World Cup Team Checks: USA
April 1, 2006
World Cup Qualifiers
As winner of the CONCACAF Zone, the United States qualified for their fifth World Cup in a row.
Stars
A former striker at the Bundesliga's Bayer Leverkusen, Landon Donovan is one of America's top players along with winger DeMarcus Beasley. Kasey Keller, another Bundesliga fixture at Borussia Mönchengladbach, stands between the posts for the US.
Trainer
Bruce Arena has been the face of the US soccer team since 1998. He's the team's most successful coach ever and led the Americans to the quarter-finals in the 2002 World Cup, where they lost to runners-up Germany.
World Cup History
Germany 2006 marks the American team's eighth trip to the World Cup finals.
1930: semi-finals, 1934: round of 16, 1950: preliminary, 1990: 1st final, 1994: round of 16, 1998: 1st final, 2002: quarter-finals
Match Schedule: Preliminary Round
June 12: USA - Czech Republic in Gelsenkirchen
June 17: Italy - USA in Kaiserslautern
June 22: Ghana - USA in Nuremberg
World Cup Base
The USA will be staying in the northern harbor city of Hamburg.
Outlook
"It is definitly going to be a piece of hard work," coach Bruce Arena said after the December group lottery that pitted him against Italy, the Czech Republic and Ghana. Still, the American is confident his side can achieve a success similar to the 2002 World Cup if they're able to play as a cohesive team.