Glen Johnson: From the sublime to the profane
One of the key match ups against England will be against Glen Johnson, England’s right back, a player with impeccable attacking instincts and goals to prove but shows less alacrity at tracking back, suspect positional sense, and poor decision making. All of which Capello has to consider before including him against the USA. He might prefer starting Jamie Carragher, a defender who has no illusions after 15 years in the business.
Against Japan, Johnson was unable to challenge as Marcus Tulio Tanaka fronted him with ease to score from a corner. Then he pushed down a Platinum Star player in the box for a penalty. There is enough footage from his Liverpool matches to show that Johnson loses composure when pressured.
Bob Bradley might put Dempsey out left and Donovan down the right in key match ups against Johnson and Ashley Cole. And Deuce does fancy his chances:
“Glen Johnson is a good player and very effective going forward,” he claimed. “But when he gets forward we have a chance to hit England on the counter and give them something to worry about. There will be holes in the pocket he leaves open. We have to be aware of that. Both their full-backs like to attack. But there is a risk involved in Ashley Cole and Johnson pushing forward which could make them vulnerable.”

Glen Johnson gets caught out against Nejc Pečnik (starts @1:30)
Actually, if the US want a read on Glen Johnson then all they need to do is reference one of their group rivals. Slovenia lost to England in a friendly last summer but not before they scored a goal by catching out Johnson. It was evident Slovenia deliberately targeted him.
“I watched videos of England playing and we saw space behind Johnson,” said Matjaz Kek, the Slovenia coach.

Belhadj scores Pompey’s first goal after Johnson gifts him the ball
Nader Belhadj will also be fancying his chances against Johnson. The left wingback punished Johnson in Pompey’s win over Liverpool in December last year. Check out the mistake Johnson made in dealing with Pepe Reina’s save as the ball rebounds to him. Instead of safely heading it out for a corner, he serves it on a platter to Belhadj for his goal. Poor decision by Johnson.

Glen Johnson allows Tanaka to get ahead of him
In the Japan friendly, a more recent match, shows Johnson may still be on a learning curve. Here he is reacting late to the danger of a corner by Endo. Tanaka gets in front of him very easily and hustles him of the ball as he turns it into goal.
For a speedy, counterattacking team these are the exact weaknesses to exploit. Glen Johnson presents as much of an opportunity as he does a threat. Dempsey has the capability to do what Pečnik did last summer.