England v USA splits Shropshire families

England's opening World Cup game against the USA has posed problems for Shropshire families on both sides of the Atlantic. Here are some of their stories:

A Shropshire woman born in Australia, raised in America and now living back in the county today admitted she didn't know who to support with just hours to go until the Fabio Capello's squad faces the USA.

Rachel Cook, 35, returned to Britain two years ago after spending 23 years in the states first on the West Coast and then in Winchester Virginia on the East Coast.

She had moved there aged eight years old.

"I came back to the UK in November 2008 to be closer to my immediate family who moved back in 1999.

It just wasn't the same without them close to me" said Rachel, office administrator at Wrexham and Shropshire Railway.

"I am actually away today but I will be taking a keen interest in the game.

"I think the enthusiasm the Brits have is amazing.

"Football is popular in America but I'd say it's pretty powerful over here.

"I love the attitude everyone has.

"I have to admit that I'm not siding with either team.

"I'm torn on who to be sided with if I'm honest.

"My heart is with America as I was pretty much raised there but I am a British citizen and should be supporting the UK.

"It's just a sport at the end of the day and everyone really should have the right to side with who they want.

"I think I should be able to support both really.

"That's what I'd like to do.

"I did buy a England t-shirt the other day and it got quite a lot of attention.

"An American girl wearing a England t-shirt kind of summed up how I feel."

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Transatlantic couple Clive Richardson and Ann Grey who live in Ludlow will be apart for the game, but Englishman Clive will still be surrounded by Americans for England's first match.

The couple run a touring company for choirs and Mr Richardson is currently guiding a group of 28 from Charleston, South Carolina, around Florence.

He said: "Only one of them has expressed an interest in football, but I'm trying to keep a low profile.

"I think the American team are pretty good and it's not a foregone conclusion.

"I'm trying not to make it a big deal, because if England lose, I don't want them to know how annoyed I am.

"We've got a group meal in Padua tonight while the game is on, so I will be trying to sneak off and watch it."

Ann, who is from America, admits she has little interest in football, and sport in general.

She said: "When I first moved to England 12 years ago, I tried to like football, but I went to three Aston Villa matches and was bored.

"My husband has been an avid Aston Villa supporter all his life, but I can't get my head around it."

"But she said she was tempted to watch a little bit of the game because it was England v USA."

She added: "I will be secretly pleased if America wins because no one expects them to."

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Oli Gough, who is originally from Shrewsbury, but now lives in Verona, New Jersey, USA, with his American girlfriend Morgan Fischer, said he could not wait for today's game.

The 27-year-old, who moved to the States to coach football for a living, said he was enjoying the friendly rivalry with the American fans ahead of the game.

He said: "I witnessed the last world cup in 2006 and there is now a far greater awareness this side of the pond of the event.

"It is being broadcasted far greater by the likes of ESPN and Fox Soccer, and there are billboards and advertisements across New York City."

Oli said he would be working at a soccer tournament that would finish just 45 minutes before the game on Saturday.

He said: "I will head down with all the kids and parents to watch the game at the beach donned in my England kit.

"I'm very apprehensive over the game especially if the result does not favour the three lions.

"The Americans are very confident of a result.

"At the tournament I am at they will be having two big screens in tents to broadcast all the weekend's games."

Morgan said that her country was the underdog for the match, but hoped they could spring a surprise.

She said: "The main reason I would love for the US to win is for bragging rights against my English boyfriend.

"But in reality, considering the statistics from the previous World Cups, I believe that England will win.

"As far as the rivalry, I'm sure the game day will be filled with plenty of English banter about how Americans don't know how to play footy and the Americans will have a lame rebuttal such as "Americans are awesome!" and then everyone will go back to drinking and watching the game.

"England and America are both great countries that have shared a lot of history together and I look forward to the possibility of America kicking England's butt."

Jay Richards, an American father-of-two, from Allendale, New Jersey, said: "This is a dream match-up. I don't think there is any other opponent that would've generated this much interest in the US, especially given the World Cup history between the two countries, a bright spot for the US."

Asked who the danger men were he said: "On our side Jozy Altidore or Clint Dempsey.

For England, Wayne Rooney, without a doubt, scares us the most."

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A Shropshire music teacher will be donning his USA football jersey with pride throughout the World Cup but says he wants England to go all the way.

David Place, Head of Music at Shrewsbury Sixth Form College, hails from New York.

He said: "When I saw England were playing the USA I knew that I would win either way.

"I would like to see both teams get through the group stages but I would love England to go all the way.

"I live in Wolverhampton and I will be watching the match at my local and I expect to be the only American in there amongst a sea of red and white.

I will be wearing my USA top throughout the World Cup with an England badge as a token gesture.

