USA begin preparations for the World Cup

The US football team have begun their week-long training camp at Princeton University ahead of the World Cup in South Africa.

Coach Bob Bradley said that he's excited about his team's much-vaunted first match against rivals England.

In one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history in 1950, England, taking part in the World Cup for the first time, lost 1-0 to a ragbag American team in Brazil. But Bradley said their first game will be all about the football.

"The first game of the World Cup is not about grudge matches at that point. It's about getting off to a good start. You've got three games in the first round and you've got to get off to a good start and use that to push through the first round," said Bradley.

Midfielder Clint Dempsey, who plays for Premier League side Fulham, said that the team plan to take every game seriously, not just the first.

"It's exciting playing against England because they're a top team and you know, you want to play against the best and to see where you are and hopefully we can get the job done and the main goal is to advance out of the group," said Dempsey.

The US team is often not taken seriously in a sport where they compete against far more experienced football-playing nations in Europe and Latin America. However, that will be used as motivation for the team.

"I don't think anyone is shaking in their boots when they play the US. We still have to go out and prove it every single game," Everton's Tim Howard explained.

The US team will play two warm-up friendlies before heading for South Africa. The first, on May 25 is against the Czech Republic and the second is against Turkey on May 29.