USA captain Carlos Bocanegra says the national team players are enjoying the challenges of being involved in the world's biggest sports event.

Ahead of their second group stage match against Slovenia, Bocanegra admitted the players were relaxed being around each other the whole time and that everyone was excited about the must-win clash in Johannesburg.

"The mood's been pretty good the whole time. We've got a really good group of guys, we enjoy being around each other," he said. "Ever since we got together in the United States in Princeton, we were excited to see each other. We have a really good camaraderie throughout the group, and that's continued throughout and been one of the strong points with our group. I think that's what makes us such a strong team. We try not to let little things faze us, and the mood is really good around the camp and we're excited for tomorrow."

Bocanegra added that the Slovenian team was not as much of an unknown quantity as outsiders would think as a lot of players had some playing experience against them.

"We have some personal experience against the guys we're playing against, if you've played in Germany, if you play in France," he added. "Just because they're not in the Premiership, so to speak, we watch the other leagues around the world and we're familiar with their guys. We're not going to go into it taking anybody lightly just because the rest of the world doesn't know their names. It's an important game for us."