How well USA perform at the world cup in South Africa could boil down to the form of one man, Landon Donovan. Donovan is coming off a great season with Everton, in the English Premier League.
Another key player for the Americans is Tim Howard between the posts; Tim Howard has also honed his skills with Everton and has proved to be an extremely valuable footballer that USA can always rely on.
USA's game plan against their transatlantic rivals should hinge on counter-attack, but with a formidable England midfield in place, getting ball possession is going to be the primary problem for the United States' forwards. The best bet could be a counter-attack on the rebound that is led by Donovan, and supported by Clint Dempsey.
Oguchi Onyewu's bad knee has put USA's defence on the back foot, literally and metaphorically. They will have their hands full trying to keep Rooney and Lampard in check.
Additionally, Jozy Altidore, Edson Buddle and Herculez Gomes in the US forward line will have to play out of their skin if they aim to dent even an England defence that's bereft of Rio Ferdinand.
In the last five years the two teams have met twice, and England have had the measure of the North Americans, on both the occasions. In the nine games the teams have played in the past, England have won seven, with 43 goals scored between them.
Coach Bob Bradley's USA had a great showing in the Confederations Cup in 2009, where they registered a shock win over Spain, and in their match against Brazil took a two-goal lead before eventually going down to the South Americans. The Confederation Cup showing points to the Americans' ability to pull off upsets, while being inconsistent, by and large.
Fabio Capello's England have lost just four of the 24 games they haved played on the Italian coach's watch. They will rue Ferdinand's loss to injury, as they progress through the tournament. Whether King and Terry in the back line can hold up against the more potent attacks they are likely to face in South Africa remains to be seen.
In addition, there's a question mark over whether Gerrard and Lampard can combine well in the midfield. The team's Italian coach is likely to opt for Heskey to partner Rooney up front, although Heskey looked flat footed in the warm ups.
Regardless, England are overwhelming favorites to prevail over the Americans, in their opener, on Saturday.
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