Last World Cup: Round of 16
Nickname: Stars & Stripes/Yanks
Coach: Jurgen Klinsmann
Star man: Clint Dempsey
Tournament best: Third 1930

Klinsmann struggled initially to make his mark but his team ultimately qualified with comparative comfort. Reaching the quarter-finals looks like a realistic goal.

Strengths: The Americans have been most improved side in the FIFA Rankings over the last 12 months, gaining 243 ranking points and moving up from 27th to 14th, directly beneath England. Topping their qualifying group, they excelled at scoring from close range with the second highest proportion of goals from inside the six yard box.

Weaknesses: Their qualifying performance was far from perfect however, with keeping things tight early on and holding on to leads sometimes proving problematic. Repelling free kicks was also something their defence found difficult, with only two finalists conceding more from these situations. It remains to be seen whether any of these problems will be further exacerbated against top quality opposition.

Prospects: Group G is certainly among the toughest and even the supposedly weakest opponent, Ghana, are sufficiently well-practiced from set pieces to cause concern. Taking points from Portugal and Germany will obviously be a challenge: Portugal are an even greater set piece danger while the Germans' relentless goalscoring in qualifying should worry anyone.