapp was last week cleared of two charges of tax evasion in a draining 13-day trial and he has now taken a break for a few days to rest and recuperate ahead of this weekend's FA Cup game against League Two side Stevenage.

The former Portsmouth manager did little to dampen speculation that he wants to take the national job by talking at length about the England team after his side's 5-0 win over Newcastle United.

The win, which kept Tottenham within seven points of the Premier League summit, was thanks in no small part to the efforts of Emmanuel Adebayor.

The Togo striker, who is on a season-long loan from Manchester City, set up the London side's first four goals before adding one of his own in the second half.

The goal - his first in 713 minutes of competitive action - came as a huge relief to the former Arsenal man.

"I had a tough time. I didn't score for a few games but I came back and scored and I made a lot of assists," Adebayor told Spurs TV Online. "It's good for the confidence. We are all human. When you go through four, five, six games without scoring you start questioning yourself.

"You start saying: 'what is happening? What is wrong?'

"I got some stick from my team-mates as well - in a good way - so I was happy to score and to help the team win.

"I've worked hard in training and my team-mates all believe in me and what I can do."

It was also a successful day for Spurs new boy Louis Saha.

Many had questioned why Redknapp signed the 33-year-old, but he linked up well with Adebayor to register his first two Tottenham goals inside 20 minutes of his first start.

Former Metz man Adebayor was impressed with how well he worked with Saha, who he knows from their time in France together.

He said: "It was easy because I know him from France and I know how he plays.

"We talked a lot before the game. I know where he goes on the pitch and we talked a lot on the pitch. That made it easy for us."

Redknapp is likely to rest a number of his stars for this weekend's fifth-round clash against Stevenage.

Ledley King, Gareth Bale and Luka Modric are all expected to be rested as Tottenham plays Arsenal and Manchester United in its next two matches.

King, who suffers from a chronic knee injury, is out of contract at the end of the season and Redknapp said earlier this term that he would have to play at least 20 games to earn a new one.

The Spurs club captain, who has made 15 appearances so far this year, is happy to leave discussions about his future until the end of the season.

He said: "I've left it between my agent and the chairman and I have not heard anything at the moment. I'm just keeping my head down and playing as many games as I can and at the end of the season we will see where that is."

The May 30 fixture had been announced last month as part of Brazil's three-match friendly tour of the United States, but the venue had not been named.

Brazil will face Argentina in a battle of South American giants on June 9 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the 80,000-seater stadium that is home to the NFL's Super Bowl champion New York Giants and the New York Jets.

That friendly comes a week after Argentina confront Ecuador in the fifth round of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup hosted by Brazil.

Brazil is also slated to play Mexico in the United States in June.

For the United States, the Brazil match will be a warm-up for CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.

The Americans play a friendly against Italy in Genoa on February 29. They plan to host Scotland on May 26 and will face Canada in Toronto on June 3 in a friendly.

The US and Canada will meet for the CONCACAF championship. Since both teams already qualified, the game is more for the bragging rights of the region that includes North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Tobin Heath, Carli Lloyd and second-half substitute Alex Morgan scored for the US, who has outscored its opposition in this competition 34-0.

Team USA has won three gold medals and a silver.

Puebla President Roberto Henaine used his official Twitter page, to say Johnson would travel to join his new team-mates on Monday.

The 27-year-old former FC Dallas and Kansas City Wizards player had been out of contract since leaving Premier League team Fulham at the end of last season.

Johnson joins fellow US international DaMarcus Beasley at Puebla. Beasley tweeted that "we wanna welcome my boy Eddie Johnson to Puebla!"

While at Fulham, Johnson had loan spells with Cardiff City and Preston North End in the English lower leagues, and with Greek side Aris.

Herzog, who made a record 103 appearances for Austria as a player, had been coaching his country's under-21 team but the OFB said in a statement he had now accepted an offer to become Klinsmann's right-hand man.

The OFB statement read: "Under-21 team manager Andreas Herzog is to leave the OFB.

"Herzog informed OFB president Leo Windtner, general director Alfred Ludwig and sports director Willi Ruttensteiner that he had been made an offer to be an assistant coach to the US national team."

Herzog said: "I have had a close friendship with Jurgen Klinsmann for years and I am going to take on my new job with great confidence.

"I want to thank the OFB, not only for the complication-free resolution of my previous agreement, but also for the opportunity to gain experience in recent years with the A and under-21 national teams."

Windtner added: "For Andreas Herzog, this is a unique opportunity to present himself as a coach on the international stage. Therefore, the OFB will put no obstacles in the way, although we regret his departure and thank him for his work in recent years. We wish Andreas every success in his new job and in January next year we will decide on his successor."

The base salary for Klinsmann's three-year contract, which runs to August 2014, is included in the US Soccer Federation's audited financial statements. The statements do not provide details on bonuses or other income, nor do they list Bradley's salary when he was fired July 28.

According to the US Soccer Federation's 2010 tax return, Bradley earned US$818,244 (A$807,544) for the year ending March 31, 2010, including US$449,025 (A$443,153) in base compensation and US$345,000 (A$340,488) in bonuses.

Klinsmann's salary was first reported by The Washington Post.

An 85th-minute Vilmos Vanczak own goal sealed Poland's success while 10-man Ukraine left it even later as substitute Marko Devic netted in injury-time.

Ukraine led through Artem Milevskiy (17) but a win looked beyond it when Austria's Marko Arnautovic (71) equalised and Oleksandr Kucher was sent off 10 minutes from the end.

Greece's 17-game unbeaten run came crashing to an end as it went down 3-1 at home to Romania.

Giorgos Karagounis (33) had cancelled out Gabriel Torje's 17th-minute opener, but the Romanians won thanks to strikes from Cristian Tanase (60) and Alexsandru Chipciu (81).

Three first-half goals helped the United States to a 3-2 win against Slovenia.

Edson Buddle, Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore (penalty) netted before the break while Tim Matavz scored both goals for the host.

FYR Macedonia and Albania fought out a goalless draw.

Denmark came from behind to beat Finland 2-1 while Serbia lost 2-0 away to Honduras.

The Marseille striker latched onto a pass from fellow substitute Marvin Martin to score the only goal of the game after 72 minutes.

There was a new look to the French side, particularly the defence, where Mathieu Debuchy, Jeremy Mathieu and Laurent Koscielny all won their first caps.

But with the attacking talent of Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema also in the side, it was a firm favourite and worthy of the victory.

For all the host's dominance it was the United States which threatened first when a shot from inside the box from Timothy Chandler brought a save, albeit a comfortable one, out of Hugo Lloris.

Benzema and Mathieu showed good intent down the left after 17 minutes and, though their play was a little too intricate, the ball broke to the Real Madrid man who fired over the bar from 25 yards.

Ribery was next to try his luck in the 27th minute, attempting a clever flick from Debuchy's cross, but he could not find the target.

Moments later Jeremy Menez had a chance from close range but his shot was blocked by Carlos Bocanegra.

In the 34th minute the visitor had a rare attack and Jozy Altidore shot from the edge of the box but his effort was wayward.

Menez was again in the action three minutes later when he fired against the bar from 20 yards.

The Americans started the second period in positive mood with Adil Rami firing wide from distance, before Maurice Edu and Kyle Beckerman each had shots comfortably saved by Lloris.

In the 55th minute France came agonisingly close to opening the story when, from Debuchy's corner, the ball fell to Benzema who headed against the bar.

Moments later France earned a free-kick on the edge of the box which Menez curled towards goal, but Tim Howard saved.

The game was broken up by a raft of substitutions and one of the new men, Remy, brought a save out of Howard in the 69th minute with a strike from 18 yards which the Everton keeper punched away.

Three minutes later France was finally ahead and again it was Remy.

He latched on to a long pass from another substitute, Martin, and took the ball past Howard before dispatching the goal in the empty net.

America searched for an equaliser, causing enough problems for Koscielny to bring down Clint Dempsey on the edge of the area after 77 minutes, earning a booking for his troubles.

Dempsey fired the set-piece wide, however.

And after that the visitor offered little, the last chance falling to France substitute and debutant Olivier Giroud, who could not find the target to double the lead.

Donovan missed last month's friendlies with a strained quadriceps. Donovan and Clint Dempsey, the USA's top two attacking players, haven't been on the pitch together since Jurgen Klinsmann replaced Bob Bradley as coach in July.

US coach Klinsmann said he had expected Donovan to play against France, then return home and miss the friendly in Slovenia four days later.

"The plan was to have Landon come in for the match against France and then return to the LA Galaxy in preparation for MLS Cup, but after further discussion Landon expressed his desire to stay in Los Angeles," Klinsmann said.

"While my preference was to have Landon with us for this important match, I respect his decision."

Klinsmann, the former German superstar who was named US coach on 29 July, has one win and a draw in five matches in the job, his lone triumph a 1-0 US victory over Honduras in a friendly in Miami.

Woods was at the US team training session on Monday, ahead of an exhibition game against Ecuador. Woods has been Everton's goalkeeper coach for 13 years, and Klinsmann says Everton manager David Moyes had given permission for Woods to take the US job while continuing his role with the Toffees.

Tim Howard is the No. 1 goalkeeper for Everton and the US national team.

The 51-year-old Woods had 43 appearances for England from 1985-93, making both his debut and final appearance against the United States.

US Soccer Federation spokesman Neil Buethe said a formal contract with Woods was still being worked on.

Clint Dempsey scored the only goal as the USA edged past Honduras 1-0 at Sun Life Stadium at the weekend to give Klinsmann his first win as national-team coach.

But the 47-year-old, a World Cup winner with West Germany in 1990, was frustrated his side did not win by a bigger margin and urged the forwards to be more selfish at Red Bull Arena.

"I'd like to see more from the strikers, more greed in the box," he said on www.nydailynews.com.

"They need to develop, step by step, more urgency, the greed to finish off chances. Even if it's just an attempt and it doesn't work out, it sends out a signal."

Ecuador heads into the encounter on the back of a 2-0 victory over Venezuela in Quito last start in its opening 2014 World Cup qualifier.

Honduras, meanwhile, takes on Jamaica in La Ceiba.

The Major League Soccer club announced Donovan would receive treatment in Los Angeles after suffering the injury last weekend in a 2-1 home victory over Real Salt Lake.

Edson Buddle of FC Ingolstadt will replace Donovan in the US squad that began training on Tuesday for matches against Honduras this weekend at Miami and Ecuador next week at Harrison, New Jersey.

Donovan has scored 46 goals in 138 international appearances while Buddle has two goals in his seven matches with the national side.

Donovan, the Galaxy captain, did not travel with the club to New York for an MLS match on Tuesday.

He is the Galaxy top scorer this season with 12 goals in 23 MLS matches while English team-mate David Beckham leads the US league with 15 assists.

The 47-year-old has drawn up a list of talented players from around the world who are qualified to play for the United States and is looking to develop potential stars to eventually play for the national team.

Former Germany coach Klinsmann took over at the helm of the US team at the end of July, but is still waiting for his first victory after a draw with Mexico was followed by defeats to Costa Rica and Belgium.

"The issue of dual citizenship is something with which every country in the football world is engaged in," the 47-year-old told German daily Die Welt.

"If you look at what happened in Germany in the last 10 years, one can see that there are now a number of good players with dual citizenship."

Klinsmann's native Germany has gone down that route several times in the past, notably recruiting forwards Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski, who were both born in Poland.

Brazilian-born striker Cacau has also gone on to represent Germany, while midfielder Mesut Ozil could have played for Turkey.

Klinsmann's idea is not unique.

"It started in the 90s, if you look at the French team at the 1998 World Cup, then you see where the idea comes from," said Klinsmann after Les Bleus fielded stars Zinedine Zidane, Lilian Thuram and Youri Djorkaeff, all of whom had foreign roots.

Klinsmann has already called up Eintracht Frankfurt defender Timothy Chandler and Schalke midfielder Jermaine Jones, who were born in Germany and have extensive German league experience.

And he is interested in Hoffenheim defender Fabian Johnson, who was born in Munich but is also qualified to play for the US.

Costa Rica upset the US 1-0 in Los Angeles, denying the former German coach and international playmaker his first victory since being named coach of the Americans on 29 July.

Klinsmann, who settled for a 1-1 draw with Mexico in his US coaching debut last month, said he was not unhappy with his team's performance in defeat but the players must toughen up on scoring opportunities to improve.

"The next step they need to get to is to be even more determined," said Klinsmann. "There needs to be another piece of determination, another piece of being greedy for that goal. A bit more nastiness is part of it too.

"The physical part of it is where we need to step up more and be more hungry and finish off one of our chances."

Klinsmann is trying to instil his attacking system of play on the American team and test combinations to find what works and what does not.

"Players are starting to learn what it means to play your way through and keep a high tempo and a high pace," Klinsmann said.

"We saw here and there players getting tired. They had a couple of minutes where they were really struggling, but they need to learn to go through those minutes and fight their way through.

"They got a second and third breath in periods during the game and did excellent with the way they combined and the way they looked for each other and the way they kind of passed their way out of difficult and tight spaces.

"There was confidence there. There was technical ability there."

US veteran Landon Donovan, a Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder, expects more familiarity with Klinsmann's system will bring success.

"We've spent a lot of time on the field trying to understand what he wants us to do," Donovan said. "As time goes on we'll get better."

Whether that happens in time to beat Belgium in Brussels is another question.

"Belgium will be another good experience for them," Klinsmann said. "We want to try to develop that style of play that we are confident on the ball and that we try to pass our way through difficult situations and tight spaces.

"It will take time."

US captain Carlos Bocanegra expects the Belgians to be just the right test for the Americans.

"It's going to be a tough game and another challenge for us," he said. "They are a quality team in Europe and it's good for some of our younger guys to get that opportunity. It will be a good test."

US midfielder Jose Torres said it's too soon to judge Klinsmann's impact on the team.

"Everything is going well," he said. "He has given me the opportunity to play free. He tells me to get on the ball and attack a lot more. That gives me a lot of confidence."

The Costa Ricans took the lead in the 65th minute when Wallace scored off a rebound from a Tim Howard save. The goal was the first for the defender, who made his debut for Costa Rica.

The Americans made a lively start, but as the match wore on, were drawn into a physical match that featured five yellow cards.

The U.S. had its chances in the second half, the best coming in the 71st minute when Jose Francisco Torres fired a shot that was saved by Costa Rica keeper Keilor Navas.

The United States next plays Belgium in Brussels on 6 September.

Klinsmann has named a strong 22-man group that includes Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard, Los Angeles Galaxy star and US captain Landon Donovan, and the son of Klinsmann's predecessor Bob Bradley, Michael Bradley.

"One of the goals of the roster for this game and moving forward is to create competition at each position," said Klinsmann. "There are many players who are established as well as many players who will get opportunities, and we want there to be a healthy contest for spots on the roster.

"We will get a good look at where each player is as quickly as we can during the short time in camp, and we will finish with an exciting game against Mexico."

The match, which will be played in Philadelphia, is the United States' first friendly with Mexico since 2008.

Squad: Bill Hamid (DC United), Tim Howard (Everton); Carlos Bocanegra (St Etienne), Edgar Castillo (Club America), Timmy Chandler (Nurnberg), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Michael Orozco Fiscal (San Luis), Heath Pearce (Chivas USA), Tim Ream (New York Red Bulls); Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Borussia Monchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), Jose Torres (Pachuca); Freddy Adu (Benfica), Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls), DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Edson Buddle (FC Ingolstadt), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy).

Klinsmann, who won the 1990 World Cup and 1996 European championship with Germany, said at a news conference that he was excited for the chance to advance the Americans globally.

"This is a big moment for me personally and I'm really proud that I get the opportunity to be a part of the future," Klinsmann said.

"It's about the bigger picture. It's about moving the US team forward and it's an exciting moment."

Klinsmann was named to the post on Friday last week, a day after the firing of Bob Bradley.

