Americans ready to back up tough talk with physical tactics as they seek an upset

Bradley, the son of USA coach Bob Bradley, has pledged to make it "really hard" for Fabio Capello's side in Rustenburg.

He believes USA will stick to the tried and tested formula which saw them reach the final of the Confederation Cup last summer before losing to Brazil after leading 2-0 at one stage.

The Borussia Monchengladbach player said: "We have a way of playing that has got us this far – and we are going to stick to that.

"The most important thing is to go out and give everything we have and make it really hard on England.

"That means closing them down well. If one guy gets beaten, the next guy is always there.

"It means having a physical edge to the way you play, being committed to running and fighting and covering for each other for 90 minutes.

"There is a lot of things that go into it. When we have the ball, we have to be sharp and put them under pressure a little bit, playing the game in their half and being aggressive with that.

"There are a lot of things that go into it – but having a physical edge is something we bring on our best days and we need that on Saturday."

Bradley feels the team which can control its emotions and be disciplined under pressure will have the best chance of winning at the weekend.

His comments follow on from England striker Wayne Rooney appearing to lose his cool during Monday's practice match with the Platinum Stars and being booked for dissent.

Bradley said: "In any big game, players play with a lot of emotion and on Saturday, I imagine England will have 11 of them on – and so will we.

"The ability in any pressure situation to play with an edge and an emotion and still manage it is a challenge for any player, any athlete.

"The team able to do that the best has the best chance of winning."

Bradley insists he is relaxed now about his father being head coach after initially having to try extra hard to prove he was worth his place in the squad.

He said: "The team comes before everything else and, the fact he is my dad, maybe down the road you can look back and say 'that was something special.'

"For right now, the focus is on the team and making sure we are ready to go.

"As a young player first coming into the team, you've got to earn your way.

"The fact my dad is coach, means there is a bit of a feeling of having to earn the respect of team-mates and coaches even more.

"I've never been bothered by what people on the outside say or write.

"The most important thing is when I step on the field is I have the confidence and respect of the guys I am playing with.

"When that is the case, the other stuff doesn't matter."

Confidence is certainly high in America with President of the United States Soccer Federation Sunil Gulati believing his country have what it takes to cause an upset against England.

The US are rated as underdogs against England but Gulati points to their defeat of Spain en route to the final of last year's Confederations Cup as proof that they are more than capable of shocking Fabio Capello's men.

He said: "Most people would say we're underdogs for the game – that's okay. Tim Howard (who said the US would need to 'defend like bandits' against England) is right, in the last few times we've played England we've had a fair amount of pressure – we'll see if that's going to happen this week.

"But strange things can happen – everyone expected us to be under a lot of pressure against Spain last summer – we were, but we were also winning 2-0. So it will be an interesting game.

"Spain was the No1 team at the time and had 35 games without a loss. So it wouldn't be that level of shock (if the USA beat England) but on the other hand this is the World Cup, so games at the World Cup are automatically seen as bigger shocks.

"I don't believe, and our players don't believe, that there is any game they can't win. If you don't believe that as a player, why do you bother playing? Our guys will go on the field thinking we can get a good result, we'll see if that happens."