"There has been a bit of friendly banter at the school but the USA are in really good form at the moment and aside from their last friendly they have been playing really well.

"We have plenty of players to watch out for, all three of our goalkeepers play for English clubs, including one for Wolverhampton, and I think Landon Donovan will be our star man."

Mr Place, 43, moved to England in 1990 and will be celebrating 20 years as an ex-pat in July.

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While thousands of England fans across Shropshire prepare for their teams nail biting opening game against the USA at this year's World Cup, one woman will have the luxury of supporting both teams.

Kris Morris, from Prees, moved from the States 16 years ago, and come Saturday won't mind who wins the Group C clash in South Africa.

Mrs Morris moved to Shrewsbury from Omaha, Nebraska, before moving to Prees where she now lives with her English husband and two children.

The football-mad Shrewsbury Town fan says because of her links with both countries, she is in a "win-win" situation come Saturday.

"Me and my family are big football fans and like a lot of people are looking forward to Saturday's match," she said.

"I have the luxury of supporting both teams come Saturday and really don't mind who wins.

"I will be wearing my England shirt because I haven't got an American one, but I will put up flags of both countries in my house.

"Whatever happens on Saturday I will be in a win-win situation, but I hope both teams do well in the tournament.

"I think England have got a really good chance of winning as they are one of the top four sides in the tournament.

I am confident America can go through to the knock out stages and speaking to friends over there, the event has generated more interest in the country than ever."

Mrs Morris added she will be watching the game with her family in Prees Cricket and Recreation Club and is expecting a good atmosphere.

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Telford civic leader Mark Fournier will be sneaking a peak at the England score online when he can tonight, but is not a big football fan – as his Telford is the USA.

Mr Fournier, director of the borough of Telford near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, knows his country is taking on England in the World Cup but he has been distracted lately.

He and armies of ice hockey fans in the state are still licking their wounds after the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in Game 6 to win their first Stanley Cup title since 1961 on Wednesday.

The Philadelphia Phillies baseball team is not exactly setting the world alight either and so Mr Fournier has not been concentrating on the looming World Cup, but the USA's involvement could offer him a sporting bright spot.

He said: "I know a little bit about the World Cup and I knew England v USA was on.

"I watched some previews on ESPN and I will probably dip in and out to see how the game is going.

"Soccer is not really the big thing here.

"We are still recovering from the Flyers losing the other night and with the Fillies not really doing much at the moment we could do with some good news."

Meanwhile, back in Shropshire, the Mayor of Telford will also only be checking on the big game periodically.

Councillor Ian Fletcher said that tonight he had to attend the president's ball at the Ironbridge Gorge Trust, of which his wife was a member.

He said: "I have a Blackberry and so will be sneaking a look at that from time to time and keeping up with the score on the internet."

The area known as Telford Borough is named, as is the Shropshire town, after Thomas Telford.

The USA's Telford has been a dot on the map for close to two centuries.

It is in south-eastern Pennsylvania, approximately 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

It originally provided services such as the sale of dry goods and blacksmithing to farmers in the area.

The County Line Hotel, which today is called the New Telford Inn, provided lodging for weary travelers.

It wasn't until the railroad cut through the middle of the village in the mid 1800s that Telford got its name and provided a place for merchants and farmers to ship and receive goods and materials.

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Malcolm Cox, from Bridgnorth but now living in Fresno, California, said he and his youngest daughter will be rooting for Fabio's boys while his American wife Chantel and older daughter will be cheering on their home side.

"I'm really looking forward to it and I have to find a way to get the feed onto my wife's iphone.

We are off camping and well it won't go down too well if I tell them we can't go as I have to watch England play," said Malcolm a former pupil of Oldbury Wells School.

"I'm backing England 100 per cent and my the youngest, Abbey, is backing them too.

"She even made me a little flag to wave.

"Chantel is for America, and Emily won't take bribes, and is backing America too."

"A few of my work buddies that watch anything that is considered sport have made a few comments about how America are going to kill us.

"One has even bet me dinner at a local favourite spot of ours that we are going to lose."

Stephen Yearl, from Highley near Bridgnorth and now archivist at Yale University's Sterling Library, will also be watching the game.

The long-suffering fan was featured in a local Connecticut paper during the 2006 event.

He said the game always keeps fans on the edge but his work colleagues were pretty understanding about his support for England.

The piece in 2006 also featured a picture of Stephen with head in hands as he watched the England versus Trinidad and Tobago game.

He admits the stakes are much higher for this game.

Former Shropshire Star reporter Emily Smith will be catching up with all the action from South Africa in a bar in the West Village in New York with her American boyfriend.

She said he had agreed to wear an England shirt for the remainder of the tournament if Wayne Rooney and his teammates win tomorrow.