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World Cup 2010: Fulham Star Clint Dempsey Looking Forward To Facing England, Admits Group Stage Exit Would Be ‘Failure’ For USA
Craven Cottage man eager to play ‘best teams in the world’
27-Mar-2010 6:04:00 AM
By Richard Parry
Fulham star Clint Dempsey admits that it would be a failure if the USA failed to progress from Group C this summer’s World Cup finals in South Africa.
The Americans will face Fabio Capello’s England, Algeria and Slovenia in the group stages, and Dempsey cannot wait to get started.
"It's kind of exciting because in a big competition you want to play against some of the best teams in the world," Dempsey told ESPN.
On the prospect of facing England, the Fulham man played down the significance of the match, insisting that every game will be important.
"It's great to have the opportunity to play against them but you know every team is going to be difficult so we are just looking forward to it and hopefully we can advance from the group.
Dempsey added: "Algeria did well in the African Nations Cup and they're not going to be an easy team to beat, they've showed that.
"We know we've got a tough group and we'll take each game one at a time, but advancing through the group has to be the goal and anything less than that will be a failure."
Dempsey, who spoke to exclusively Goal.com in February, is confident that should the USA play to their strengths, they could prove a surprise package in South Africa.
"We are a solid team, we finished first in our qualifying campaign and we did well in the Confederations Cup last year.
"We beat Spain which not many people thought we could do that but once you get out the group it's a one off game and anything can happen."
The Americans will face Fabio Capello’s England, Algeria and Slovenia in the group stages, and Dempsey cannot wait to get started.
"It's kind of exciting because in a big competition you want to play against some of the best teams in the world," Dempsey told ESPN.
On the prospect of facing England, the Fulham man played down the significance of the match, insisting that every game will be important.
"It's great to have the opportunity to play against them but you know every team is going to be difficult so we are just looking forward to it and hopefully we can advance from the group.
Dempsey added: "Algeria did well in the African Nations Cup and they're not going to be an easy team to beat, they've showed that.
"We know we've got a tough group and we'll take each game one at a time, but advancing through the group has to be the goal and anything less than that will be a failure."
Dempsey, who spoke to exclusively Goal.com in February, is confident that should the USA play to their strengths, they could prove a surprise package in South Africa.
"We are a solid team, we finished first in our qualifying campaign and we did well in the Confederations Cup last year.
"We beat Spain which not many people thought we could do that but once you get out the group it's a one off game and anything can happen."
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