The switch was made by US Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati after an evaluation after a US loss to Mexico in June's Gold Cup final.

"After the Gold Cup, we started to review the year and five years. The last 10 to 14 days we came to some conclusions," Gulati said. "The commitment we've made is through the World Cup."

Klinsmann was a prolific scorer at the club level for Stuttgarter Kickers, VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur, Sampdoria and Bayern Munich and coached Germany to third place at the 2006 World Cup on home soil.

He was fired at Bayern Munich in 2009 five games before the end of the season and has since worked in sports marketing.

"This is exciting," Klinsmann said. "One of my challenges will be to find a way to define how the US represents its country and its style of play.

"You build on what was built before. Soccer in the USA has come a long way. The awareness is getting bigger and bigger. It's growing. You can't stop soccer any more in the country."

Klinsmann knows football in American well. He and his American wife moved to California after he retired from playing in 1998.

"It's important to understand your culture," Klinsmann said. "It took me years to understand the completely different setup."

Klinsmann also understands how the US team has earned respect in recent years on the worldwide stage.

"It's amazing to talk to foreign coaches about what's happened in the USA. They admire how far soccer has come," Klinsmann said.

"There are lots of different challenges ahead of us. Come a long way, but a long way to go still."

Klinsmann will make his debut as the US coach on 10 August, when the Americans play host to Mexico at Philadelphia in a friendly against their biggest rival.

"I know already most of the players from watching them," Klinsmann said. "I spoke to five or six players over the weekend and I will call the rest tomorrow."

Klinsmann is still considering who might serve as his assistants.

"I had a great conversation with Claudio Reyna. Spoke to Tab Ramos. But I will take my time," Klinsmann said.

"There are highly qualified coaches all around the US that I don't know so I will talk to people.

"I will not come in with my own staff of assistant coaches."

Gulati is excited to add someone who commands respect through his playing achievements and who has the experience of knowing what it takes to win a World Cup, a perspective lacking in the American dressing room in past campaigns.

"It's a great thing to have someone who has been there, on the winners' stand at the World Cup, at the European championships," Gulati said. "That's a unique situation.

"Jurgen was able to get comfortable very quickly and we look forward to (his contributions) over the next three years."

The Americans were drawn into second round qualifying Group A with the "Reggae Boyz" as well as two teams from first-round play, which begins next November. The second round will run from June through October of 2012.

Two teams from that second round group will advance to the final stage of CONCACAF qualifying in 2013 that features six nations.

The top three from that 2013 round robin will advance to the World Cup while the fourth place team must face a nation from Oceania for a trip to Brazil.

"The preliminary draw is an important starting point as it allows us to begin preparations for our qualifying campaign for the 2014 FIFA World Cup," US Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati said.

"Teams in CONCACAF improve every year and that makes advancing to the World Cup more difficult but we're look forward to the journey and the opportunity to be part of the world's biggest event in what will be an incredible atmosphere."

Joining the Americans and Jamaica will be one team from Grenada, Guatemala, Belize and St Vincent and the Grenadines and one from Haiti, Curacao, Antigua and the US Virgin Islands.

Bob Bradley, who had already signed a contract to coach the Americans through 2014, was fired on Thursday and replaced by Klinsmann, who is now charge with guiding the US squad into a seventh consecutive World Cup finals.

The Americans have a 10-8-0 record against Jamaica and defeated the "Reggae Boyz" in June's CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-finals.

"I am proud and honoured to be named the head coach of the US Men's National Football Team," Klinsmann, who turns 47 on Saturday, told US Soccer.

"I am looking forward to bringing the team together for our upcoming match against Mexico (on August 10 in Philadelphia) and starting on the road towards qualifying for the 2014 World Cup," he said on Friday.

A FIFA World Cup winner and European champion as a player, Klinsmann already has experience of coaching at international level, having led his native Germany to third place at the 2006 World Cup on home soil.

However, he was sacked from his last coaching position at Bayern Munich five games before the end of the 2008-2009 season.

Klinsmann will be formally unveiled at a press conference in New York on Monday.

"We are excited to have Jurgen as the head coach of our men's national team," said US Soccer president Sunil Gulati.

"He is a highly accomplished player and coach with the experience and knowledge to advance the program. Jurgen has had success in many different areas of the game and we look forward to the leadership he will provide on and off the field."

As a player, Klinsmann won the 1990 World Cup and 1996 European Championship, and was also a prolific goalscorer at club level for Stuttgarter Kickers, VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich, and Sampdoria.

He has coached at international level, having led his native Germany to third place at the 2006 World Cup on home soil.

However, he was sacked from his last coaching position at Bayern Munich five games before the end of the 2008-2009 season, and has not worked in a dugout since, choosing instead to devote time to his role as a partner with a sports marketing consultancy.

Klinsmann is very familiar with the US, though, having moved to California with his American wife after retiring from playing in 1998.

He was linked with the US coaching job in 2006, only for US Soccer to opt for Bradley instead, and was also reportedly close to taking charge at LA Galaxy in 2007, before the MLS club appointed Ruud Gullit.

Klinsmann will be formally unveiled at a press conference in New York on Monday, and will be charged with the task of leading the USA to a seventh consecutive World Cup finals.

After taking on Mexico, the team will also have friendly matches against Costa Rica and Belgium to look forward to before the 2014 qualifying campaign begins in earnest.

Bradley was sacked when US Soccer decided it was "time for us to make a change" after the 4-2 defeat to Mexico in the Gold Cup final.

Bradley, 53, had been in charge of the national team since January 2007 and oversaw a triumphant campaign in the Gold Cup later that year.

He also guided the USA to second place in the 2009 Confederations Cup, losing 3-2 to Brazil in the final, but US Soccer president Sunil Gulati felt a new face was needed.

He told www.ussoccer.com: "We want to thank Bob Bradley for his service and dedication to US Soccer during the past five years.

"During his time as the head coach of our men's national team he led the team to a number of accomplishments, but we felt now was the right time for us to make a change."

Gulati also took the opportunity to wish Bradley good luck for the future.

"It is always hard to make these decisions, especially when it involves someone we respect as much as Bob," he said. "We wish him the best in his future endeavours."

US Soccer will make a further announcement on Friday.

New York Red Bulls coach Hans Backe chose the 22 players for the game at Red Bull Arena.

Midfielders Shalrie Joseph of New England, Brad Davis of Houston, and Kyle Beckerman of Real Salt Lake have all been there before, while Mexico's Omar Bravo from Sporting KC, United States defender Heath Pearce of Chivas USA, and Colombian goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon of Philadelphia Union are in the game for the first time.

Missing the contest will be Kasey Keller and Dallas FC midfielder Brek Shea who have CONCACAF Champions League games that week. Mexico star Rafa Marquez (Red Bulls) and American defender Omar Gonzalez (Galaxy) are injured.

The 24-year-old Philadelphia Independence forward has started all five games of Germany 2011 for the Stars and Stripes but failed to hit the back of the net to add to the 17 goals she has scored for the US in 70 appearances.

With the USA bidding for a third World Cup crown to add to their triumphs at the 1991 and 1999 tournaments, Sundhage says she has no plans to drop Rodriguez from her attack, even with youngster Alex Morgan in form.

Alongside veteran Abby Wambach, who scored against Brazil in the quarter-finals and France in the semis, Rodriguez has forged a key partnership for the US and Sundhage says she will keep the pair together.

Sundhage has brought Morgan off the bench in all bar one of the five games at the competition so far and the 22-year-old striker scored the final goal in the 3-1 win over the French.

"Amy Rodriguez played well before the World Cup and played well together with Abby Wambach," said Sundhage.

"I think they have been OK and she (Rodriguez) will score a goal sooner or later.

"I try to avoid looking (negatively) at any one player, there is a reason she hasn't had a breakthrough, it's not only her, it is the team."

The Stars and Stripes have never lost to Japan in 25 meetings since 1986 with 22 wins and three draws.

The Americans have already beaten Japan three times this year, once at the Algarve Cup in March and twice in pre-World Cup friendlies.

But Japan coach Norio Sasaki says his players are ready to pull off another giant-killing feat.

Despite their nickname Nadeshiko - a flower symbolising grace and beauty - the Japanese knocked out the hosts in the quarter-finals and third-placed Sweden in the last four.

They face a formidable challenge in the USA - traditionally the super-power of women's football - who are bidding for a third World Cup title after their victories in 1991 and 1999.

Sasaki says his women have got stronger as the tournament has progressed and this is their time.

"We won against Germany and Sweden, that was empowering and it helped to let us know how strong we really are, the players have got stronger so why not tomorrow?," he said.

"As trainer of Japan, I have lost five times to America, so this is a good time for the gods of football to give me a victory over them."

Captain Homare Sawa is a contender for player of the tournament and says they are determined to make history.

"We don't feel the pressure, we just want to take our chance. We have to give 100 per cent and work together, we have to work hard to steal balls in defence."

Having played in five World Cup tournaments, the 32-year-old refused to say whether victory on Monday could lead to her retirement.

"I am not thinking about the future right now, just about tomorrow's match, nothing past that," she said.

The game at Stade Roi Baudouin will be the fourth meeting between the two countries.

The United States won the first game, a 3-0 victory during the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay.

Belgium won the last two, both played in Brussels, with the teams last playing in 1998.

The friendly will be the first game for the United States since its 4-2 loss to Mexico on 25 June in the Gold Cup final.

Belgium plays Azerbaijan on 2 September in a European championship qualifier.

The Everton star was outraged that the post-match medal ceremony was conducted in Spanish, despite the final being held in California.

Howard admits his use of the f-word was wrong, although he stands by his opinion.

"I would like to apologise for my language," the 32-year-old is quoted as saying in the Liverpool Echo.

"I am the father of young children and I certainly do not believe profanity is appropriate in public comments. I was caught up in the heat of the moment.

"In any important international match with post-game ceremonies you would hope the tournament organisers would make sure the primary language of each participating team is used so the participants can understand what is being said.

"To fail to do this is, in my opinion, disrespectful to the players. When this occurs on your home soil, it is particularly insulting.

"We, as American players, were asked to participate in a post-game ceremony at a match in Los Angeles and we are standing there trying to show good sportsmanship and yet the ceremony is going on and we are just looking at one another struggling to understand a word.

"It was, to be honest, humiliating, and I firmly believe the tournament organisers should not have put us in that position."

The American fullback was forced off during his country's 4-2 Gold Cup final defeat against Mexico with an ankle injury but Hannover boss Mirko Slomka revealed he should be ready to lead out his side come the start of the new Bundesliga campaign.

"The news disturbs our preparation but Stevie will be quickly back to health and well for the new season, he is a very important part of our team," Slomka said.

Cherundolo, 32, has played over 300 games for Hannover and the forthcoming season will be his 13th with the club.

The USA appeared to have taken control of the game as Michael Bradley and Landon Donovan put it two goals to the good inside the first quarter of the game.

But Barrera and Andres Guardado levelled before the break and the former struck again before Giovani Dos Santos clinched victory.

In front of over 93,000 fans, the host took the lead inside eight minutes when Bradley peeled off at the near post to head in Freddy Adu's corner.

It quickly lost defender Steve Cherundolo to injury before Javier Hernandez twice went close to an equaliser, first heading Dos Santos' corner over and then firing Barrera's throughball against the post.

But the USA went 2-0 up when Clint Dempsey's throughball was finished emphatically by Donovan.

Adu shot just wide before Barrera cut the deficit, a low first-time finish from Hernandez's throughball bobbling inside the near post.

And Guardado equalised from close range after Dos Santos' cross caused havoc in the States defence.

Mexico took the lead for the first time four minutes after half-time, Barrera latching onto Guardado's pass and producing a similar finish to that for his first goal, but this time across keeper Tim Howard.

Carlos Bocanegra headed Donovan's cross wide and Dempsey drilled a left-footed effort against the bar as Bob Bradley's side sought a response, while Dos Santos went close for Mexico.

But the impressive Tottenham Hotspur winger saved the best for last as he raced onto Gerardo Torrado's overhit throughball and kept his head to track back to the edge of the box before finding the top corner with a perfectly-weighted chip over the head of defender Eric Lichaj.

The result earns El Tri a place in the 2013 Confederations Cup.

United States reached a fourth consecutive tournament decider as Clint Dempsey scored the only goal in the 1-0 semi-final victory over Panama in Houston.

Fulham ace Dempsey found the net off a cross from substitute Landon Donovan to avenge the Americans' 2-1 loss to Panama earlier in the tournament.

Freddy Adu helped set up the winning goal with a long pass up the field to a streaking Donovan, who was introduced to the game at half-time.

Mexico defeated Honduras 2-0 in the second semi-final.

After a goalless 90 minutes, Aldo de Nigris and Javier Hernandez scored in extra time.

De Nigris put Mexico ahead following a corner in the third minute of extra time, and Manchester United forward Hernandez made it 2-0 six minutes later.

Honduras' Roger Espinoza was sent off for his second yellow card during the second period of extra time.

Altidore sustained a strain to his left hamstring during the United States' quarter-final victory over Jamaica and a scan confirmed the injury.

The 21-year-old is currently on loan at Turkish side Bursaspor from La Liga team Villarreal and the injury will see Altidore miss a large chunk of pre-season training.

Blas Perez equalised in stoppage-time for Panama to cancel out Dwayne De Rosario's 62nd-minute penalty.

Canada missed out on the quarter-finals as USA progressed in second place with a 1-0 win over Guadeloupe.

Jozy Altidore scored the only goal of the game in the ninth minute.

Panama topped the group with seven points, one ahead of USA, with Canada two further back.

The 16-year-old Los Angeles Galaxy striker was born in the United States but his parents are Scottish.

McBean is on international duty at the Under-17 World Cup in Mexico but Levein's chief scout Michael Oliver has confirmed he is on the Scots' radar.

The Scotland boss told the Sunday Mail: "His mum and dad left Troon 21 years ago and Jack was born after they arrived in the USA.

"He is a player with potential, make no mistake.

"I've spoken with his dad Calum and we will get together as soon as we can to see if we can take this further."

Jozy Altidore got the ball rolling after 15 minutes when he met Landon Donovan's cross. The ball crossed the goalline after squeezing beneath Lars Hirschfield, the Canadian keeper should have done better.

Canada improved in the second half but USA held up well and added a second when Fulham forward Clint Dempsey steered home Altidore's cross from a tight angle at the far post.

Panama survived a late Brice Jovial-inspired comeback to see off 10-man Guadeloupe 3-2.

Panama took a seemingly unassailable 3-0 lead after two goals in three first-half minutes from Blas Perez and Luis Tejada and a penalty from Gabriel Gomez in the 57th minute.

With Guadeloupe already a man down thanks to Mickael Tacalfred's 38th-minute red card its cause seemed lost, but Jovial had other ideas.

He came on two minutes into the second half and notched after 65 and 79 minutes, rousing his side to push its opponent all the way to the end.

The move came on the eve of the Americans' opening match in the biennial 12-team North American regional championship, against Canada at Detroit, Michigan.

Bedoya, whose father and grandfather played professionally in their native Colombia, earned his eight caps last year. He has been training with the US squad for the past week and played in the 4-0 friendly loss to Spain.

Feilhaber, also a midfielder, suffered a right ankle injury on 28 May while playing for New England Revolution in a 1-0 Major League Soccer loss to Los Angeles Galaxy.

The victory avenged a loss in the semi-finals of the 2009 Confederations Cup, when the Americans won 2-0 to end top-ranked Spain's 35-match winning streak.

Santi Cazorla, who had not scored for Spain since a September 2009 World Cup qualifier against Estonia, grabbed a double with strikes on 28 and 41 minutes. Both times while unmarked at the top of the penalty area and scoring off deadly passes from Manchester City playmaker David Silva.

Alvaro Negredo netted on 32 minutes for Spain, which started just six of the 11 players who took part in the World Cup final last July.

