The USA hosts England in a friendly Saturday in Chicago (live on ESPN and Telemundo, 3 pm ET/noon PT).
THE PAST. Only the first of seven encounters between the two nations came in official competition: the USA's 1-0 win at the 1950 World Cup. England won the next four games by scores of 6-3 (1953), 8-1 (1959), 10-0 (1964), 5-0 (1985).
In the 1993, the Americans, coached Bora Milutinovic, downed England, 2-0, on goals by Tom Dooley and Alexi Lalas.
''The defeat [in 1993], against a team branded second-rate, was labeled the lowest point in English football history,'' writes the BBC's Paresh Soni.
One year later, England beat the USA, 2-0, at Wembley.
2002 WORLD CUP. Both the USA and England fell at the quarterfinal stage of the last World Cup.
THE CROWD: More than 42,000 tickets for Saturday's Soldier Field encounter were sold by Friday.
USA ROSTER:
Goalkeepers — Marcus Hahnemann (Reading/ENG), Kasey Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach/GER), Zach Thornton (Chicago Fire)
Defendersá — Gregg Berhalter (Energie Cottbus/GER), Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham/ENG), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96/GER), Cory Gibbs (Feyenoord/NET), Eddie Pope (Real Salt Lake), Greg Vanney (FC Dallas)
Midfielders — Bobby Convey (Reading/ENG), Clint Dempsey (New England Revolution), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Kerry Zavagnin (Kansas City Wizards), John O'Brien (ADO Den Haag/NET), Steve Ralston (New England Revolution), Clyde Simms (D.C. United).
Forwards — Conor Casey (Mainz/GER), Eddie Johnson (FC Dallas), Brian McBride (Fulham/ENG), Josh Wolff (Kansas City Wizards).
ENGLAND ROSTER:
Goalkeepers — Scott Carson (Liverpool), Robert Green (Norwich City), David James (Manchester City).
Defenders — Wes Brown (Manchester United), Sol Campbell (Arsenal), Ashley Cole (Arsenal), Glen Johnson (Chelsea), Gary Neville (Manchester United), Phil Neville (Manchester United), Matthew Upson (Birmingham City).
Midfielders — Michael Carrick (Tottenham Hotspur), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Jermaine Jenas (Newcastle United), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City).
Forwards — Peter Crouch (Southampton), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur), Andrew Johnson (Crystal Palace), Alan Smith (Manchester United).