American defender Oguchi Onyewu hopes that his team can trouble Italy the same way they did in 2006 when they face off on Monday.
The fixture in Pretoria opens up the Azzurri’s Confederations Cup campaign.
"It's not in our nature, it's certainly not in mine, to come to a tournament just to participate," Onyewu told the official FIFA website.
"We're here in South Africa to achieve something. If it's a medal or a trophy, that's great."
The last time these sides met was a chaotic 1-1 draw in the group phase of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, which saw three players sent off.
"I remember that game," added the Standard Liege centre-back.
"If this game turns out to be a physical battle like that one, that's not a worry for us. We can handle it. But these are two different teams and no two games are ever alike.”
Alberto Gilardino is likely to start upfront with Giuseppe Rossi, although other options for Italy include Luca Toni, Vincenzo Iaquinta and Fabio Quagliarella.
"I know they have some good forwards, you can't help but think about them and try to prepare for the guys you're going to face.
“But to be honest, I'm the kind of player who likes to make the opponent adapt to me and the way I play."
Italy v USA is live on BBC3 on Monday evening.
|