Torres rounded off the scoring in the 73rd minute after coming off the bench for the second half.

USA was missing star forward Landon Donovan, who was back at the hotel with an undisclosed illness.

However, he is expected to play against Canada in Detroit in USA's CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament opener.

In the glamour international friendly of the weekend, Brazil and Netherlands played out a goalless draw in Goias.

Despite the presence of attacking stars such as Robinho and Neymar for Brazil and Dutch duo Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben, neither side could break down the opposition defence.

Brazil midfielder Ramires was sent off for a second booking on 79 minutes as frustrations boiled over.

Edu's United States team faces Spain in a friendly on Saturday (Sunday AEST) before its Gold Cup campaign begins with group matches against Canada, Panama and Guadeloupe.

The competition, which is being hosted by the US, finishes on June 25, after Rangers return for pre-season training.

But Edu hopes manager Ally McCoist will understand his ambitions to represent his country at every opportunity.

The 25-year told www.rangersfc.co.uk: "It's an important tournament and so far I haven't played in it so I'm looking forward to that.

"I missed the last couple through injury but if we win this one we qualify for the Confederations Cup, which is very important for us.

"It's a short time that I have had off before going back into match mode with my country. It doesn't give much chance for a break, but that's football nowadays.

"I'm sure the gaffer will be sympathetic about my situation when I'm done.

"I'm at a stage in my career where I want to play as many games as possible and I'm getting the chance to do that now so why would I complain?

"As a kid when I first got introduced to the game you dream big. You dream of playing in big games, in big stadiums and of playing for your country.

"Whenever I pull on my country's colours it's a great feeling and I take a great pride every time I get the chance to represent my country."

The 21-year-old midfielder has struggled to fulfill the potential he showed when he joined DC United at 14, being left off the World Cup squad in 2010. But he's recently received regular playing time at Rizespor in Turkey.

US coach Bob Bradley's 23-man squad is heavy on veterans, including Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard, Jozy Altidore and captain Carlos Bocanegra. He also chose up-and-comers Juan Agudelo, Eric Lichaj and Tim Ream for the Gold Cup, involving teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean.

The Americans will begin gathering for training camp Thursday in Cary, North Carolina. After playing Spain in Foxborough, Massachusetts, the U.S. opens Gold Cup group play against Canada on June 7 in Detroit.

United States squad:

Goalkeepers: Tim Howard (Everton), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Nick Rimando (Salt Lake).

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Saint-Etienne), Jonathan Bornstein (Tigres), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Eric Lichaj (Leeds), Oguchi Onyewu (FC Twente), Tim Ream (New York), Jonathan Spector (West Ham).

Midfielders: Freddy Adu (Rizespor), Michael Bradley (Aston Villa), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (New England), Jermaine Jones (Blackburn), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht), Robbie Rogers (Columbus).

Forwards: Juan Agudelo (New York), Jozy Altidore (Bursaspor), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose).

The reigning world and European champion will face Bob Bradley's men at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on 4 June, in their first meeting since the Americans beat Spain 2-0 in the semi-finals of the 2009 Confederations Cup.

The host will use the fixture as its final warm-up game ahead of the continental Gold Cup tournament.

Bradley said: "Spain is clearly one of the most talented teams in the world.

"We value the opportunity to test ourselves against a team of their quality, and we couldn't ask for a better match to prepare for the Gold Cup."

Nani is enjoying his best season to date since joining the Premier League leader and he is hoping to replicate his performances for his country.

"I think I've been doing well this season for my national team and I hope to do much better, the best moment is now," he said.

His former United team-mate Ronaldo has been ruled out of the forthcoming double-header against Chile and Finland and the team, under coach Paulo Bento, will be looking for a better performance than it produced in its previous friendly against Argentina.

Visiting Chile is on an unbeaten run that stretches back to a 2-1 defeat in Ukraine at the start of September, its last friendly was a 1-1 draw against the United States.

Korea Republic meanwhile will start planning for the future without Nani's Manchester United team-mate Park Ji-sung, who announced his international retirement after the Asian Cup.

Honduras is the visitor to Seoul this weekend and South Korea manager Cho Kwang-rae has highlighted finding a replacement for Park as a vital part of the match.

"I am thinking about using Kim Bo-kyong," he said.

"He didn't play at the Asian Cup but he has been looking good in training. Physically he is strong and I have high expectations of him."

Kim was also a non-playing member of the 2010 World Cup squad, and whilst he acknowledges the game against Honduras as a chance for him to get into the team, he isn't looking at himself as a replacement for Park.

"Nobody can take the place of Park Ji-sung in the team but I will do the best I can," said Kim.

"This game is a great opportunity. I don't know when the next one will come around so I want to play with no regret and try to show my ability."

FIFA Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi is part of the Argentina squad which has travelled to New Jersey to play the USA and ahead of Saturday's (Sunday AEDT) game he has received glowing praise from both managers.

Argentina coach Sergio Batista believes his talismanic playmaker will go down as one of the greatest players of all time.

"Messi is on the way to becoming the best footballer in history," he said.

"If one looks into the future, Lionel has everything. Maradona was one of the greatest, without a doubt. But Messi right now is the best in the world, and we have to take advantage of that."

Even USA coach Bob Bradley reserved special praise for the Barcelona star.

"Some players are just on the kind of level where you have huge admiration for them above anything else," he said.

"Messi is one of those. Would I pay to watch him? Without a doubt."

Sunday's (Monday AEDT) friendly between Scotland and Brazil will be held at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium and Scotland defender Christophe Berra has insisted the team is under no illusions as to the size of the task they face against the five time World Cup winner.

"We're not kidding ourselves - it's going to be a difficult game because they're a better team than us with better individuals, but we want to continue our progress."

Friday (Saturday AEDT) will also see England's Euro 2012 qualifying opponent Montenegro host Uzbekistan after their initial friendly in Japan was cancelled following the earthquake and tsunami earlier this month.

Elsewhere on Friday Lithuania hosts Poland, Uruguay travels to Estonia and hosts ChinaNew Zealand.

The remainder of Saturday's friendly action sees Panama play Bolivia, Colombia meet Ecuador and Paraguay take on Mexico in California.

Last week, the country's second team flew to Dallas, Texas, for a four-nation Green Bowl Tournament that was to feature Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica.

But after they arrived following the transatlantic flight, organisers informed them that the event had been put off for another two weeks.

Aminu Maigari, president of the Nigeria Football Federation, said the matter will be taken to FIFA as Nigeria seeks monetary compensation from the organisers.

"We will get all the agreements we had and send these to FIFA," said Maigari, who was to have joined the team in the United States.

"The organisers have to offset all our expenses and also pay us a compensation."

He called the situation "untenable and totally irresponsible on the part of the organisers not to ensure that everything was perfected before telling our team to fly down".

Officials said the organisers blamed the hitch on difficulties with the ticketing system for the tournament.

Nigerian coach Samson Siasia expressed his disappointment over the botched tournament, which he hoped to use to try out players from the domestic league.

"I had planned to use this tournament to discover two, three more players from the league for the main team of the Super Eagles. I would have to wait for another opportunity to do so now," he said.

Nigeria hosts Ethiopia at the end of March in a crucial 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

The Eagles trail group leader Guinea by three points. Madagascar is the other team in the group, with only the overall winner guaranteed an automatic ticket to the tournament to be jointly hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

The match between the US and the reigning Africa Cup of Nations champion Egypt had been announced on December 13 and would have been the first ever in Egypt for a US side.

"Due to the current situation, all parties agreed it was best to cancel the match," US Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati said on Monday.

The next game for the Americans, who are preparing this year for the North American continental championship the Gold Cup in June, will be against Argentina on March 27 at East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Three days later, on another date FIFA has earmarked for official friendlies, the USA will take on another Latin American World Cup quarter-finalist, Paraguay, at Nashville.

US coach Bob Bradley said: "Argentina continues to be one of the most-talented teams in the world, and we are excited to have the opportunity to compete against them. When you talk about the best players around the globe, the Argentines certainly contribute a lot of names to that list."

Regarding Paraguay, he added: "Paraguay showed during the World Cup that they are a creative and organised team capable of being very dangerous in the attack. Both of these matches give us a chance to continue to raise the bar for our team."

Before those games the USA will meet Chile on January 22 before travelling to face Egypt on February 9.

Argentina, limbering up for the July Copa America on home soil, will face Portugal on February 9 in Geneva and have pencilled in a match on March 29 against Costa Rica in San Jose.

The Americans have beaten the seven-time Africa Cup winners in their only prior meetings, the most recent a 3-0 triumph over the Pharoahs at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.

The other US triumph also came at a neutral venue, a 3-1 victory at Seoul in 1987.

US coach Bob Bradley was excited about the chance for the American side to play a first-ever match in Egypt ahead of next June's Gold Cup tournament, the North American continental championship.

"Egypt is an extremely talented and competitive team," Bradley said. "Their performances in the Confederations Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations have demonstrated their ability to challenge the top teams in the world.

"To play against the champions of Africa in what will be a fantastic environment in Cairo is a great opportunity."

The Americans open their 2011 campaign on January 22 against Chile at Los Angeles.

The Pharoahs, ranked 10th in the world by FIFA, went undefeated to win this year's Africa Cup of Nations with Mohamed Nagy scoring five goals and captain Ahmed Hassan being named player of the tournament.

However, unlike the United States they failed to qualify for the World Cup finals, losing in a play-off to bitter rival Algeria.

The Chileans own a 4-3 with one drawn edge in the all-time rivalry, which will resume in suburban Los Angeles in the first US match of 2011 and the first early tune-up for North America's Gold Cup tournament in June.

"We're excited to play a team of Chile's calibre to start the year," said US coach Bob Bradley. "We are focused on getting ready for the Gold Cup next summer, and this game provides a good start for our preparations as we assess the pool for 2011 and beyond."

US is 8-1-1 in matches at the Carson, California, stadium complex and has won three times in a row against Chile, which was ousted by Brazil in the round of 16 at the World Cup in South Africa.

The US was also eliminated in the round of 16 at the World Cup, falling to Ghana.

Both players were part of the Americans' 2-2 draw with Poland last weekend in Chicago.

Heath Pearce and Brek Shea, both from FC Dallas of Major League Soccer, were named to the 18-man US lineup for the match to replace them.

Bocanegra was released to return to Saint-Etienne of the French league while Cherundolo left on Monday for Hannover, the third-placed team in the Bundesliga which have a major match this weekend at Bayern Munich.

The Americans are 3-9 with three drawn against Colombia, losing in 2007 at Copa America in the most recent meeting.

Hahnemann, part of the USA squad for the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, has not officially retired from the international game.

But he has questioned whether at the age of 37 he wants to be part of the squad, with all the travelling involved, if he is not going to play.

Hahnemann recognises that Everton's Tim Howard is the established number one, with Aston Villa's Brad Guzan also in contention.

When asked about his future, Hahnemann told Press Association Sport: "I haven't played the last few times I've been called up and travelled.

"You question whether it's worth going at all. So I don't know (about my future). We'll see.

"Do you take yourself out of the running? The way I left it was I told Bob Bradley, 'if you need me, give me a call'.

"If you're playing well for your club then you want to play for your country. It's the next step.

"It's nice not having guys not travelling all over the place.

"Then you get back on the Thursday, train (with your club) on Friday and then it's the game."

Hahnemann added: "Tim has been number one for a while and they've got Brad Guzan (of Aston Villa) coming through who's a good keeper.

"I think they're okay. Like I said, the way left it was 'if you need me, call me' but I was glad we didn't have a game in the last international break and I didn't have to fly back somewhere.

"It was nice to have a rest."

Before a crowd of 31,696 at Soldier Field that included thousands of Polish supporters, the visitor twice answered the host seizing the lead to earn a deadlock.

Jozy Altidore opened the scoring in the 13th minute off an assist from Jermaine Jones, a Frankfurt-born midfielder for Germany's FC Schalke making his debut for the American side.

Adam Matuszczyk pulled Poland level in the 30th minute to leave the match level 1-1 at half-time.

AC Milan defender Oguchi Onyewu, making his first start since last June at the FIFA World Cup, nodded home a goal in the 52nd minute off a corner kick from Stuart Holden to put the US squad back on top until Blaszczykowski answered.

Onyewu missed almost all of last season with a knee injury suffered in a World Cup qualifier.

Jones, born to an American father and German mother, became an American last year. He played three exhibitions for Germany but is now allowed to play for the United States because he never played for Germany in an official match.

Poland face Ecuador on Tuesday in Montreal, the same night the US squad plays Colombia in suburban Philadelphia.

The website of Le Progres newspaper reported on Friday that Davies was driving an Audi Q7 last Sunday when he was caught on a motorway in France's Jura region.

Davies, who plays for French club Sochaux, was involved in a car accident on October 13, 2009 that killed another passenger and left him severely hurt.

He suffered two broken bones in his right leg, a broken and dislocated left elbow, a broken nose, forehead and eye socket, a ruptured bladder and bleeding on the brain.

The 24-year-old has not played first-team football since and missed the World Cup.

Davies scored two goals for Sochaux against Bordeaux near the start of the 2009-10 season, but has not yet played in the first team this term.

He has four goals in 17 games for the US team and played a part in the run to the 2009 Confederations Cup final.

After an incredible recovery, Davies returned to training with Sochaux in March this year.

Bradley agreed to a second four-year stint with the US Soccer Federation in late August.

From what Jurgen Klinsmann has said however, the agreement came after his month-long talks with the federation broke down.

US Soccer has never confirmed the negotiations but Klinsmann said they broke off because the federation wouldn't put his authority in writing.

Klinsmann also held talks with USSF president Sunil Gulati in 2006 but ended them when he wasn't guaranteed access to top Major League Soccer players for both the CONCACAF Gold Cup and Copa America the following year.

"No, I don't have any thoughts" on it, Bradley said Monday after the first training session for Saturday's game against Poland.

Instead, Bradley is looking ahead to the 2014 World Cup.

The Americans reached the knockout stage in South Africa, losing 2-1 to Ghana in extra time in the second round.

Though the US won't begin qualifying for Brazil until late next year at the earliest, friendlies like this weekend's against Poland or one four days later against Colombia in Chester, Pennsylvania, allow Bradley and his staff to begin setting the tone for the next four years.

Thirteen of the 20 players in the squad were in South Africa, including veterans Carlos Bocanegra, Clint Dempsey, Steve Cherundolo and Tim Howard. But Bradley also brought in some new faces, including Jermaine Jones and Eric Lichaj.

Jones grew up in Germany but has an American father and said last year he wanted to play for the United States.

The midfielder missed out on the World Cup because of a shin injury, making this his first time with the US team.

Lichaj, who joined Aston Villa in 2007, was included in the US training camp as a guest ahead of World Cup qualifiers against Costa Rica and Honduras last year.

"There's always the focus on the next World Cup, and trying to have an idea how to project what the team might be.

"But we also recognise the importance of the Gold Cup next year," Bradley said.

"So we also think now about how can we, following the World Cup, look hard at where we are and make sure we are preparing the right group for the Gold Cup."

The CONCACAF Gold Cup will be played from June 5-25, and winning it in 2007 gave the Americans a huge advantage in their preparation for South Africa.

The Gold Cup winner gets a spot at the Confederations Cup along with the reigning World Cup, European and South American champions, and USA upset Spain on its way to its first final at a major FIFA men's outdoor tournament.

The Americans fell to Brazil after taking a 2-0 lead at halftime.

"We have a nucleus of players that now have been part of teams the last few years, and we feel good about foundation we built," Bradley said.

"When players go away to their club teams, we remind them always that we can pick up on where we left off.

"This is especially true after the World Cup because the soccer world continues to move. We have new goals, short-term like the Gold Cup and then long term for 2014."

