No fear for Cameron

Geoff Cameron comes into the World Cup finals as one of the USA's key players as they prepare to tackle Ghana, Portugal and Germany in Brazil.

Stoke City defender Cameron has just come off the back of a fine campaign in the Premier League and now he is set to be one of the vital performers for his country at the World Cup finals.

Cameron missed out on a place at the 2010 finals in South Africa, but since then he has established himself as an integral member of the USA squad and he cannot wait to test himself at the World Cup.

“It is pretty special, a World Cup in Brazil is just unbelievable, the passion down there – it is what you dream of doing, playing in a World Cup in Brazil, and hopefully I will get that chance. It will be truly amazing," he told Sky Sports.

“I am stoked about it - pardon the pun – it has been an amazing experience for me and there are plenty more to come hopefully, and I will keep enjoying the ride.

“I ended the season strong and I am going to the World Cup with the possibility of playing against the best players in the world. I am confident in my abilities as I am playing in the best league in the world week-in and week-out. Whether I am playing right-back or centre-back I will play wherever I am needed and I will do whatever it takes.

“There is a lot of hard work ahead of us, but I am keeping my head down and staying focused and whatever I do comes from having a good base at Stoke.”

Cameron believes he is maturing as a player after another season in the Premier League with Stoke, where he played a starring role under new boss Mark Hughes, and he admits he enjoyed the new regime at the Britannia Stadium.

“I think it is only going to get better, I have another year of experience in this league. I know what to expect and it is now more my style of football. In a way I am able to be more creative and I can express myself, under the previous system you could not be an individual as a footballer,” he revealed.

“It took time for us to adapt as a team and come round to what was being asked, but you could see it got better as the season went on.

“I think England suits my style of game, plus I played 18 months straight as I came off half-a-season into pre-season training, so that was mentally and physically hard. I had a bit of a block towards the end of the season and this year I think was better as I knew what to expect.”

USA head into the finals as one of the underdogs, purely due to the fact Group G looks like being one of the toughest at the finals, with not only 2010 quarter-finalists Ghana but heavyweights Portugal and Germany too.

“Anybody can beat anybody, to be the best you have to beat the best – we might be looked at as the underdog and that is fine, and the goal is always to get out of the group and I don’t think that has changed for us,” Cameron continued.

“Ghana has had our number before, which I don’t know why but we know we are going to have to battle with them, and it is important as if we win that game we have the opportunity to push on."

Cameron and his team-mates will come up against the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Thomas Muller in the group stages, but he insists playing against the best in the world does not faze him.

“I play against very, very good players every weekend so it will just be another task for me and there are 10 other guys around me to help. It is a team game and we have to do whatever we can," he continued.

“We have played Germany last summer, so we sort of know what to expect. It will be a good experience but there are close links which gives us an insight into what to expect."

Cameron is hoping that this will not be his first and last World Cup and he sees himself continuing for a while longer in the Premier League.

“I would like to stay for another four or five years and I would like another contract, that is for sure," he said. 

"If I have the chance to stay I will, my aspiration was always to play in the biggest leagues in the world and that is one thing I have been able to check off my list."