EX-BLACKBURN Rovers striker Roy Wegerle has warned Fabio Capello & co ‘you could be in for a nasty shock’ as he looks for his adopted American homeland to make an already ‘special’ World Cup even better.

Wegerle quit birth country South Africa for American citizenship in 1992 and, after representing them in two World Cups, insists the States could write a new chapter in their limited finals history against England in Rustenburg tonight.

The 45-year-old, who was brought to Ewood Park by Kenny Dalglish in March 1992 and helped them to promotion to the Premier League, admits England are still the favourites to top Group C but believes an American win this evening will leave the football world reeling - and insists it is a real possibility.

He said: “It is a great match for us to start with and I honestly believe we could surprise a few people.

"It sounds as though a lot of English people will expect to steamroll us but that just won’t happen.

“American soccer is a lot different to how it was a few years ago.

"You only have to look at recent matches we have played. We have beaten some good times, including Spain.

“I don’t think there is any doubt that England have the better individual players, although even that gap is closing a little bit, but what we will bring to the World Cup is a real team ethic and will to win.

“Sometimes a collective effort is better than a group of individuals.

"So can America upset England? Yes we can. I just hope England take us for granted because that would play right into our hands.

“Both teams should qualify for the second round but this is a very important match. If you want to progress to the latter stages then it could be crucial to top the group.”

Now making a living on the professional golf mini tour in the USA, he admits a win for the States tonight would be the icing on the cake in a tournament he never thought he would see South Africa host in his lifetime.

He grew up in Pretoria, the capital of South Africa, whose racial policies of apartheid made it an international pariah and left it banned from the Olympics and other major sports competitions.

Inside South Africa, sport, like every other facet of society, was played out along racial lines. Soccer was the preferred game of the black majority, while rugby and cricket were favoured by the white minority.

Wegerle though remained determined to pursue his football dreams and, after crossing the divides to play in one of the black townships, he knew he would have to quit the country to realise his dreams.

So in 1982 he went to the United States as a college student at the University of South Florida and 10 years later gained American citizenship due to his marriage to an American woman.

He said: “Holding a South African passport, I was banned from playing in a lot of countries.

"The U.S. was one of the few countries South Africans were allowed to come to.

"In a way, I needed to repay the United States for that.

"I don't have any regrets. I made my choice in 1992 to follow my World Cup dream. South Africa had been banned my whole career.

"This was something I needed to do. I'm very fortunate to have had the opportunity.

''I'm convinced though that sport, soccer in particular, was the breakthrough against apartheid.

"I hope the guys have great success and can smile after the World Cup. It's the least they deserve.

“I have to admit when I was growing up in South Africa this is something that never seemed possible.

"It is a special, special moment for every South African and I am sure the tournament will do them proud.

“When I think back to what it was like when I was growing up, I would be the only white person playing in a match.

"So to host the world’s biggest sporting event is an incredible achievement.”