US captain Carlos Bocanegra has spoken to reporters ahead of America's involvement in the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa.

Speaking at training, Bocanegra said, "Most of the guys are adjusted and settling in. We're comfortable with our surroundings, the training facility and our hotel. We have our sleep schedule right, and now it's all about getting ready for the games.

"Now it's game time. The concentration levels need to go up and there is a lot of excitement leading up to the game. It's finally arrived and that's a lot different from training. We've been preparing for this tournament and now it's finally here.

"Italy is going to be favoured and we're a little bit of the underdog. The pressure will be on them and we want to go out there and show that we can play with them and get a good result. We want to get through this group and compete with these good teams.

"Anytime you get a chance to play Italy or another top team like the ones will be facing is great. This is how you challenge yourself, and it's what you measure yourself against. These are the best teams in the world and we want to see how we rate against them. It's a good challenge for our team."