England - USA preview

Tomorrow night's fixture between England and the United States at New Wembley in London promises to be a riveting spectacle, regardless of which country you follow. The friendly has all kinds of storylines, the prevailing one still being the scrutiny of the Fabio Capello era, which enters it's 3rd match tomorrow. The England skipper, who gave his first news conference in (a much improved) English yesterday, named John Terry captain for the match, which will take place exactly a week after his Champions League failure from the penalty spot.

For the Americans, this match represents a giant opportunity to further announce their presence on the global stage. Though England failed to qualify for Euro 2008, they are still a world power, and still clear favorites to win at Wembley. The United States though, in the midst of a three match away winning streak, knows that a win over soccer's oldest power at soccer's most famous venue would rattle lots of cages and force much of the European and English press to reevaluate the Americans' merit as an international side. World Cup '06 was a huge disappointment for the US, but they have since won the Gold Cup with a brilliant win over archrival Mexico, as well as gained valuable experience by competing in last summer's Copa America in Venezuela. Recent wins over Switzerland and Poland away, have the US brimming with confidence under Bob Bradley, who appears to have concocted an effective mixture of young talent and savvy veterans (but mostly young talent).

For England, the game carries a strange risk, in that they are certainly expected to win, but further they are expected to win in style. The British press will be salivating for a dominating Capello performance, after the March 26 defeat to France in Paris. They will not take the Americans lightly, and shouldn't, but its almost as England will be playing both the US and themselves tomorrow night, as they strive to show their country how they've improved under their new boss. Steven Gerrard should be more rested than his midfield teammates Frank Lampard and Joe Cole, who just last week were fighting tooth and nail in the Moscow final. He will look to provide service up front to Wayne Rooney and likely Peter Crouch, who should be able to get in deep and cause problems for the US defense.

Demarcus Beasley, Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley, and Ricardo Clark will have to play at their best for the US, if they hope to contain England in the midfield (a srategy that has worked in recent international fixtures) and funnel the opposition's attack into tough circumstances. Donovan, who has been dinged up as of late, will undoubtedly see the field so he can accrue his 100th interational cap, a great achievement for the 26 yr old American icon. He'll also be playing against his LA Galaxy teammte and recent inductee into the 100 cap echelon, David Beckham.

So there is lots of intrigue, lots of stories, and lots of reasons to tune into the England - USA friendly tomorrow night at historic Wembley. And as far as a prediction? How about 3-2 England.