Former England captain Alan Shearer
MOTD analyst

"Jurgen Klinsmann has got USA organised and every player knows their job inside out. They will have two blocks of four and will say to Belgium 'try and break through us'."

It is what it is, we are where we are. And that is at kick-off time...

Image source, Epa

United States manager Jurgen Klinsmann has criticised Fifa's appointment of an Algerian referee for their World Cup second-round match against Belgium.

Djamel Haimoudi, 44, will take charge of the tie in Salvador.

Klinsmann maintains the Belgians will be able to communicate better with the referee as they both speak French and pointed out that the USA knocked Algeria out of the 2010 World Cup.

"Is it a good theory? No," he said. "We hope it's not a concern."

He added: "I understand it's difficult for Fifa to choose the right referees for the right games and it has always been tricky for Fifa, but it is what it is."

Will: Hoping for a Belgium win. Have lots of American friends, and have nightmares of them celebrating winning the "Soccer World Series".

Here we go then. The US all in white up against Belgium all in red.

Salvador has been the city of goals so far - more of the same please lads...

Former Scotland international Pat Nevin
BBC Radio 5 live

"One of the great things about youngsters such as Divock Origi is that they come in without any fear. If you give them the chance at this stage, nothing is going to spook them again.

"And that means youngsters grow up feeling comfortable in that environment. It's something I think we don't do enough."

Paolo Brand:, external Don't think the USA are gonna enjoy entering the Garden of Eden tonight.

Vinny Person:, external USA will make this hard and try suffocate Belgium but I expect them to finally click and eventually rout the Yanks.

Tom Miszkowski:, external Romelu Lukaku on the bench won't be a happy bunny but Divock Origi has earned a start.

So it's all set up for Eden Hazard to be double marked out of the game, young striker Divock Origi to toil alone up front for Belgium and the thousands of 'believers' to witness a famous US win.

Right?

Former England captain Rio Ferdinand
MOTD analyst

"When Eden Hazard gets the ball, you don't know what he's going to do. If he improves his goalscoring return he will be one of the best players in the world.

"His decision making, for a young guy, is very good and I love watching him play. He is so strong and explosive, you can't catch him and he makes it look so easy."

Former Scotland international Pat Nevin
BBC Radio 5 live

"Romelu Lukaku is not playing at his very best. At this World Cup he has not kept up with the pace, and maybe it is good he has been left out. Maybe he will say: 'Hang on I should be on.'

"But you wouldn't do that with Eden Hazard, who is far too important. I wonder if Jurgen Klinsmann's selection means Fabian Johnson will be helped out by Geoff Cameron on the right to double up and stop Hazard, because if you stop him you have gone a long way to stopping Belgium."

If this video montage of USA fans doesn't turn you against supporting them tonight - nothing will.

Belgium: Courtois, Alderweireld, Van Buyten, Kompany, Vertonghen, Fellaini, Witsel, Mertens, De Bruyne, Hazard, Origi. Subs: Mignolet, Vermaelen, Lukaku, Mirallas, Lombaerts, Dembele, Januzaj, Chadli, Ciman, Bossut.

USA: Howard, Johnson, Gonzalez, Besler, Beasley, Cameron, Zusi, Jones, Bradley, Bedoya, Dempsey. Subs: Guzan, Yedlin, Brooks, Johannsson, Diskerud, Davis, Beckerman, Green, Altidore, Wondolowski, Chandler, Rimando.

Referee: Djamel Haimoudi (Algeria)

Former England captain Rio Ferdinand
MOTD analyst

"I'm hoping Belgium come alive. They, just like England were, have been called the Golden Generation. We did not coin that phrase ourselves, it was put onto us. Belgium have a young squad but can they handle that tag? Will they mould into a team?"

USA defender Omar Gonzalez says coach Jurgen Klinsmann has told his squad to change the dates of their flights home because he thinks they will reach the World Cup final on 13 July.

"Jurgen has been nothing but positive," said Gonzalez.

"He's telling us to change our flights to 14-15 July because we're going to be here until the very end.

"That just speaks volumes of how positive he is, how much he believes in this team."

Former England captain Alan Shearer
MOTD analyst

"I think USA will win. They have been very well organised and disciplined with no real stars in their team.

"They've done incredibly well to get through a tough group and I hope we will see the same type of performance as in their three group games. They will aim to hit Belgium on the break."

Former England winger Chris Waddle
MOTD analyst

"The United States haven't got a star player, they just work very hard. They rely on fitness, are well organised and will give everyone a game. They lack that final bit of quality for me, find that and they could progress further."

You can watch by clicking on the Live Coverage tab at the top of the page.

Nowhere does mass optimism quite like the States...

Image source, AP

BBC America's Aleem Maqbool in Chicago: "During this World Cup, Chicago has already seen crowds estimated to be more than 20,000 to watch on big screens outdoors.

"For the knockout stage, a screen as been put up at Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears, and with it have come American Football traditions. Ahead of the match, hundreds are 'tail-gating'; parking their cars, starting up barbecues, drinking and playing football in the car park.

"Thousands have been queuing for hours to get inside the stadium, most adorned with the stars and stripes. The chants of "We believe that we will win" and "USA, USA" keep going up.

"There are huge amounts of optimism here, and it has been building throughout the tournament. Fans here are adamant their team, whose players have become huge stars, can win and have the calibre and coaching to go much further."

BBC Sport's Ben Smith in Brazil

Image source, Epa

"The US may have fallen for soccer like never before but there are still some elements of the beautiful game that do not sit comfortably with sports fans watching across the pond.

"The first is diving, or "flopping" as it is known in America. The second is the slightly fluid concept of stoppage time. There is no shot clock, no play clock. In football, nothing is quite that black and white."

Read more from Ben here.

Only Iran (30%) had a lower average possession figure in the group stage than Jurgen Klinsmann's USA side (39%).

The US managed just nine shots on target in their three group games. They are the only side to have qualified without reaching double figures in this regard.

Let's see some attacking tonight! Or should that be offense...