Preview: England v USA

When: 2:30 EST
Where: Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg, South Africa

Lineups:
England:
Goalkeeper: Robert Green;
Defense: Glen Johnson, Ledley King, John Terry, Ashley Cole;
Midfield: Aaron Lennon, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, James Milner;
Forward: Wayne Rooney, Emile Heskey


United States:
Goalkeeper: Tim Howard
Defense: Steve Cherundolo, Jay DeMerit, Oguchi Onyewu, Carlos Bocanegra
Midfield: Clint Dempsey, Ricardo Clark, Michael Bradley, Landon Donovan
Forward: Jozy Altidore, Robbie Findley

Key Player for the US: Oguchi Onyewu. If the big defender can show that he is fit and shows some of the outstanding form he had last summer in South Africa, he will make life difficult for Wayne Rooney and England's attack. If he is sluggish and weak, England will run all over the porous US defense.

Key player for England: Wayne Rooney. Look for Wayne Rooney to have a big game, if Rooney displays something close to his form with Manchester United this season it will be an easy win for England

Key matchup: US forwards vs English defense. With Rio Ferdinand ruled out of the World Cup due to injury and oft-injured Ledley King in his place, with an Ashley Cole returning from injury and a John Terry who has not exhibited great form as of late look for the US strikers to take advantage if they want maximum points from this game

Injury Report: Rio Ferdinand is out of the tournament for England. Gareth Barry is still nursing an injury for England. Onyewu, Altidore and Bocanegra seem fit for the US.

Prediction: England will create opportunities and dominate much of the possession, the US will pack the box at times, but look for them to excel on the counter attack. In the end this will be a positive result for the US, a 1-1 draw.

I wonder why Edson Buddle isn't starting. He has shown excellent form of late and has been scoring goals in bunches. I guess Bradley chose Findley because of his excellent speed in order to wear out the older and oft-injured England back four. I'm sure Buddle will come on as a second half substitute. I wasn't impressed by Findley in any of the pre-tournament friendlies and I would have guessed Bradley would choose Herculez Gomez over Findley if he didn't want start Buddle. I hope Bradley is choosing Findley because of what he has shown at practice of late and not just based on a hunch.