As co-host with Ukraine, Poland has a guaranteed spot at the 2012 European Championship and doesn't have to go through the gruelling qualifying rounds.

But Poland failed to qualify for South Africa, and friendlies like the one against the United States give the team vital experience ahead of Euros.

The US has won seven of its 16 matches against Poland, including three of the last four.

"With the World Cup being four years away, it doesn't take anything away from any national team games," Stuart Holden said.

"We know it's important to start now to start building toward the future and make sure we continue the work that we did and, how well we did in the World Cup, we have to continue that.

"We can't let ourselves slip and take a step backwards. We've got to keep pushing forward."

Germany-born Jones, who became eligible to play for the US over 12 months ago, was selected in the party for the clash with Brazil in August but had to pull out through injury.

Coach Bob Bradley has selected a squad predominantly made up of players from Europe due to the matches clashing with the Major League Soccer playoff race although FC Dallas duo Heath Pearce and Brek Shea will join up on October 10 following their weekend league match.

"This is a fantastic opportunity to gather many of our players based in Europe and continue to build on the foundation we established during the last four years," said Bradley.

"We believe we have a strong nucleus of talented players, many of whom we are going to challenge to assume greater leadership roles during the next four-year cycle.

"We certainly have ideas on how we want to move forward, and these games will be the start of that process."

Aston Villa defender Eric Lichaj has been handed a first call-up while Fulham's Clint Dempsey returns for the matches with Poland in Chicago on October 9 and Colombia three days later in Chester.

United States squad: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton); Carlos Bocanegra (St Etienne), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Clarence Goodson (Start), Eric Lichaj (Aston Villa), Oguchi Onyewu (Milan), Michael Parkhurst (Nordsjaelland), Heath Pearce (Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United); Alejandro Bedoya (Orebro), Michael Bradley (Borussia Monchengladbach), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Stuart Holden (Bolton), Jermaine Jones (Schalke), Brek Shea (FC Dallas); Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Eddie Johnson (Fulham).

The USSF rehired Bob Bradley for a second four-year stint after ending talks with Klinsmann, who coached Germany to a third-place finish in the 2006 World Cup.

"We had conversations, maybe about three or four weeks period of time, and very positive conversations. But we didn't get it to a positive ending because we couldn't put into writing what we agreed to verbally," Klinsmann said during an interview broadcast Sunday on the Kansas City Wizards' pre-game show.

"It's obviously always about authority. When you have conversations with a club team or a national team, it's who has the last word in what issues, and that's where we couldn't get into the written terms," Klinsmann said.

"Verbally we agreed on that the technical side is my side, and I should have a 100 percent control of it. Written terms, they couldn't commit to it. At that point I said, 'Well then, I can't get the job done because I have to have the last say as a head coach for my entire staff, for all the players issues, for everything that happens with the team.' Unfortunately they couldn't commit to that, and that was basically the end of our talks, and then they agreed then to continue with Bob as the head coach, and that's totally fine."

Klinsmann also held talks with USSF president Sunil Gulati in 2006 but ended them when he wasn't guaranteed access to top Major League Soccer players for both the CONCACAF Gold Cup and Copa America the following year.

In announcing the decision to rehire Bradley last month, Gulati wouldn't discuss whether he spoke with other candidates.

The 52-year-old has agreed a new deal which runs until the end of 2014 after reports circulated that Villa's American owner Randy Lerner could be prepared to offer him the chance to manage in the Premier League.

A statement on ussoccer.com read: "US Soccer has agreed to a contract extension with US men's national team head coach Bob Bradley.

"The agreement with Bradley, who guided the US team to numerous achievements including finishing in first place in their group at the 2010 FIFA World Cup for the first time in 80 years, will keep him at the helm through the end of 2014."

Bradley's men were knocked out of the World Cup at the last 16 stage by Ghana.

He led the team to the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup and to the final of the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa, where the team lost to Brazil.

Just over a week ago Bradley told BBC Radio Five Live: "I'd be honoured to have a conversation with Randy Lerner.

"I've had no contact with him. There have been talks with my representatives to find out the situation."

The 52-year-old has been heavily linked with the job since Martin O'Neill left on the eve of the new season.

Asked if he was interested in the job, Bradley told Sky Sports News: "Most definitely. The possibility of working in the Premier League at some point would be a goal for sure.

"There has not been any contact. Everyone knows that for the moment Kevin MacDonald is the caretaker manager and the first step is for a decision to be made with him. He's a good man."

Bradley has impressed many in his time in charge of the USA, although he would be considered a risky option for Villa having never managed outside of his home country.

Should he become the Villa boss, the 52-year-old would link up with compatriot Randy Lerner, the club's chairman.

"I know a lot about Randy Lerner but I do not know him," Bradley told Sky Sports News. "We know him through his ownership with the Cleveland Browns and of course as chairman as Aston Villa.

"I would love to have a discussion and hear more.

"Aston Villa have done a very good job in terms of handling the situation.

"As a manager the first thing you always want to have is respect for other managers.

"I know the reputation Kevin MacDonald has within the club and first things first, (there needs to be a) decision in terms of his future."

MacDonald's own hand was weakened considerably at the weekend by a 6-0 defeat at the hands of Newcastle United.

Should Villa choose to look beyond the Scot, Bradley faces competition from the likes of Gareth Southgate, Sven-Goran Eriksson and Martin Jol for the post.

Asked why he is keen on the job, the American replied: "It begins with the desire at some point to work in the Premier League.

"I've had a chance to be around different clubs and see the way things go and it's the best league in the world.

"Aston Villa is a tremendous club. They have such a strong following, so that would be a club that I think anyone would have an interest in."

For the moment, Bradley remains contracted to US Soccer.

"The contract runs through the end of the year and it was always agreed following the World Cup both sides would take the time to assess the situation," he said. "There will be further discussions with US Soccer and we'll see what the future holds.

"Like so many others, I will continue to see what opportunities are out there.

"I feel I have the ability to work in Europe and it's something I'd like to do in my career. I'm excited about that possibility whenever it comes and wherever it comes."

Bradley led the United States into the last 16 of this northern summer's FIFA World Cup, where it lost to Ghana in extra-time, in a campaign which included a 1-1 draw against England.

The Americans are 7-7 with two draws against Poland in a rivalry dating back to 1924, with the last clash a 3-0 triumph in 2008 at Krakow. Poland, 4-2 with a draw on US soil, drew 1-1 in its last US match in 2004.

Poland, which is co-hosting Euro 2012 with Ukraine, figures to draw strong support from a large Polish community in the 'Windy City' of the American Midwest.

"These fixture dates are a fantastic opportunity to have the group together for an extended period and then put the work to the test with a difficult match," US coach Bob Bradley said.

"We know this is an important opportunity for Poland as they prepare for the 2012 European Championship, so we expect a challenging game."

The match will come during a busy late-season weekend for Major League Soccer as well as being well into the start of the European campaigns.

Neymar, the 18-year-old Santos phenomenon, had just switched with Robinho and moved from the left flank to the centre when he scored.

Andre Santos attacked down the left and his cross found Neymar, ahead of US defender Jonathan Bornstein, who headed inside US keeper Tim Howard's left post in the 28th minute.

Pato added a second goal in first-half injury time when a ball from Ramires' split Bornstein and Carlos Bocanegra, and the 20-year-old AC Milan forward beat Howard.

Both of Brazil's scorers were overlooked by Dunga for his World Cup squad despite public outcry for their selection in Brazil.

Dunga was sacked in the wake of Brazil's 2-1 quarter-final loss to the Netherlands last month and replaced by Mano Menezes, who promised to restore "the beautiful game" as Brazil begins the build-up to hosting the 2014 World Cup.

The friendly attracted a near-sellout crowd of 77,223 to the New Meadowlands Stadium.

Brazil's young, quick players showed flashes of the deft game that Brazil abandoned for defensiveness in South Africa, the youngsters from South America out-playing the US veterans.

Bradley led the Americans to the second round of the FIFA World Cup, where it was eliminated in a 2-1 extra-time loss to Ghana. His contract expires in December.

He said on Monday he has had preliminary talks with the USSF leadership, led by president Sunil Gulati and secretary general Dan Flynn.

"I think some general starting points were laid out and I think it was agreed at that time that with this game coming up so quickly that it just made sense to use the starting points," Bradley said. "Both sides could think a little bit about what was laid on the table and then we could pick up following the game."

British media speculated that Bradley would be considered for the Aston Villa job that opened when Martin O'Neill suddenly quit five days ahead of the club's opener.

"I've said over and over as well that (I'm) always excited about new and different challenges," Bradley said. "Certainly coaching in Europe at some point is something that I would love to do. At the same time I also consider it a challenge when you finish one cycle and begin the process of working on another one."

Bradley said he never made direct contract with Fulham about its job, another one British media had speculated he would be considered for. Mark Hughes was hired after Roy Hodgson quit Fulham to become manager at Liverpool.

"People spoke to Fulham on my behalf," Bradley said. "I did not actually speak to anyone at Fulham."

If Bradley isn't retained for the U.S. job, attention could turn to German great Jurgen Klinsmann, who held discussions with Gulati about the position four years ago. Klinsmann withdrew after he wasn't guaranteed access to top players for both the CONCACAF Gold Cup and Copa America in 2007.

He agreed in January 2008 to become coach of Bayern Munich the following northern summer, but was fired in April 2009 with the club in third place in the Bundesliga following its quarter-final elimination from the UEFA Champions League.

Klinsmann and his family then returned to their home in southern California.

Goalkeeper Brad Guzan, the back-up to Brad Friedel at Aston Villa, said O'Neill's decision was a surprise. Guzan thinks Bradley is capable of being a manager in the Premier League.

"He's obviously a good manager," Guzan said. "When you're at that level and you've put in good performances, it's going to go noticed by big clubs all around the world. And so for him, obviously I'm sure he's honoured by being put in the mix."

Santos striker Robinho, AC Milan defender Thiago Silva, Barcelona defender Daniel Alves and Benfica midfielder Ramires will be joined by 10 new players as the South Americans look to the 2012 London Olympics and 2014 World Cup.

AC Milan forward Alexandre Pato, Santos playmaker Neymar, Liverpool midfielder Lucas and defenders Rafael da Silva of Manchester United and Marcelo of Real Madrid are among the newcomers being touted as the top of the next generation of superstar talent for the five-time World Cup winer.

The Netherlands ousted Brazil in last month's World Cup quarter-finals, sparking Dunga's exit and a call for more flair from the Brazilians.

By contrast, the US line-up features 14 players from a World Cup squad that reached the last 16 despite no goals from forwards for the second consecutive tournament.

The match might also be the last for US World Cup coach Bob Bradley, whose contract ends in December.

"This game is a great opportunity to showcase many players from the World Cup team who earned the respect and appreciation of fans across the country," Bradley said.

"Our goal continues to be to compete and succeed against the best teams in the world. With an extremely talented group of players, Brazil will be another difficult test."

Los Angeles Galaxy playmaker Landon Donovan and Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard are among the US stars who will take the field with only one day of training.

Villarreal striker Jozy Altidore, who has nine goals in 20 matches for the Americans but struggled in the World Cup, was a late addition to the US squad.

The match will be played at the new home stadium of American football's New York Giants and New York Jets.

Brazil last played the Americans in the final of the 2009 Confederations Cup, the US squad seizing a 2-0 half-time lead before the South Americans rallied for a 3-2 triumph.

Jones, after accepting an invitation to play for the United States, decided to remain with his club ahead of its German league opener at Hamburg on Aug. 21. Jones missed last season because of a shin injury.

More than 55,000 tickets have already been sold for the meeting with the five-time world champion at the new home of American football's New York Giants and New York Jets.

"This game is a great opportunity to showcase many players from the World Cup team who earned the respect and appreciation of fans across the country," US coach Bob Bradley said.

"Our goal continues to be to compete and succeed against the best teams in the world. With an extremely talented group of players, Brazil will be another difficult test."

The US line-up, with a dozen players from European-based squads, will gather on Sunday and train on Monday before taking the field the following night.

Los Angeles Galaxy forward Donovan scored three goals in South Africa to help spark the Americans into the round of 16 before it was ousted by Ghana for the second World Cup in a row.

Howard, the goalkeeper for Everton of the English Premiership, achieved only the second shut out in 22 US World Cup matches in a 1-0 triumph over Algeria in which Donovan's stoppage-time goal gave the US the Group C crown.

US captain Carlos Bocanegra, midfielder Michael Bradley and defender Steve Cherundolo are also back after playing every minute for the Americans in South Africa.

Brazil last played the Americans in the final of the 2009 Confederations Cup, the US squad seizing a 2-0 half-time lead before the South Americans rallied for a 3-2 triumph.

United States squad:

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton)

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (St Etienne), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)

Midfielders: Alejandro Bedoya (Orebro), Michael Bradley (Borussia Mnchengladbach), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Jermaine Jones (Schalke), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht)

Forwards: Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Herculez Gomez (Pachuca)

Howard told The Associated Press that he feels fit and is playing as well as ever at the age of 31.

He says he wasn't always sure in the last couple years whether he could commit to the "grind," but he now knows it would be "silly" not to try to lead the American team to further recognition.

The US lost to Ghana in the second round of the World Cup last month in South Africa.

The 52-year-old, who has been linked with the vacant Fulham job, guided the Americans into the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup, finishing ahead of England at the top of their group.

Bradley still has several months of his current deal left to run and talks over future plans for the USA's international football programme will resume shortly.

A spokesman for the United States Soccer Federation confirmed to Press Association Sport: "US Soccer officials will be meeting with Bob soon to discuss possible options regarding his future with the programme."

Nielsen said 19.4 million viewers tuned into Saturday's (Sunday morning AEST) US-Ghana match on broadcast television network ABC and on the Spanish-language channel Univision, beating out the 18.1 million viewers for the 1994 Italy-Brazil World Cup final.

"This record viewership proves that soccer is as popular as it's ever been in the United States," said Stephen Master, vice president of sports at Nielsen.

The 1999 USA-China final of the women's World Cup drew 18 million viewers while the June 12 match between the United States and England, the opener for both teams at the 2010 World Cup, drew 17.1 million.

Rounding out the top five most-watched matches on US television was the 2006 World Cup final between Italy and France, which drew 17.0 million viewers.

By comparison, February's Super Bowl, the championship in American football, between the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts drew a record 106.5 million viewers in the United States, according to Nielsen.

Bradley's team had a mixed FIFA World Cup campaign, topping Group C ahead of England but falling at the first knockout hurdle against Ghana.

United States Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati admitted he and Bradley would meet to discuss their next move in the next two weeks.

"I will sit down with Bob and we will talk about the goods and the bads of the tournament and of the four years," Gulati told the Washington Post.

"That is the appropriate thing. I want to hear his views, express some of mine and see what makes sense. I think he has done a very good job, that is very clear."

It remains to be seen whether Bradley, whose contract is due to expire in December, will want stay on, with Gulati admitting: "He may want a different challenge - I don't know."

Asamoah Gyan scored the winning goal after three minutes of extra-time at the Royal Bafokeng stadium after Portsmouth's Kevin-Prince Boateng had put Ghana ahead, only to be pegged back by a Landon Donovan penalty after Fulham's Clint Dempsey was brought down in the area.

Ghana will now face Uruguay in the quarter-final and Rajevac said: "Ghana are now among the eight best teams in the world. This is fantastic. When we reached final of the African Cup the boys learned how to compete. That is the most important thing and I now hope Ghana will go further.

"The whole world is watching these games. Everybody loves good football. Ghana has the support of the whole world because it is the only African country still playing at the World Cup."

It was a theme taken up by man of the match, Ghana midfielder Andre Ayew, who said: "We had to fight to the last second and we gave our all. We fought for the continent and for Ghana. We hope the whole African nation is proud.

"Everything is possible. We are very tired but we have five days rest and will focus for the next game against Uruguay. They have great strikers but if God is behind us anything is possible.

