Team USA opens up in World Cup Group C play with its first competitive match against England since the 1950 'Miracle on Grass'. That 1-0 game was rated as the greatest upset in FIFA history.This time Team USA and team captain Landon Donovan won't be sneaking up on England or the rest of the world. They are ranked Number 14 in the FIFA world rankings, upset then FIFA World Number 1 ranked Spain last summer enroute to the Confederations Cup final with Brazil and have 14 players on this squad who play in the English Premier League.
The Americans will try to capture some of that almost 50 year old magic with a team that is the most diverse USA team ever put together for World Cup competition.
The USA men are trying to prove to the rest of the soccer playing world that we can hang and compete with the soccer superpowers. They also want to erase the memories of a less than satisfying 2006 World Cup tournament in Germany. They tied Italy 1-1, but lost to Ghana and the Czech Republic to compile an 0-2-1 record in Group play and not advance.
If they want to advance in the 2010 edition of the World Cup tournament, this widely anticipated match against England is a critical step toward doing so.
