USA

US defender Jonathan Spector has emphasised the importance of not focusing too much on England or Wayne Rooney ahead of their World Cup Group C opener in Rustenburg.

Spector, who has spent nearly eight years in England, knows first-hand about the problems England can cause. The US defender also knows directly of Rooney's talent, as the 24-year-old shared an Old Trafford dressing room with the England star when they were teenagers and they have faced on opposing sides many times since.


Despite this, Spector knows the importance of not getting fixated on the opposition, and that includes Rooney.

“He’s certainly a very talented player, we all know that.

"But he’s not the only player on England that has ability; they’re a good side. We haven’t really gone over tactically how we’re going to approach the game, but I think it’s important not just to focus on them, we need to be concerned with ourselves.

"There are certainly two teams in this game, and we need to worry about what we’re going to do and how we’re going to approach the game. It’s not just about what they have and what we need to do to stop them.”

The US have had a mixed build-up to their game with England. A 4-2 loss to the Czech Republic was followed by a 2-1 win against Turkey. They now play in a friendly against Australia on June 5 before facing England on June 12.

It will be only the second time the US have faced England in a competitive match - the first coming in 1950 when England were handed a shock 1-0 defeat by the US. Spector hopes the current US side can emulate that result.

"It was well before our time but there’s a pretty well-known movie that came out in the US about it. I personally saw it and I think a lot of the other guys have as well.

"Obviously it’s a proud moment for the US and it’s something we’d like to repeat. But it was a long time ago, and there are different players on each team now.”