World Cup Team Profiles: Group C: USA

Teams / Ari Last / 18 February 2010 / Leave a comment Free £25 Bet

When it comes to football, the USA are still the subject of much mockery within many corners of the game's more established nations. Yet as recent results show, Bob Bradley's men enter 2010 as a force to be reckoned with...

It is a widely accepted sentiment that one day, due to the size of their talent pool, the growing popularity of the sport, the influx of their players into major European leagues and because they tend to be good at pretty much everything else, the USA will win the World Cup.

2010 though, may have come just a little too soon. At odds of [80.0] to succeed, not many are giving the USA much hope, yet judging by their excellent performance in the 2009 Confederations Cup, they're certainly a side that the competition, and England in particular, need to treat very carefully.

Nation: USA

Also known as...
'The Stars and Stripes'

Route to South Africa...
Long but ultimately stress-free. The USA needed to go through four different group stages in order to book their place in the tournament, yet they sailed through each one relatively untroubled and finished top of the final phase, after picking up impressive wins over fellow qualifiers Mexico and Honduras.

World Cup Pedigree...
The USA have competed in nine previous World Cups and their best showing was all the way back in 1930, when they reached the Semi-Finals of the inaugural tournament in Uruguay. 2010 will be their sixth consecutive appearance and they'll unquestionably be expecting to trump their efforts in 2006, when they exited at the Group stage.

They'll be relying on...
The Premier League's finest January transfer-window import Landon Donovan to add the finesse to a well-drilled, workmanlike unit. Donovan has surprised perhaps even himself since arriving in England from The LA Galaxy, and his pace, skill and direct approach have made him an instant favourite amongst Everton fans. His blistering form has defied those critics who have forever labelled him as a flat-track bully, and the USA will need him to continue silencing the doubters on the international stage this summer.

Something you may not have known is...
The USA prevented Spain from re-writing the history books in 2009, when they ended their undefeated 35-match run by beating the European Champions 2-0 in the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup. The Spanish went into the game knowing that avoiding defeat would have seen them surpass the joint- record they had held with Brazil. But the USA had other ideas, and thanks to goals from Clint Dempsey and Joze Altidore, they ran out deserved winners.

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