"We were disappointed there was no African team with us. We need to make the whole continent proud and we feel we have the whole continent behind us and that gives us energy."

Unfortunately, Ayew misses the Uruguay game because he picked up a second yellow card and Rajevac added: "This is a major problem for the Uruguay game. There are also a lot of injuries and a lot of work for the medical staff."

United States coach Bob Bradley blamed his side's tendency to lose early goals for its defeat.

He said: "I thought we had the chance to finish the game. But we went down early in extra-time and we have done that one too many times. We hurt ourselves giving up the early goal again."

It was the second time in successive World Cups that Ghana had defeated the United States, having effectively dumped it out of the tournament four years ago by beating it in the final group game.

Gyan's goal, after 93 minutes, was worthy of winning any game after he outmuscled USA captain Carlos Bocanegra to blast his shot past goalkeeper Tim Howard.

It settled a contest that was level at full-time after Landon Donovan's second-half penalty cancelled out a fifth-minute strike from Kevin-Prince Boateng.

It was just reward for Ghana's talent and power in a dramatic encounter at the Royal Bafokeng stadium and the sole surviving African nation must now fancy its chances of creating an even bigger ripple at this tournament, with Uruguay awaiting it in the quarter-finals.

Former president Bill Clinton had turned up to support the USA and was sitting for a time next to Rolling Stone Mick Jagger, who might well have made his plans expecting England to have topped Group C and been playing down the road from its training headquarters.

USA had stymied those plans by finishing first but it was clear it was going to be stretched by Ghana's pace.

The Black Stars could hardly have made a more stunning start.

Portsmouth's Boateng picked up the ball just inside his own half, slalomed past three defenders and unleashed a left-foot shot which flew past Howard.

It was Ghana's first goal at this World Cup from open play, having beaten Serbia and drawn with Australia in the group phase courtesy of two penalties.

But Boateng's strike demonstrated its firepower and it might have added to the lead with Gyan, who plays for French club Rennes, a constant threat.

So superior was Ghana in that first period that after 31 minutes a concerned USA coach Bob Bradley substituted midfielder Ricardo Clark, who had received an early booking, and brought on Maurice Edu.

The Americans picked up the tempo immediately and could have equalised after 35 minutes when Robbie Findley raced clear only to see his right-foot shot smartly saved by goalkeeper Richard Kingson.

The USA came out after half-time, however, with a more determined, more attacking attitude and the excellent Kingson was straight into the action, forced to pull off a splendid save from Benny Feilhaber.

With Fulham's Clint Dempsey at the heart of their good work the Americans surged forward and received its reward after 62 minutes.

Dempsey was the architect, weaving his way through the Ghana defence into the penalty area where he drew the challenge and was brought down by defender Jonathan Mensah.

Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai pointed to the spot and Los Angeles Galaxy's Donovan stepped up to slide home his third goal in four matches.

USA dream appeared back on, especially as it is a team who make a habit of stirring comebacks.

It had its chances. Jozy Altidore might have done better when clear after 80 minutes but he spooned his effort wide under pressure from a defender.

So to a frantic extra-time and Gyan's stunning strike which sent USA home and Ghana into ecstasy.

The Americans have already complicated England's route by finishing top of Group C, making Fabio Capello's runners-up travel to Bloemfontein on Monday (AEST) for a tricky last-16 encounter against Germany.

The USA's prize is a clash on Sunday against Ghana, the sole surviving African team, at the Royal Bafokeng stadium, just minutes away from England's training headquarters.

Yet Bradley is confident Landon Donovan and co can go one better than the 1930 USA side that came third at the inaugural World Cup in Uruguay.

Bradley said: "If we continue to build on the successes so far we can go to the end. That's what it is all about, but that has to be balanced with a concentration on each game.

"We try hard not to get ahead of ourselves but at the same time everybody has this idea that if everybody gives their best effort, if everybody puts everything they have into it and if things go our way then we can travel far."

The team was in buoyant mood after receiving a call from President Barack Obama while at dinner on Friday.

He demonstrated how he had been following the team's progress by inquiring about the injury news on goalkeeper Tim Howard's bruised ribs and Clint Dempsey's facial cut.

Both are fit and Bradley has few worries ahead of a match it clinched with a stoppage-time winner against Algeria from Donovan.

The manager also rejects any notion it does not play thrilling football.

He added: "We have shown an ability to move the ball quickly and intelligently. We have some individuals who have made the special plays you need to win championships. We are a team that works hard, is disciplined and is creative at the right moments."

Meanwhile, Ghana, who knocked the USA out with a 2-1 win in the final match of the group phase four years ago, was boosted by the news defenders John Mensah and Jonathan Mensah have recovered from injuries but Isaac Vorsah is ruled out.

Ghana's Samuel Inkoom also revealed Fulham's John Pantsil had been supplying information about his clubmate, one of America's key men, Dempsey.

He also insisted they were playing for the entire continent.

"All of the African countries will be supporting us and we are not going to disgrace them," said Inkoom. "We are going to make them happy.

"We are the African hope now and we are not going to disappoint them. We are going to win."

The Ghana team is the last Africa side standing in the tournament and is determined to fly the flag into the quarter-finals.

The match is given an extra edge because it is a re-run of the final group game in Germany 2006 when Ghana won 2-1 to send USA home.

Rajevac, whose side finished runner-up in Group D to Germany, said: "We are going to fight and do our utmost to get Ghana into the quarter finals. It will be difficult but we have a big opportunity.

"I am very proud of these boys. Their main strength is the unity of the team. We always play as a team and not as individuals and that's why we have managed to have success recently.

"The world likes good football and Ghana has a lot of supporters worldwide. I hope after the match Ghana has even more supporters worldwide. That would be a great satisfaction for us."

Defenders John Mensah and Jonathan Mensah have recovered from injuries but Isaac Vorsah is ruled out.

Rajevac, however, will not be taking the United States for granted.

The Serbian played in the US indoor soccer league as a contemporary of Pele, Johann Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer and he has a respect for the way in which the American game has progressed over the past three decades.

He said: "America has grown into a football superpower but it also has sports which are given more priority.

"But the football team play with strength and speed. You never know how to deal with them.

"In the last half an hour they increase the tempo and speed and it is difficult to match them. Until the final whistle you don't know how to deal with them.

"Slovenia scored two goals against them and in the end the USA still nearly won."

Ghana's Samuel Inkoom revealed that Fulham's John Pantsil had been giving the team information about his club-mate, one of America's key men, Clint Dempsey.

He also reiterated the manager's rallying call that they were playing for the entire continent.

"All of the African countries will be supporting us and we are not going to disgrace them," said Inkoom.

"We are going to make them happy.

"We are the Africa hope now and we are not going to disappoint them. We are going to win."

The president called the team during dinner to wish it well in the last-16 clash with Ghana at the Royal Bafokeng stadium.

Bradley, whose side finished top of Group C above England, said: "We were honoured before a big match to receive a call from President Obama and if we continue to build on the successes so far we can go to the end. That's what it is all about, but that has to be balanced with a concentration on each game.

"We try hard not to get ahead of ourselves but at the same time everybody has this idea that if everybody gives their best effort, if everybody puts everything they have into it and if things go our way then we can travel far."

As well as passing on his best wishes President Obama demonstrated he had been following the team's progress by asking how goalkeeper Tim Howard's ribs were recovering from the collision with Emile Heskey in its first match, a 1-1 draw against England. He also inquired about a cut to the face of Fulham striker Clint Dempsey.

Both will be fit to face Ghana, which will be flying a lone flag for Africa in the last 16 after finishing runner-up to Germany in Group D.

Bradley has no intentions of taking it lightly.

He said: "This Ghana team is well put together. Their coach has done a good job. The team is organised, has talented individuals and great athletic ability.

"They are dangerous because they have individual players who you think they are going to pass and at the last second they dribble.

"You think they are going to go left and they surprise you and go right. They have unpredictability. You are not always sure what they are going to do."

The same might be said of his own team which clinched its place in the last 16 with a stoppage-time winner against Algeria from evergreen striker Landon Donovan.

The LA Galaxy star, who was on loan at Everton for part of last season, will be making his 127th appearance for his country, in which he has scored 44 goals.

He is one of the reasons Bradley believes his side cannot be seen as just a functional outfit. He insists it also have star quality.

Bradley said: "We have shown an ability to move the ball quickly and intelligently. We have some individuals who have made the special plays you need to win championships.

"We have never believed that all you need to do is to put on your work clothes. We are a team that works hard, is disciplined and is creative at the right moments. We try to put all those things together."

He also gave an insight into the pride which drives on a team which is bidding to emulate the 2002 USA side which reached the quarter-finals in Japan and then go one better than the team which came third in the inaugural World Cup in 1930.

Bradley said: "You want to have a team that the people who care about that team and follow that team and root for that team can be proud of.

"A team that people believe in and are proud of. That's part of our responsibility and we will continue to build on that."

With England en route to victory over Slovenia in the other Group C match, both the US and opponents Algeria looked to be heading out of the FIFA World Cup as its game in Pretoria entered stoppage time with the scoreline still 0-0.

However, Donovan popped up in the last few moments to slot home after the ball had rolled loose in the area when Algeria goalkeeper Rais M'Bohli dived at the feet of Clint Dempsey.

That match-winning strike not only saw the United States secure a place in the last 16 but it also earned it top spot in the pool ahead of England.

For an emotional Donovan, it meant even more.

"I've been through a lot in the last four years," the man of the match said as he broke down in tears during the post-game press conference. The Los Angeles Galaxy playmaker split up with his wife last July.

"I'm so glad it culminated in this way and it makes me believe in good in the world and when you try to do things the right way it's good to be rewarded."

Algeria exited the tournament without managing to score a goal in its three group games, although it had its chances and hit the crossbar early on through Rafik Djebbour.

It was not to be for the north African side, but its coach Rabah Saadane was still proud of his team.

"I think it was a really good match and the two teams have done well," he said. "We've seen many attempts on goal from both teams, and with a bit more luck I think we would have won the match.

"However, the Algerian team have worked very hard to get the right result in the second match and the last match. I'm quite happy with the team.

"They (the USA) had the last chance to score the goal and they got it. I want to congratulate the US team and wish them all the luck in the next stage."

However, Donovan popped up right at the end to slot into the net and send the Americans through ahead of England, which beat Slovenia in the other game.

USA will now play the second-placed team from Group D, which includes Ghana, Germany, Serbia and Australia.

For Algeria, which has never progressed to the second round of the World Cup, it hit the woodwork early on and created a couple of other chances but was unable to net its first goal of the finals as it tumbled out.

Algeria also finished with 10-men after captain Anthar Yahia was sent off for a second booking late on in Pretoria.

Coach Rabah Saadane, knowing his side could not afford a third successive match without a goal, made one change to the team that held England 0-0, bringing in AEK Athens striker Rafik Djebbour for Ryad Boudebouz.

USA boss Bob Bradley, meanwhile, made three changes. Algeria started brightly and almost took the lead in the sixth minute when Djebbour rattled the crossbar.

US defender Jay DeMerit failed to cut out a long punt forward and Djebbour stole in behind him, controlled the ball on his chest before smashing a volley against the crossbar from 12 yards out.

It was also a big let-off for the Americans, but Bradley's side would return the favour with interest during the remainder of the period as it spurned a number of good chances themselves.

Herculez Gomez brought a save out of Rais M'Bohli, before the US thought it had taken the lead in the 20th minute when Gomez, having seen his first effort saved, saw his cross-shot turned in at the far post by Clint Dempsey.

However, the effort was chalked off for a marginal offside.

The Americans were denied a winning goal in their last match against Slovenia when Maurice Edu's late strike was controversially chalked off.

After a slow start, the US was starting to look increasingly dangerous and it created two great chances around the 35th minute.

Dempsey saw the first saved by M'Bohli after being put through by a great pass by Donovan, and then Jozy Altidore blazed horribly over after the influential Donovan had dinked the ball past M'Bohli to set up a magnificent opening.

The Desert Foxes were still posing problems of their own though, and Karim Matmour earned a corner after testing Tim Howard with a long-range thunderbolt as the half ended in stalemate.

With England leading Slovenia in the other game, both USA and Algeria were on the way out of the World Cup at the interval.

The Americans should have improved their lot in the 56th minute though as they spurned another great chance.

The ball fell invitingly for Dempsey on the edge of the box, but his shot rebounded back off the inside of the far post before the Fulham midfielder sliced the rebound wide with the goal gaping.

Bradley's side continued to dominate and Benny Feilhaber went close before his fellow substitute Edson Buddle powered a header straight at M'Bohli from five yards out.

Algeria briefly stemmed the one-way traffic when Karim Ziani dragged a shot wide from a good chance in the 69th minute, but otherwise it was largely all America.

Algeria had a late chance to snatch what could have been a winner when Rafik Saifi headed straight at Howard, and moments after that USA claimed the victory.

Dempsey was denied by the keeper at point-blank range after a breakaway attack, but the ball fell kindly for Donovan who slotted into a gaping net from close range.

That proved to be the winner and demoralised Algeria would end the game with 10-men when Yahia was dismissed soon after.

The popularity of football in the US is on the rise but, unlike in many other countries around the globe, it is not the leading sport with traditional favourites baseball, American football and basketball providing stiff competition.

However, Bocanegra believes his side can strike another blow for the sport by securing the victory against Algeria that will guarantee them a place in the knockout stages in South Africa.

"Every time we have played in the World Cup, our games have contributed to the interest back home, and I think more and more we have people interested in the United States," he said.

"Over the last four years, since the 2006 World Cup, we have realised that football has become increasingly popular.

"It is not the top sport in the United States yet but it is the most popular sport around the world and I hope after the (Algeria) game we will have even more supporters in the US."

US coach Bob Bradley echoed those thoughts, adding: "Soccer in the US continues to grow, there have been so many important steps along the way.

"We understand that each World Cup takes on extra importance and we understand the responsibility we have as a team representing the United States and representing our sport."

The US missed out on a place in the last 16 of the 2006 World Cup after losing to Ghana in its final group game in what was a similar situation to the one they now find themselves in.

Now they are one of four teams in Group C who still have a chance of reaching the knockout stages heading into the third and final round of group matches.

Leaders Slovenia are on four points, two ahead of the US and England, and three clear of last-placed Algeria.

Algeria may be bottom of the standings and without a goal in their two games, but Bocanegra, who plays his club football for Rennes, is still wary of the threat the north Africans pose.

The defender said: "They're a good team, a few of their guys play in the French league, they're athletic and technically gifted.

"A few players can stand out and score goals for them, but we are going to focus on the entire team and not any one player."

The US is not the only side feeling the weight of responsibility heading into the clash at Pretoria's Loftus Versfeld stadium.

Algeria coach Rabah Saadane said: "We have a great deal of responsibility. As it is we represent the African continent, the hopes of the African continent, and we also represent the Arab world."

Saadane was responding to a question as to whether he felt Algeria were also now representing the hopes of France following Les Bleus disappointing early exit from the tournament on Tuesday.

Saadane, whose squad has many French-born players in it, hoped that would not be the case, joking: "We don't want this additional responsibility.

"It is unfortunate for France, there are strong links between the two countries."

In a similar situation to one it currently faces, the US had the chance to make it through to the last 16 four years ago if it beats Ghana in its final group game.

However, having held eventual winners Italy to a 1-1 draw in its previous match, the Americans slumped to a 2-1 defeat to Ghana to exit the competition.

This time the US knows a win over Algeria will guarantee it a spot in the knockout phases no matter what happens in the other game between Slovenia and England, and Bocanegra is determined not to let the opportunity slip by again.

"We obviously we had a bad outing in 2006 and we're not happy how things worked out. We have a great chance tomorrow to get a win and advance to the second round, it's important for us because we had that disappointment in 2006," he said.

