Berlin - Thirty-two teams have qualified for the 2006 World Cup finals which take place in Germany from June 9 - July 9.
UNITED STATES
Honours:
World Cup apperances: 7 (1930, 1934, 1950, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002)
World Cup best: Semi-finals (1930); Quarter-finals (2002)
Gold Cup champions: 2 (1991, 2002)
Fifa world ranking: 4
Odds: 80/1
Coach: Bruce Arena
Straight-talking coach who took over from Steve Sampson following the disappointment of France 98, when the USA failed to win a point and were the tournament's worst-ranked team. Played a key role in building a side which reached the last eight at 2002 finals.
Arenas overall record in charge makes him the most successful coach in American history, statistically speaking. Enjoys total backing of players and has inspired his team to consistently punch above their weight.
Key player: Landon Donovan
One of the stars of the USA challenge at the 2002 World Cup, midfielder-cum-striker Donovan first signalled he was destined for great things when he was voted player of the tournament at the Under-17 World Cup in 1999.
May feel he has a point to prove to German fans after a disappointing spell in the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen which ended in 2005 when he returned to Major League Soccer with the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Squad:
Goalkeepers:
Kasey Keller (Monchengladbach/GER), Tim Howard (Manchester United/ENG), Marcus Hahnemann (Reading/ENG)
Defenders:
Steve Cherundolo (Hanover/GER), Eddie Lewis (Leeds/ENG), Eddie Pope (Real Salt Lake), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege/BEL), Cory Gibbs (Den Haag/NED), Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham/ENG), Chris Albright (Los Angeles Galaxy), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City)
Midfielders:
Landon Donovan (Los Angeles), DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven/NED), Clint Dempsey (New England), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado), Claudio Reyna (Manchester City/ENG), Bobby Convey (Reading/ENG), John O'Brien (Chivas USA), Ben Olsen (DC United)
Forwards:
Brian McBride (Fulham/ENG), Josh Wolff (Kansas City), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City), Brian Ching (Houston)
