England captain John Terry is already raising a warning flag
to those who think the United States will be a pushover in
the teams' group opener at next year's World Cup.
Terry says that the rapid improvement in the
Americans' play over the last few years means England is in
for a big challenge in Rustenberg, South Africa, on June 12,
and tried to dispel the notion that his team was given an
easy draw. It is the first time the two nations meet in a
World Cup since the Americans' shocking 1-0 upset in 1950.
"With the group we got, everyone's getting carried away and
thinks it's going to be an easy group," Terry said in Zurich,
where he attended a FIFA gala. "The Americans are going to be
a really tough game," the 29-year-old defender said.
"We need to be on our toes for that and make sure we take
nothing for granted."
Slovenia and Algeria are also in the group. The Chelsea and
England captain said he believed the quality of play in the
US was "low" when he toured the country with his club on a
preseason tour in 2005. But that opinion changed as more of
the top American players moved to leagues in Europe and the
US national team put on an impressing performance at this
year's Confederations Cup in South Africa.
"Over the last four or five years, the improvement has been
massive," Terry said. "We've seen some of the (US) players
coming to the Premiership, some well-known faces and players
across the world now playing at the highest stage."
Among the Americans playing in England are goalkeeper Tim
Howard of Everton, midfielder Clint Dempsey of Fulham,
defenders Jonathan Spector of West Ham and Jay DeMerit of
Watford, and forward Jozy Altidore of Hull. Los Angeles
Galaxy forward Landon Donovan will also join Everton on loan
in January.
Terry, who was included as one of the defenders on a World XI
team at the FIFA event, also downplayed England's status as a
favorite for a first major championship since 1966, saying
there are seven or eight teams that can win the World Cup. He
listed Argentina, Brazil and Spain as the main favorites, but
included England among the teams that have enough quality to
go all the way.
"I'm not going to stand here and say 'We are going to win the
World Cup,"' Terry said.
"We have the chance, as long as we keep people fit and
strong, and we go over there with the right mentality."
The US has qualified for each World Cup since 1990, after a
four-decade absence, but it has won only three of 18 matches
in that span. The Americans have a 2-7 record against
England, including losses in the last two friendly meetings -
2-1 at Chicago's Soldier Field in 2005 and 2-0 at Wembley
last year.
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