"It's not really an extra motivation but it's in the back of our minds. You work so hard and train so much for the World Cup and it can be over so quickly if you don't advance."

The United States has had more successful recent experiences to draw on, though, and Bocanegra is hoping what happened at last last year's Confederations Cup in South Africa will stand it in good stead for the nail-biting last round of group matches.

The United Stats is currently second in Group C heading into the clash against Algeria in Pretoria, but as there are just three points separating all four teams there is still everything to play for.

However, with first-placed Slovenia playing third-placed England in the other match, the United States at least knows it has its destiny in its own hands.

That is a better situation than it found itself in the Confederations Cup when, after losing to Italy and Brazil in its opening two group games, it not only needed to defeat Egypt in its last match but also required a Brazil victory and a six-goal swing over Italy to advance.

That is just what happened, with the US beating Egypt 3-0 and Brazil defeating Italy by the same scoreline, sending Bradley's men through to the semi-finals where it created one of the biggest upsets in recent history by defeating European champion Spain 2-0.

Bocanegra said: "We've had some good experiences. Last year's Confederations Cup was a nice dress rehearsal and we were in this situation a little bit, having to get the win, although last time we needed a little help.

"This time we just need to win. We've been here before, we're prepared and we're looking forward to going out there tomorrow (Thursday morning AEST)."

Slovenia, the Group C leader on four points, face England, on two points after a pair of draws, while the US team, also on two points but with more goals than England, meet the Algerians, who drew England for its lone point.

"This group has proved there isn't an easy game," US defender Jay DeMerit said. "It's going to be an interesting last day."

The United States has never won a World Cup game in which it fell behind, but it battled back for a 2-2 draw with Slovenia - having a winning goal wiped out by a referee at the death - and a 1-1 draw with England.

"My guess is there aren't many teams in this tournament that could have done what we did," US star midfielder Landon Donovan said. "That's what the American spirit is about."

US teams are only 2-10 with five drawn in World Cup group play since ending a 40-year Cup finals absence in 1990, but the latest edition is not one to ignore before the final whistle.

"This team keeps fighting until the end," US coach Bob Bradley said. "We have the experience of pushing games when we're behind. It's something we feel good about. It's a credit to the mentality of the players."

But there is some US concern about playing well before its rivals score.

"We seem to play better when we're behind and that's all got to change," US goalkeeper Tim Howard said.

"For whatever reason we seem to be very resilient. With a little more luck and concentration we can get on the right side of the scoresheet early on."

Scoring first will be especially important against an Algerian squad that has not scored at all.

"We're frustrated now that we've fallen behind too often," DeMerit said. "It's not always easy to put together that type of comeback.

"I wouldn't call it a 'Cry Wolf' situation. It would be a situation you hope you wouldn't get into in the first place. One thing about not starting as well as we like, when we do start well, we're going to be in good shape."

Algeria's defence silenced a stellar English lineup and knows it must win or go home early from its first World Cup appearance in 24 years.

"They have got the ability to attack and create," Bradley said. "They defend in numbers and take their chances with some of the more creative attacking players going forward. It has worked well for them.

"It means our discipline, our ability to finish attacks, will be very important. Even when you have a talented attacking team like England... getting a goal is still not easy."

The North Africans carry plenty of confidence into the match.

"If Algeria plays to its potential, we do not need to worry about our opponents," Foxes midfielder Karim Matmour said. "If we play our style, we can beat anyone."

Midfielders Karim Ziani and Yazid Mansouri set the tempo for Algeria, which was undone in a loss to Slovenia only after a red card dipped the Desert Foxes to 10 men and made England pay for saying it barely knew any Foxes player.

"We showed that we were worthy of at least a minimum of respect," Rangers defender Madjid Bougherra said.

KEY TO MATCH:

US striker Jozy Altidore vs Algerian defenders

Both teams need to attack at some stage with victory vital to each. The US team figures to go on the offensive early on and with forward Robbie Findley suspended, the workload will fall to Altidore, aided by Clint Dempsey and Donovan. Blunting the initial US surge will be critical for Algeria.

The Americans had fought back from 2-0 down at half-time to 2-2 when Donovan put a free-kick into the box and amid a tangle of bodies Maurice Edu applied the finish which looked to have completed an incredible turnaround.

But Malian referee Koman Coulibaly ruled it out and did not give any reason to the mystified American players as they surrounded him at the time and again at the final whistle, with the match ending 2-2 to leave the group wide open.

Los Angeles Galaxy star Donovan said: "I'm assuming it was a foul somewhere, it couldn't have been offside. We asked many times who the foul was by but he wouldn't or couldn't explain it. I don't know what to think of the call, I didn't see a foul.

"To be honest I'm not sure how much English he speaks but when we asked in a non-confrontational manner why he had given the foul, he just ignored us."

Bradley was not given a satisfactory explanation either and felt if any infringement had been committed, it was by the defending Slovenians.

"In the midst of a game and everything that's going on it's rare that when a tough call is made that the referee will give you an answer.

"Sometimes, after the fact, you get an answer, and sometimes that's not the case either. Sometimes you are frustrated because you feel that situations have not been handled 100% correctly or fairly, but that's the way the game works and you move on."

Slovenia looked on course to secure a last 16 berth thanks to goals from Valter Birsa and Zlatan Ljubijankic in the first 45 minutes but a Landon Donovan goal early in the second period gave USA belief.

USA refused to give up on the game and Michael Bradley, son of coach Bob, grabbed the leveller in the 82nd minute after racing into the box to turn in a Jozy Altidore nod-down and the Americans had a further goal from Maurice Edu disallowed, apparently for some shirt-pulling in the box.

It leaves all to play for in Group C going into the final round of matches.

There was a very early stoppage when Clint Dempsey caught Ljubijankic with an elbow to the head as the pair challenged for a high ball near the halfway line. The Gent striker was fine to continue and Malian referee Koman Coulibaly opted to take no action against Dempsey.

Birsa created the first chance with a whipped cross from the right which Milivoje Novakovic failed to connect with on the volley, but the classy Slovenia number 10 took charge himself after 12 minutes.

He was allowed to turn and take stock before curling a shot past the helpless Tim Howard from 25 yards, with no American defender going to close him down.

Francisco Torres tested Handanovic with a left-foot free-kick from a wide angle, with the Udinese goalkeeper probably expecting a ball into the box rather than a cross.

It lifted the US, who had Robbie Findley booked for a handball in the Slovenia box which ruled him out of the final group match against Algeria, and Slovenia full-back Miso Brecko had to get a vital touch to deny Donovan a far-post tap-in after a flowing move involving Altidore, Findley and Dempsey.

But in a flash Bob Bradley's men were 2-0 down as Novakovic slotted a pass through to strike partner Ljubijankic, who beat the offside trap and calmly rolled a right-foot shot under Howard.

The US coach responded by bringing on Rangers midfielder Edu for Torres and Benny Feilhaber for Findley at the start of the second half.

Within three minutes of the restart the Americans had halved the deficit when right-back Steve Cherundolo's ball down the flank evaded Bostjan Cesar and Los Angeles Galaxy star Donovan raced into the box at an angle before drilling the ball hard and high past Handanovic at his near post.

Marko Suler then injured himself as he climbed over Altidore and from the resultant free-kick Dempsey's glancing header from Donovan's inswinging ball was just wide.

Howard then had to claw away a Birsa free-kick as Suler threatened to head it home and Suler was then involved at the other end to tackle Altidore after the former Hull loanee looked set to get clear of him just before the hour mark.

The game was now evenly poised and after Suler manhandled Altidore once too often for the referee's liking and was booked, the burly striker fired a shot straight at Handanovic. Andraz Kirm joined Suler in the book for going in late on Cherundolo and so too did Bojan Jokic for a clumsy foul on Donovan.

Bradley's final change was to bring on forward Herculez Gomez for defender Oguchi Onyewu as the US pressed for the leveller - and it was the coach's son who got it.

Altidore climbed high to nod down a long ball into the box and Bradley junior sprinted into the box to fire past Handanovic and send the majority of the Ellis Park crowd into hysterics with eight minutes to go.

The United States thought it had a winner when Edu turned in Donovan's free-kick but the referee disallowed it, apparently seeing a tug in the box although both sides appeared equally guilty of that.

Slovenia pushed forward for the glory goal and Aleksandar Radosavljevic forced an excellent parry from Howard from 25 yards as time ticked away.

The USA face the Alpine nation at Ellis Park knowing a win for Slovenia and for England against Algeria in Cape Town would leave qualification for the knockout phase out of their hands.

Former Fulham defender Bocanegra was familiar with many of England's star names from his stint in the Barclays Premier League but the man who is now with French club Rennes does not doubt the quality in the Slovenia line-up.

Bocanegra said: "We have some personal experience against these guys. A few play in Germany, a few in France, just because they're not in the Premier League we're still familiar with these guys. We are not going to take them lightly just because some people might not know the names as well."

USA coach Bob Bradley said his squad were all in good shape for the Group C encounter, with goalkeeper Tim Howard now recovered from the rib injury he suffered in a collision with England forward Emile Heskey on Saturday. Three USA players - Steve Cherundolo, Jay DeMerit and Robbie Findley - are a yellow card away from a suspension.

For Slovenia, coach Matjaz Kek is well aware his team are in a position to secure a place in the knockout phase after their opening win over Algeria in Polokwane and praised how far they had come in a year.

"A year ago we were making preparations for playing San Marino, today we are thinking about the knockout stage in our second match," he said.

"A great step has been taken and our squad has achieved a great evolution. This is not the most important match in our history but it is important and it can establish Slovenia on the global map of football.

"I know we have the smallest population of all the teams in the World Cup but we have not come here to rest, we are active participants in this World Cup. A year back things were completely different."

Aleksandar Radosavljevic and Andrej Komac are one yellow card away from being suspended for the final group match against England. Inter Milan midfielder Rene Krhin has an ankle knock and defender Marko Suler, who has struggled with injuries throughout the season, has what Kek described as "a light difficulty" but he expects both to be available for selection against the US.

The Americans were 2-0 up against Brazil at half-time in the final of the Confederations Cup at the Johannesburg stadium on June 28, 2009 only to lose the match 3-2.

Friday (Saturday morning AEST) a win for Slovenia and for England against Algeria would leave qualification for the knockout phase out of the hands of Bradley's team.

The USA boss accepts it is a big game but believes his team has plenty of experience of such high-pressure encounters, some won and some lost.

"Along the way there are finals and matches where the pressure is on," he said.

"We've had good experiences as a group, we've learned from both sides.

"We've learned from moments where we've stuck together and pulled out important wins and we've learned from days where we've let the game get away from us, I mentioned earlier the final last June."

Bradley insists he and his backroom team have done just as much homework on the Slovenians as they did on their more illustrious first group opponents England.

"Slovenia is a very good team, their coach Matjaz Kek has done an excellent job," he said.

"They are very well organised tactically, they are very smart and their defensive record in qualifying was outstanding.

"There is a good balance in the team and they have good mobility.

"We have watched their players a lot and have great respect for them.

"We prepare the same way for every match, we work on the little things we think are important and leave other things on the outside.

"Every time you prepare you have a sense of the most important players and the things they do as a group.

"The England names might be bigger names but any team coached by Fabio Capello is going to be a strong unit.

"For Slovenia, Robert Koren, as a captain and midfielder, is a player who is the engine of team. (Striker Milivoje) Novakovic has a good touch and brings other players into the game and Valter Birsa has a great left foot. You pay attention to the details."

Bradley said the squad were all in good shape, with goalkeeper Tim Howard now recovered from the rib injury he suffered in a collision with England forward Emile Heskey on Saturday (Sunday morning AEST).

Three USA players - Steve Cherundolo, Jay DeMerit and Robbie Findley - are a yellow card away from a suspension.

Bradley was pleased to hear his side being credited by Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld after the Swiss beat Spain on Wednesday (Thursday morning AEST).

The USA was the last side to beat the European champion when it ended a 35-match unbeaten run in the Confederations Cup last northern summer.

Bradley added: "Switzerland played a very good game because Spain is a great team. Hitzfeld is a great coach so if he paid our team a compliment, that's certainly a nice thing."

England got their World Cup campaign off to a flyer when captain Steven Gerrard gave them the lead inside four minutes, but the USA hit back through Dempsey, helped by Robert Green's mistake, to snatch a draw.

And the Fulham forward admits he is somewhat baffled as to how top Premier League players failed to perform.

"Honestly it seemed during the game that they were dealing with a lot of pressure," Dempsey told The Sun.

"I don't know why that is, you could just sense it a little bit. Even though they did score early, when we came back and we equalised, they just seemed edgy. They really did.

"You wouldn't think that would be the case for some of the best players in the world being on teams of the quality of Chelsea or Liverpool, winning the Champions League or the title. You would think these players would be full of confidence.

"There just seemed to be an edge to the team but it could have just been the opening game.

"You would have to ask them if it affected their performance.

"But they were edgy, there was an edginess to their game but I think they're a team with quality and they should play with confidence."

Green gifted Dempsey the equaliser and the delighted 27-year-old admits he has little sympathy for the England goalkeeper.

He added: "It's probably a save the keeper should have made. I didn't expect it to go in.

"When you hit it, you're kinda like 'Mmmm does it have a chance?' and then you see the keeper mishandle it and you're excited."

After being gifted a 1-1 opening draw with England thanks to goalkeeper Robert Green's now-infamous fumble, the US players find themselves needing a victory to overtake Slovenia, a 1-0 winner over Algeria in the other Group C opener.

Compared to the fast and physical pace against England, US coach Bob Bradley said, "the Slovenia game might be more of a chess match".

Slovenia saw off the Czech Republic and Russia in World Cup qualifying.

Another triumph and Slovenia also will be sending home either mighty England or a respectable US squad before the second round.

"They are a hard-working team. They are organised. They have an ability to sit back a little more and still get you on the counter," Bradley said.

In a match-up of the World Cup's largest and smallest nations in population and land area, it is Slovenia, with about two million people, that can reach the last 16 by downing the United States, which has about 300 million people.

"It's going to be very difficult as the tournament goes on and the results get more crucial," said US defender Oguchi Onyewu.

There was good news on the medical front on Monday as the Americans took a rest day with no practice.

US goalkeeper Tim Howard, who suffered bruised ribs against England after being struck by Emile Heskey, is expected to be ready for Slovenia after a team medical staff exam found he is making "substantial improvement" with no further tests needed, a US Soccer Federation statement said.

Bradley was pleased at how the US team, with seven players making their first World Cup appearance, held strong after falling behind 1-0 to England after only four minutes, something he credited to the team's mental character.

"The mentality of the group is strong," Bradley said. "We have been hardened along the way and we believe that we can play against tough teams, top teams. We know the mentality of how 90 minutes works."

Even if the Americans' only goal against England came on Green's blunder, the feeling among US players was, as defender Jay DeMerit put it: "We came out with a deserving result."

Clint Dempsey, who became only the second US player after Brian McBride to score goals in multiple World Cups, was matter-of-fact about his good fortune on what English tabloids dubbed the "Hand of Clod" goal.

"It's a goal that probably the keeper should have made a save on (but) they all count the same when they go in," Dempsey said.

"We didn't keep the ball enough. We need to manage the game a little bit better but to go one goal down to England, fight our way back and end up with a draw, we will be happy with that."

US defender Steve Cherundolo has received numerous well-wishing emails from pleased US supporters back home.

"The general public is proud of our performance and that's something this team can be proud about and build on," he said. "At the end of the day, results matter more than anything.

"No matter how you play, nobody wants a loser."

The US-England audience was the largest for a US men's football match since the US played Brazil in the Round of 16 at the 1994 World Cup, which drew some 15.8 million viewers, Nielsen said.

Viewership for the US-England clash did set a record for a first round match, surpassing the US-Romania audience of 12.1 million in 1994.

