Today’s World Cup Reader focuses on Saturday’s big Group C match between England and the USA, which has reached Strasburgian levels of hype in the last couple of weeks. Not surprisingly, lots of people have lots to say about this game:

1. Over at Pitch Invasion, Andrew Guest looks at Soccernomics authors’ data about the parental backgrounds of English players and attempts something similar with America’s roster, leading to an interesting discovery:
   

   Comparing the demographics of the US player pool with the stats on English players offered by Kuper and Szymanski offers space for cautious optimism: the American players come from a diverse enough social class background to suggest that there is more than one route to the pinnacle of the US soccer pyramid.  Likewise, comparing the US player pool with the demographics of the US as a whole demonstrates a healthy and somewhat representative blend of races, ethnicities, and immigrants—it is a team I plan on being proud to root for.

2. The Daily Mail has a chat with Clint Dempsey, who sees many similarities between the USA squad and his club team Fulham, who pulled off a ton of upsets to reach the Europa League final last season.
   

   “We’re very strong defensively like Fulham and try to pick our moments when we go forward. Fulham beat Manchester United by staying compact defensively, with two solid banks of four and choosing our moments to get forward. We both play 4-4-2, our outside midfield players tuck in rather than being wingers and we keep two solid banks of four. We try to frustrate our opponents and make life difficult for them. The USA play in a similar style to Fulham and we’ll try to do the same thing. We have players who believe they can win every game.”

   Thankfully, the USA doesn’t have to win every game to advance out of this group. Wins over Slovenia and Algeria will be enough. That’s the one thing USA supporters need to remember — the England game is the sizzle, but the other two games are the steak.

3. Dan Levy at The Sporting Blog points us to the Guardian’s take-down of Carlos Eugênio Simon, the referee chosen for the England v. USA match:
   

   Simon, 44, retains the support of FIFA although his propensity to court controversy could unnerve Fabio Capello. The Brazilian authorities felt compelled to sanction him last November after he disallowed a Palmeiras goal, scored by Obina, in their 1-0 defeat by Fluminense, the official judging the scorer to have fouled an opponent in the build-up. The Palmeiras president, Luiz Gonzaga Belluzzo, duly went public with his frustrations at the referee’s performance.

   “He’s a crook, a scoundrel … just a shameless bastard,” Belluzzo said at the time. “He must be in someone’s pocket. If I met him in the street, I would slap him. What he did was unbelievable and he was helping Fluminense. He should be driven out of football.” His comments were noted and, after a dialogue with the national referees’ association, Simon was eventually suspended by the Brazilian federation for “a repetition of mistakes committed during the competition.”

   Seems like a chill bro. Simon should get along swimmingly with Wayne Rooney.

4. Over at EPL Talk, Paul Bestall takes a closer look at Ledley King, the Tottenham defender who will be tasked to team up with John Terry to stifle America’s attack. For all the talk of the USA’s shaky backline — most of which is quite valid — everyone else forgets that England’s defense now depends on a player with a gaping hole in his knee. When King is healthy, he’s quality, but his legs remain a house of cards.
5. EPL Talk also shows us the inevitable EA Sports match simulation of England v. USA, which England wins, 2-1. It’s clearly an inaccurate representation of that game, though. Bob Bradley has never looked that animated on the sidelines.
6. Finally, those lovable scamps at Dirty Tackle list 10 things that will happen if the USA pulls off the upset on Saturday. I fully support item No. 6:
   

   USA to get first dibs on any future decent England left back, who will be naturalized, passported and placed in the American backline faster than you can say “Jonathan Bornstein?”

Also, if you’re on Twitter, you should follow StuHoldensHair. Just because.

Don’t forget to sign up for the Dave’s Football Blog World Cup Fantasy League! You could totally win a scarf, dude!