United States - Team Fact Sheet

10 Awesome Facts about America's World Cup Soccer Squad!

When you think of the United States, you think big cars, fast food, the Statue of Liberty, Manhattan, Hollywood, Baywatch beach babes, Texas cowboys, the KKK, the CIA, George Bush (argh!), Barack Obama (yeah!), McDonald's, obesity, capitalism, innovation, jazz, rap, Pentecostal Christianity, the Grand Canyon, patriotism, Oprah, Rambo, baseball, basketball and "American football."

But funny enough, even though this country of 308 million has been competing in the World Cup since its beginning, it is not known as a soccer-playing nation. That's changing. America is starting to take it seriously, at the club and national level. The women's team have already won a couple of World Cups. And the boys have had some international success too, though they've yet to have their breakthrough performance. In South Africa, we expect them to build on their success and put up a serious challenge to the big boys. They've got nothing to lose.

So here's the top 10 facts you need to know about the American football team:

10. The nicknames for the United States of America's football (soccer) team are the Yanks, The Stars & Stripes, and The Red, White & Blue. We like the Yanks the best. It's got style. The other two are too predictably patriotic. We know the Americans love their flag, but when they're "the Yanks," they seem like people we could chill with over a cold beer. C'mon Yanks!

9. The Yanks will be making their 9th appearance at the World Cup, far more than the 5 of Portugal. It's a sturdy record of participation in the world's game. But the previous Cups weren't so important to the American population, because it's only now that soccer is really taking on a popular (and commercially viable) dimension there. Professional soccer is becoming a normal feature of sporting life, with or without Posh 'n Becks in LA. We expect them to make a move against the favoured teams in this World Cup. Why not?

8. The USA has won 4 continental tournaments (including 3 of the last 5), again testimony to the strength and consistency of the national team. They did suffer a punishing 5-0 loss to Mexico at the 2009 edition, but that seems to have been a fluke. Even if Mexico was the better team, the Americans can usually put up a couple of markers on the board. Right guys? They'll have to figure out what went wrong quickly though because South Africa is upon them!

7. Bob Bradley coaches the American team. A former coach at Princeton University, he graduated up to Major League Soccer in the '90s and has lead a number of club teams. Since 2006, he's been the national coach, consistently raising the quality of their game. But it hasn't been easy. Pesky Mexico can never quite be contained, so they remain a threat at every match. The States will have to do more if they want hegemony in their region, let alone the world.

6. Carlos Bocanegra is the captain of the USA squad. A centre-back from Los Angeles, he's played for the national side since 2001. He spent some time in American clubs, then moved to Fulham in England, then Rennes in France. He's considered an outstanding defender, so they'll need him as they take on the best in South Africa.

5. Top scorer Landon Donovan has booted in a national record 42 goals. An LA boy in the forward position, he's been with the national side since 2000, and also with the Los Angeles Galaxy since 2005. He's had some cool moments: in his debut for the US, he scored a goal. And in the final qualifying game for the 2010 World Cup, he scored the winning goal to beat Honduras 3-2, allowing the States to go to South Africa. We hope he keeps bringing the magic touch down south!

4. Cobi Jones has racked up a mind-boggling 164 caps on the United States team. Another LA guy, he played for the Los Angeles Galaxy from 1996-2007 while hanging with the national squad from 1992-2004. He played in 3 World Cups, gaining valuable experience that he is now imparting as an assistant coach with the Galaxy. So listen up Beckham, Cobi wants to teach you something!

3. FIFA ranked the United States 14th prior to the 2010 World Cup, though they were once ranked 4th in 2006. But the Americans have been doing well. They topped their World Cup qualifications log, besting Mexico by a point. They won 6, drew 2 and lost 2. Pretty good. They'll have to up their game in South Africa, but who knows, these American guys seem pretty plucky.

2. The US went to the inaugural World Cup in 1930 where it posted its best result yet - Third Place. Of course, there were less teams in those days, and half of Europe didn't bother to show up in Uruguay for the Cup. But nonetheless, that's their best. You know they'll be hoping to do better this time. They're a solid side with some good experience under their belts, so we expect a killer result from these boys.

1. The US were runners-up in the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa, narrowly losing to Brazil. But during the process they ended Spain's unbeaten run of 35 games and its 15 game winning streak. A great confidence booster, it certainly gave the US wings against Brazil, though it still wasn't enough. What will it take to raise the Yanks' game to top-flight level? Hopefully we'll see in 2010.