Nielsen said 65 per cent of the viewers aged 18 and older were men.

The US-England match was televised on broadcast television network ABC and on the Spanish-language channel Univision.

February's Super Bowl between the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts drew a record 106.5 million viewers in the United States, according to Nielsen.

That 1-0 success 60 years ago, against a side captained by Billy Wright, has gone down in history as one of the World Cup's biggest shocks.

Yet it was very much an isolated occasion, with US soccer subsequently falling back into total obscurity from which, on an international level, the USA were not to emerge for another 40 years.

This weekend's draw was another matter entirely.

It leaves the USA well placed to reach the last 16, having beaten tournament favourite Spain in the Confederations Cup 12 months ago before streaking into a two-goal lead against Brazil in the final, only to eventually get overhauled.

"It is a better result than 1950," said Howard.

"We are better positioned than we were then. We expected to put a performance in and get at least a draw, which tells you how far we have come."

Howard is hoping to get a couple of days off training following the rib injury he collected in a first-half collision with Emile Heskey.

The Everton keeper needed extensive treatment to continue and it wasn't until he reached the safety of the dressing room at half-time that he knew for certain he would reach the final whistle.

"Emile caught me right in the ribs," said Howard.

"I honestly didn't know whether it was broken or not.

"I was just trying to breathe and that was tough enough. I was going to give myself five or ten minutes because I knew once the adrenalin kicked back in I was going to be all right until half-time.

"But it was really sore and it did cross my mind I might have to be substituted.

"Thankfully I managed to make it through and eventually had a painkilling injection and some medicine."

Since moving to Everton, initially on loan, in 2006, Howard has proved himself to be one of the Premier League's most competent keepers.

Howard dived to gather the ball late in the first half as a sliding Heskey jammed his right boot into the American's chest, although Howard stayed in the game and made several key saves in a 1-1 draw.

"I was hurting and sore," Howard said. "I will be even more sore the next couple of days, but maybe it will get me out of training."

Howard was to be evaluated late on Sunday to see if more tests are needed or if he might have broken ribs. But Bradley said the performance he saw from Howard makes him think the Everton player will be back on duty against Slovenia.

"At this time I think there's no answer, but when you see the way Timmy handled himself after the collision, you would certainly expect he will be on the field again," Bradley said.

"He did a great job of taking a tough hit and staying in it and playing real well. We will assess him later and figure out what we have to do."

Two other English club goalkeepers, Marcus Hahnemann of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brad Guzan of Aston Villa, are in reserve if Howard cannot handle the injury days after he played through pain to deny England a victory.

"It felt like agony," Howard said. "I knew Heskey was going to slide in and he had every right to that ball same as I did. You just leave yourself exposed when you are at full stretch and he caught me just under my chest and ribs.

"I was in a lot of pain and was going to give myself 5 or 10 minutes to try to get back. I felt a lot of discomfort but some pain medication at half-time eased it a bit."

But as US defender Steve Cherundolo noted, adrenaline and the needs of the moment can energise any player on a stage as huge as the World Cup.

"Any time you are in a big game like that and get injured, there's no chance anybody is taking you off that field," Cherundolo said.

"It speaks to Tim's character. Guys are really excited about our chances of making the next round now."

Howard answered solid challenges from Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard, shaking off the hard hit to deny England's vaunted strikers and earn a much-needed point for the Americans.

"When you play at the highest level against the best competition, if you are up to the challenge, it will bring out the best in you," Howard said.

"England has so many potent strikers and midfielders that you are going to have to be on your game in order to play well."

Slovenia, which defeated Algeria 1-0 to go top of the table, figures to offer a more tactical challenge in the Americans' next Group C match at Johannesburg.

"It'll be a different kind of game," Bradley said, "They have an ability to sit back a little more and still get you on the counter. The Slovenia game might be more of a chess match."

Rooney was restricted to only a couple of opportunities throughout the 90 minutes as the USA concentrated on denying him space and the chance to run at its defenders.

The Manchester United star seldom got the better of centre-back pairing Oguchi Onyewu - playing his first competitive match for eight months after injury - and Jay DeMerit.

Former Fulham defender Bocanegra, who now plays for Rennes, said: "Oguchi had a great game and was a strong presence in the middle for us.

"I thought he and Jay had fantastic games and shut down Wayne Rooney most of the time.

"Jay did well to follow him into the midfield and we also had pressure applied by the midfielders coming back to close him down.

"The second half was a little bit more open and he got a few more chances to run at us.

"That's going to happen when we're a bit tired and space gets more open. But I thought overall we did well on Rooney.

DeMerit, who has just parted company with Watford, said: "Going into the game, if you let a player of Rooney's calibre turn and run at you, you are going to have a long day.

"We knew negating as much space as we could in front of him, so he couldn't do that, would give us the best chance."

Bocanegra was full of praise for his side's all-round performance even though it needed a mistake by England goalkeeper Robert Green to gift USA an equaliser.

He added: "It was a gritty team effort. That's how we play. We play scrappy, we play hard, we fight for 90 minutes in a big group effort.

"Our centre-halves were fantastic and Steve (Cherundolo) on the right did very well to shut down their speedy wingers.

"The forwards did well, the midfielders came in tight and ran over to cover for us. It was a really big team effort. That's something you need against a big team like England."

The Fulham striker had already been denied a decent chance when Jozy Altidore nicked Landon Donovan's cross away from him as the United States was battling back against England.

But even Dempsey thought his speculative shot five minutes before half-time was not going to cause Robert Green a problem.

Instead, the hapless Green inexplicably allowed the ball to slip through his fingers and bobble into the net, to England's complete shock and Dempsey's total jubilation.

It earned the USA a 1-1 draw that leaves the Stars and Stripes well placed to reach the knockout phase.

"When I hit the shot I knew it was going on target and at the last second it moved a little bit," he said.

"I saw Green reaching for it but then I saw it go over the line. I was hoping the referee saw it too. Thankfully he did.

"It is one of those goals everyone else seems to get. You watch them and think 'Why can I never get a goal like that'. Now I have."

Dempsey conceded England was the better side after the interval.

However, the United States continued to create chances and the 27-year-old claimed that if Altidore had spotted him square to his left when Green made the crucial second-half save that kept England in it, a repeat of that famous victory in 1950 would have been on the cards.

"In the second half we didn't do a good job keeping possession," he said.

"They had some good opportunities and Tim came up with some big saves.

"But we had two excellent chances as well.

"When Jozy hit the post if he squared it to me or it had got a different bounce we could have scored."

The 2010 FIFA World Cup’s first triple header night and morning, dished up to Australian football fans courtesy of SBS, saw South Korea display its credentials, Lionel Messi shine on the international stage and a customary howler from an England goalkeeper.

Korea Republic produced its best team performance on the global stage since Dutch supercoach Guus Hiddink led it to the semi-finals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

The South Koreans' 2-0 win over Greece does not reflect how truly dominant the team captained by Manchester United’s Park Ji Sung was. South Korea looked super fit, was disciplined and expressed pace and skill like no other Asian national team at the World Cup.

Greece looked ordinary as it struggled to cope with a faster and fitter opponent. Park’s goal, the second of the match, was a brilliant piece of individual skill after the defence turned over the ball in a dangerous area.

Diego Maradona’s Argentina won its opening match again Nigeria by a solitary goal - Gabriel Heinze’s header - but its attacking performance would have pleased all fans and football neutrals.

Lionel Messi injected himself at every opportunity he felt necessary, and on each occasion toyed with his opponents with a masterclass in dribbling, passing and/or shooting. He would have scored at least two goals if Vincent Enyeama - the Nigeria goalkeeper - was not in such inspired form.

Messi showed enough in an energetic 90 minutes to suggest this could very well be his World Cup.

While Messi was a definite positive for Maradona, Real Madrid marksman Gonzalo Higuain was out of sorts in front of goal and veteran playmaker Juan Veron couldn’t find his passing range, perhaps due to the Jubilani beach ball.

Argentina also needs to show more discipline in defence. When Nigeria managed to construct meaningful attacks, it found it too easy to penetrate the likes of Walter Samuel and Jonas Guttierez. Against better opposition, such lack of concentration could prove costly.

England was slightly better than the United States in their Group C match, however a horrible blunder by goalkeeper Robert Green meant Steven Gerrard’s early strike was cancelled out and the teams ended with a point each.

The howler, an tragically familiar story for England fans, was only part of Fabio Capello’s problems.

With Gareth Barry injured, Gerrard and Frank Lampard were alone in central midfield and once again unable to direct the team. There were very few fluid attacking moves and star striker Wayne Rooney needed to come deeper and deeper as the match wore on to inject himself due to lack of quality service.

In defence, Ledley King - starting in place of injured skipper Rio Ferdinand - let USA players get goalside of him too many times for comfort before being substituted at half-time due to injury. His replacement Jamie Carragher looked completely off the pace. It seems Matthew Upson or Michael Dawson need to be given a run in future games.

Here’s to the many triple headers to come!

Green fumbled a 25-yard shot from Clint Dempsey and watched the ball spin behind him and trickle agonisingly over the line.

It stopped England in its tracks after it had got off to the best possible start with a goal from captain Steven Gerrard in the fourth minute.

And there was more bad news for England when Capello revealed that Ledley King had been substituted at half-time for Liverpool's Jamie Carragher because the Tottenham defender has an abductor injury which will keep him out of Friday's (Saturday AEST) game against Algeria.

Capello, however, insisted his decision to keep his goalkeepers guessing until two hours before kick off at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium was not a mistake.

"No, absolutely not," he said. "I decided Green would be the goalkeeper because he played the last game very well and at Wembley (against Mexico) the performance was very good too. He made one mistake, but in the second half he made a good save. This is the problem of the goalkeeper.

"We have to accept the mistakes of goalkeepers and of referees and of forwards. This is football."

Capello, however, refused to say whether he would stand by Green against Algeria, saying: "We have time to decide and to speak with him and I will decide."

The England manager also substituted James Milner after half an hour, bringing on Shaun Wright-Phillips, explaining that he was worried the Aston Villa midfielder would get sent off after receiving an early yellow card.

But Capello insisted: "We played a good match and created a lot of chances. But the result is not okay for us. We played better than USA but the USA are very good. I saw the spirit of England and the team. They fight every time to win back the ball.

"I am not worried for the next game about their physical condition. We ran better in the second half than the USA. But now we have to look forward for the next game."

They will have to do so without King whose injury-prone body was always a gamble for Capello.

On Wayne Rooney's performance, Capello said: "I think his movement was good. He shot once very well and his movement was very important."

USA goalkeeper Tim Howard, meanwhile, admitted he had sympathy for Green after witnessing his howler. Howard put it down to the controversial World Cup ball.

"He made some good saves but this ball is doing silly things and at this level these things happen," said the Everton player.

"I feel terrible for him, but in goalkeeping you have to have broad shoulders."

On being caught cold in the fourth minute by Gerrard's opener, Howard, who was involved in a heavy challenge with Emile Heskey in the first half, said: "We weren't sharp early on especially with the goal. The marking was too lax but you can't dwell on it with 90 minutes to play. It deflated us but we responded well and when we calmed down and got in the flow of the game we did well.

"It was backs to the wall. It wasn't pretty but I am happy overall. We're glad it's over. There's been a lot of hype and pressure. I'm just glad we put in a performance we can be proud of."

United States coach Bob Bradley said: "It was important for us to take a point. The reponse from the team was strong and there are good things we can take away from the match.

"There was a big battle in midfield and I felt ours as a whole did a good job. It was a fast, hard game and we were pleased at how we competed with England."

On Gerrard's goal he added: "There was a big hole in our back line. England made us pay but it forced us to get ourselves going very quickly.

"It was a good team effort defensively. Wayne Rooney is a good mobile player. Our back line was a bit out of sync in the first half but we got better in the second.

"We had a good focus all the time. We came away with positives to get ready against Slovenia."

Gerrard put England ahead inside four minutes but Green let a simple Clint Dempsey shot slip from his grasp as Fabio Capello's side had to settle for a point in its opening match in Rustenburg.

Gerrard told ITV1: "It was a difficult game. The most important thing in the opening game is not to lose. The idea was to win but unfortunately we let a poor goal in and we couldn't go and get the winner. The target now has to be seven points."

Reflecting on Dempsey's goal, Gerrard continued: "It was one of those freak things, I don't think you can criticise the keeper. People have been talking about the ball and it is tricky.

"Rob will learn from this and he might make an important save that wins us a match. We're all behind him. It was a bit of shock and it took us a while to get over it."

Steven Gerrard had given the Three Lions' World Cup campaign a flying start with a fourth-minute opener in Rustenburg.

England was still holding that advantage despite a less-than-convincing performance, until Green committed the kind of howler David Seaman, Paul Robinson and Scott Carson have all done down the years and allowed Clint Dempsey's harmless shot to slip through his fingers.

Fabio Capello could only watch on in horror and wonder why fate had dealt him such a shocking hand given he had preferred Green to David James and Joe Hart as his first-choice goalkeeper, dismissing the latter man for fear his inexperience would cost England in a similar manner to that the West Ham man actually did.

There was to be no atonement, even though England dominated at the end.

And with one of his favourite sons, James Milner, hauled off after half an hour, Ledley King failing to return for the second half and his replacement Jamie Carragher getting himself badly exposed on more than one occasion, it will be an uncomfortable six days for Capello and his players before England tries to rebuild its reputation against Algeria in Cape Town next Friday (Saturday morning AEST).

Capello's first World Cup as a manager could not have got off to a better start either.

Having resolved to start with Green in the problematic goalkeeping position and Milner on the left-hand side of midfield, Capello sat back and waited. Within three minutes he was wearing the broadest of smiles.

Glen Johnson and Frank Lampard were both involved in the initial stages of a move that ended with Emile Heskey doing what he does best, allowing a teammate to score.

Usually it is with brawn. This time it was the silky touch of a delicate through ball for Gerrard, who had motored into the box.

The new England skipper steadied himself, then tucked a precise finish under Tim Howard and raced away to the far corner flag pursued by a posse of ecstatic white shirts.

Rather than a majority of United States supporters, as had been suggested, the stadium was clearly packed with England fans, who celebrated with natural glee.

Unfortunately, it was not long before the smiles turned to worried frowns.

England still kept creating chances. Lampard and Wayne Rooney tested Howard with a couple of speculative efforts, Steve Cherundolo turned away a teasing low cross from Aaron Lennon and Heskey almost got on the end of a Lennon ball into the six-yard area.

But for all this, the United States was causing England a major headache.

It may have won the previous meeting so famously in 1950 but the stars and stripes boasts a far more professional outfit these days and it quickly began to show how it reached the Confederations Cup final 12 months ago.

As so often, Landon Donovan was the architect of their best work, exposing Milner at the same time.

Ill during the week, the Aston Villa man, one of Capello's favourites, was badly exposed and had already been booked for a foul on Cherundolo before he was replaced by Shaun Wright-Phillips.

The move was Capello's ruthless response to a growing number of threatening American attacks, the best of which provided an open goal for Jozy Altidore when he jumped for Donovan's free-kick, yet inexplicably missed the ball completely.

Another long-range Donovan effort had Green at full stretch before the moment that will be repeated so often and the West Ham goalkeeper has to live with for the rest of his life arrived.

Dempsey turned Gerrard neatly but was still 25 yards when he took aim.

The new Jabulani ball made the effort worthwhile. There is no way it should have ended up in the net though.

Green could only bury his head in the ground as he came to terms with a fumbled attempt to save that ended with the ball slipping through his grasp and agonisingly out of reach as it bobbled over the line.

When England returned from an interval that must have included attempting to raise Green's spirits, King had been replaced by Carragher.

But any thought the Liverpool veteran would shore things up at the back was quickly dispelled as first he was booked for a foul on Robbie Findlay, then he was left for dead by Altidore, which at least allowed Green to redeem himself with a fine save as he pushed the American's shot on to the post.

Prior to that, Heskey had failed to beat Howard having been sent through by Lennon.

Heskey also wasted the last of three decent England chances; Lampard and Rooney did much better from much further out with the others as the Three Lions asserted itself at the end without managing to fashion a winner.

World football was stunned 60 years ago when a goal from Joe Gaetjens earned the USA a 1-0 win over England in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

The US has developed as a footballing force in recent years and last summer reached the final of the Confederations Cup - also in South Africa.

But Bradley knows overcoming England will still be viewed as a major surprise.

"Victory over England would certainly be a great way for us to start the World Cup," he said.

"We understand the balance between the importance of this game and looking at the whole group.

"But we are all aware that 1950 was a big moment in USA soccer history and victory this time would certainly be right there on a par with it."

Bradley is "expecting" his side to win but knows they will have to shackle Wayne Rooney for that to become a realistic prospect in the Royal Bafokeng Stadium.

Bradley continued: "I was asked the question 'do I expect to win' and I said 'yes' because of the work we've put in, and what we believe in with our team.

"We step on to the field believing we can win. It's said with no disrespect to our opponents.

"It will take a strong, strong effort on our part, but the preparation has been good and the feeling is the players are ready to go. We're stepping on to the field with the idea to win.

"But I would also agree that stopping Wayne Rooney is the key.

"He's such an important player in their team. He comes here off a super season.

"Our ability to keep track of him and make life hard for him is a key part of us making sure we can win."

Bradley confirmed Hull flop Jozy Altidore will start against England.

Altidore managed only one goal for the Tigers last season when on loan from Villarreal.

But the 20-year-old will be in the first X1 after recovering from an ankle injury which kept him out of last weekend's friendly win over Australia.

Altidore was the USA's leading scorer during their qualification campaign with six goals.

Biden addressed a gathering of diplomats and South African politicians at the US consulate in Johannesburg on Friday and received loud applause when he said "in the spirit of a real Irishman, we are going to beat England".

He wished South Africa luck in staging the World Cup, saying "no other sport in the world ever focused such attention on one country than the World Cup".

"All eyes are on South Africa. This is truly historic, this is the first World Cup on the Africa soil," Biden said.

Altidore netted only one goal for the Tigers last season when on loan from Villarreal.

But the 20-year-old will face Fabio Capello's side after recovering from an ankle injury which kept him out of last weekend's friendly win over Australia.

Altidore was USA's leading scorer during its qualification campaign with six goals.

Bradley said: "It was an important year for Jose. Any player that has gone to the Premier League finds out about the level and the competitiveness.

"But I think he grew a lot at Hull and the one thing I would always say about Jose, from our experiences with him, is when he's come into our camps he's shown that, when things don't come easily it's helped him.

"He comes in with a level of determination and ready to prove himself. He knows we believe in him. That's why he continues to be important for us."

Bradley was always confident that Altidore would be fit and he is likely to replace Robbie Findley after Edson Buddle netted twice against the Socceroos.

He has fielded a barrage of questions in the build-up to the game about England striker Wayne Rooney and once again stressed the USA would not try to wind up the Manchester United player.

But Bradley conceded keeping Rooney in check would be crucial to USA's chances of defeating England.

He said: "I would concede stopping Rooney is the key to our chances of success.

"He's such an important player in their team. He comes here off a super season.

"Our ability to keep track of him and make life hard for him is a key part of us making sure we can win."

There may well be far more recognition of the game Americans call soccer than there was in 1990, when it began a run of six successive finals appearances.

But the most popular team sport on the planet still has to fight for recognition in the most lucrative commercial market.

The World Cup provides an invaluable shop window but in order to seize the opportunity to showcase its wares, USA has to make an impact, something it totally failed to do in Germany four year ago.

Victory over England in Rustenburg would certainly make people sit up and take notice, and maybe create a longer lasting impression than what was managed 60 years ago when Joe Gaetjens scored the only goal in one of the most sensational results in the tournament's entire history.

Beasley is aware life is not so simple. He is not sure the vast majority of American sports fans understand.

"People back home have read about 1950 and think we beat them then so we can beat them now," he said. "But they are the people who don't know anything about football.

"England are one of the favourites to win the tournament. I am sure the people who know about these things would think it was a massive shock even if we got a draw."

Beasley is one of the growing US contingent to have a British connection.

He spent six months with Manchester City - and remains in contact with former team-mate Joe Hart - in 2008 before spending a couple of unfulfilling years at Rangers.

His Ibrox contract has expired and he will not be going back, disappointed at leaving supporters he had a lot of affection for but disillusioned by the way he was treated.

"I am done with Rangers," said the 28-year-old. "They are a great club with great fans and in that respect I didn't want to leave.

"But I never felt I got a great chance in Scotland and that was disappointing.

"I need to play football and I need to move my career along, so I have to find another club."

Beasley spent enough time on both sides of Hadrian's Wall to be aware that while the flag of St George will fly proudly over England, in Scotland, the Stars and Stripes will be the flag of choice.

Already plenty of Scottish friends have been in touch offering their best wishes to the Indiana-born player ahead of a game Beasley in anxious to ensure England start burdened down by the pressure of increased expectation.

"England should beat America," he said. "We will try everything we can but they have the better players because they play for the really big teams. All the pressure is on them."

There is even a difference in terms of the wildlife both sides have managed to see in the build-up.

While England was on an unsuccessful hunt for the big cats at the Pilanesberg Game Reserve, USA's squad has been sharing its space with farm animals on its Pretoria base.

Fortunately they are removed from the main action just far enough to avoid the unmistakable farm smell.

But the USA is never that far away from a crowing cockerel, or even worse.

"I almost got stampeded by about 80 cows the other day," smiled Beasley.

"They just came around the corner. You also get monkeys jumping around on the roofs and trees - it is pretty cool really.

"There might be places in America where you get that kind of thing, but if there is, I have never stayed there."

Questions have been raised over Rooney's temperament heading into the FIFA World Cup, yet USA coach Bob Bradley has insisted that his side will not try to wind up the 24-year-old when the two teams meet in Rustenburg on Sunday morning (AEST).

However, Greaves, who was part of England's victorious squad at the 1966 World Cup, has warned Rooney that he will still be the target of underhand tactics.

"The Americans have said they are not going to wind him up, but I'm sure they're lying," Greaves told Press Association Sport.

"The first thing they are going to do is wind him up something shocking and see if he loses it.

"Even if he doesn't lose it, he may lose his concentration and that will stop him playing as well as he can.

"The Italian boy (Marco Materazzi) did it wonderfully well against (Zinedine) Zidane in the 2006 World Cup final. You couldn't be more effective than that, could you?

"It could happen to Rooney. They will try and get at him, there is no question about that.

"Players always did, this is absolutely nothing new everyone always tries to get at everyone else.

"Massive, massive mind games go on during the course of a game as well as the physical stuff, the mind games are always there."

Speaking as part of a World Cup promotion for Burger King, Greaves also insisted the country's "special relationship" with the USA, referred to by numerous politicians over the years, should count for nothing when the two teams clash at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium.

The former Tottenham and Chelsea striker insisted that "the Yanks are not particularly interested in soccer anyway" and claimed players in America do not "play to any high degree".

He added: "I don't think we've had a special relationship with America for a very, very long time. I think we have been deluding ourselves.

"We've been paying them back for 50 years for money they lent us in the Second World War. If we'd had a special relationship they'd have let us off of that.

"The only time I think America and Britain had a special relationship was when Maggie Thatcher and Ronald Regan were in power, but other than that I don't think the Yanks have had much time for us to be perfectly honest."

The AC Milan centre-back is ready to stand up and be counted if Rooney starts being over-physical in his approach.

Onyewu has only just returned to action after suffering a patella injury in November and did not complete 90 minutes in any of the USA's warm-up matches for South Africa

But the 28-year-old feels he is ready to play a full part against England if called upon by coach Bob Bradley to try and stifle the challenge of Rooney.

The former Newcastle player said: "I am up to facing England. You can argue that it is a hinderance facing Wayne Rooney in that I haven't played a lot.

"But it is the decision of the coach to pick the 23-man squad and he felt I was fit enough to contribute to the team - and so do I.

"I get asked if I will stand up to Rooney if he puts it about but I've played big, strong players before.

"If they want to start pushing, they can start pushing. That is fine, that is not an issue.

"It will not hurt us with me being strong. I don't think it will be the deciding factor but it will be a contributory factor to help us."

Onyewu added: "I didn't face Rooney during my time at Newcastle, I was only there six months, but played against him for the USA (at Wembley in 2008).

"I remember him being a good player, always putting pressure on the defence, pretty much what you see week in and week out for Manchester United.

"But I don't think Rooney is the only player on the English squad.

"They have a number of world class players from defence to attack. Although Rooney is a world class and great player, you shouldn't focus on just one player."

Onyewu insists he is fully fit although the lack of match sharpness may be an issue the longer the game progresses.

He said: "I feel fine. there have been no complications. I have not had any restrictions with training or game activities.

"I would have loved to see if I could play a full 90 minutes in the friendlies but a lot of defenders didn't play a full 90.

"I am sure Bob (Bradley) was trying to spread the time as evenly as possible between the players and I don't have an issue with that.

"With a patella injury, the hardest part was to get the muscle back in the quad and I worked for many months on that.

"Thankfully it is where it needs to be right now so I am happy. I'm physically fit, I've done all the fitness with the rest of the team.

"There are no issues in terms of me playing a full 90 minutes. I feel fine and ready to start this tournament."

Onyewu helped USA reach the final of the Confederations Cup last year and is confident his country can also do itself justice against England.

He said: "England are a great team but I think we have a very good squad and a good chemistry in our squad.

"I think against any team, we can compete and get a result. We have proven that in the last few years.

"I think people now realise that the USA are not a world power but can cause trouble to any team on any given day."

Striker Jozy Altidore is also fit to play against England after recovering from an ankle problem and resuming full training.

Players' language has been a hot topic since Wayne Rooney was booked for swearing at a referee during a pre-tournament friendly, with the referees for England's opener against the United States saying they have been learning English profanities in order to know what to listen for.

Gerrard is warning his team-mates not to get caught in the trap.

"You don't swear at them, do you?" he said.

"That's the answer to that. In this day and age I think it's important to show the referees some respect. You don't use any language because then you'll be booked and the whole team suffers.

"You don't want to fall into that trap."

Rooney's temper has been widely discussed, but Gerrard expects the Manchester United forward to be able to handle any goading he may face.

"I'm not sure whether he'll be targeted, we'll wait and see," he said. "Wayne's experienced enough now to deal with it if he is.

"Wayne understands we need him on the pitch, he's a very important player, and every player has been warned by the manager and coaching staff to channel their frustration in the right way and not get involved with the referees or with any silly challenges.

"We've had experience of losing big players at important times and we need to keep everyone on the pitch."

Altidore missed the weekend success over Australia in a friendly international in Johannesburg while recovering from an ankle problem.

But the 20-year-old has resumed full training and head coach Bob Bradley is confident he will be able to play a full part against Fabio Capello's side.

Bradley said: "The injury cost him a couple of days (training) but, from the start, we knew it was very minor.

"The fact he is back in regular training means he is available for whatever role we choose on Saturday."

Altidore could have a key role to play against England as he was the USA's leading marksman in its qualifying campaign for the finals with six goals.

But Edson Buddle and Robbie Findley staked their claims to start by impressing as a partnership against Australia.

Meanwhile, Bradley is also optimistic key defender Oguchi Onyewu will be able to complete 90 minutes against England if called upon.

Onyewu has just returned to fitness after suffering a patellar tendon injury seven months ago and did not complete any of the USA's three warm-up games for the World Cup.

Bradley said: "The fitness programme that we have put our players through for the World Cup means all 23 players are ready to play 90 minutes on Saturday if asked.

"It is a credit to our staff and the players because they have worked incredibly hard."

Bradley, the son of USA coach Bob Bradley, has pledged to make it 'really hard' for Fabio Capello's side in Rustenburg.

He believes USA will stick to the tried and tested formula which saw it reach the final of the Confederation Cup last northern summer before losing to Brazil after leading 2-0 at one stage.

The Borussia Monchengladbach player said: "We have a way of playing that has got us this far - and we are going to stick to that.

"The most important thing is to go out and give everything we have and make it really hard on England.

"That means closing them down well. If one guy gets beaten, the next guy is always there.

"It means having a physical edge to the way you play, being committed to running and fighting and covering for each other for 90 minutes.

"There is a lot of things that go into it. When we have the ball, we have to be sharp and put them under pressure a little bit, playing the game in their half and being aggressive with that.

"There are a lot of things that go into it - but having a physical edge is something we bring on our best days and we need that on Saturday."

Bradley feels the team which can control its emotions and be disciplined under pressure will have the best chance of winning at the weekend.

His comments follow on from England striker Wayne Rooney appearing to lose his cool during a practice match with the Platinum Stars and being booked for dissent.

Bradley said: "In any big game, players play with a lot of emotion and on Saturday, I imagine England will have 11 of them on - and so will we.

"The ability in any pressure situation to play with an edge and an emotion and still manage it is a challenge for any player, any athlete.

"The team able to do that the best has the best chance of winning."

Bradley insists he is relaxed now about his father being head coach after initially having to try extra hard to prove he was worth his place in the squad.

He said: "The team comes before everything else and, the fact he is my dad, maybe down the road you can look back and say 'that was something special.'

"For right now, the focus is on the team and making sure we are ready to go.

"As a young player first coming into the team, you've got to earn your way.

"The fact my dad is coach, means there is a bit of a feeling of having to earn the respect of team-mates and coaches even more.

"I've never been bothered by what people on the outside say or write.

"The most important thing is when I step on the field is I have the confidence and respect of the guys I am playing with.

"When that is the case, the other stuff doesn't matter."

So says Sunil Gulati, president of the US Soccer Federation and leader of a US bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup that FIFA will decide in December.

"In terms of marketing, you couldn't ask for anything better. It's a dream game from that perspective," Gulati said of the US-England match at Rustenburg.

"It's an unprecedented moment. There will be more interest in this game than any the US has played in a long time.

"The water cooler talk is greater than anything I've seen.

"A win would be fantastic. It would give us a lot of hype and headlines. It would give us confidence.

"But if you have a choice of all that or be eliminated then you would rather be in the second round."

US star midfielder Landon Donovan agreed that advancing was more important than beating England, but didn't shrug off the idea that a win would be the stuff of Hollywood cinematic legend as it was for the 1950 side that shocked England 1-0 in the World Cup.

"It's hard as an athlete who sees the big picture to let myself go there," Donovan said.

"I understand how much this game means but there is more to it. We have to be ready to react no matter what happens on Saturday.

"I don't know who would play me in the movie. I like Johnny Depp, though."

Gulati has a long-term focus as well when it comes to what a US win over England would mean.

"I don't measure it at all in terms of payoff. This isn't about financial gains if the team is successful. This game is about where the sport is in the US," Gulati said.

"People are clearly talking about the US-England game. The question is what's happening on July 15. That's the opportunity we have, to get a bunch of people who are casual observers turned on."

Record US television coverage and promotion of the World Cup have followed the arrival of English icon Beckham with Los Angeles Galaxy, although he will miss the World Cup through injury.

Beckham's much-hyped US arrival was hindered by injury but has still had an impact, helping MLS add clubs and boosting the sport's US following in a land where American football, basketball and baseball rule.

"He has been great for MLS," Gulati said. "It has been a positive effect.

"David has taken us into households that we haven't been to before.

"Do people come back when David Beckham is not playing? That's the longer lasting issue."

Donovan, a Beckham team-mate with the Galaxy, has seen first hand Beckham's star power ignite passion.

"David has been great in every way. He has almost singlehandedly brought an awareness to our game that wasn't there before," Donovan said.