Advancing to second round means successful World Cup for U S

HAMBURG, June 2: The US World Cup squad arrived in Germany today to extremely tight security and professing initial ambitions only of escaping their highly competitive opening group.

Manager Bruce Arena told reporters at the team hotel in the Hamburg city centre a week from the tournament kickoff that he had no particular fears the States team would be a terrorist target.

''I'm not in the business of planning terrorist attacks but I don't think so,'' he said.

As expected, security has been extremely tight around the US team, which will conduct daily sessions at Hamburg SV's training facility away from the media and public. The team has scheduled a closed-doors friendly with fellow finalists Angola on Monday.

Apart from the focus of the security forces, the US are arriving at a World Cup finals in the unusual position of having a reputation to live up to as reasonably serious contenders.

''As a group, we feel we have a lot to prove,'' he said. ''All 32 teams have something to prove. We want to play three very good games and get out of our group. We're not just here to have a good time. We're serious about being here and doing well.'' The U.S. open their Group E campaign against the Czech Republic on June 12 in Gelsenkirchen, followed by Italy on June 17 in Kaiserslautern and debutants Ghana on June 22 in Nuremburg.

They are fifth in the latest FIFA rankings and astonished most experts at the last finals in 2002 in Japan and South Korea by reaching the last eight.

Arena, who was also in charge then, said success for the Americans would not necessarily mean matching that achievement.

''We're still on the outside looking in,'' he insisted. ''To earn respect at the international level is to have a successful World Cup -- 2002 was a good World Cup for the US team, 1998 was not.

''We want to continue to show we are improving and are a player in the world's game.

''We want to play well, but walking away without points would not be good,'' Arena said. ''Advancing out of our group, in my mind, would be a successful World Cup.

''We realise we're in a group with three very good teams, but we're very confident in our ability,'' Arena said. ''Hamburg is a great city and it's an ideal situation for us so we look forward to these 10 days of preparation.'' Minus captain Claudio Reyna, who is carrying a hamstring injury suffered in a May 23 friendly against Morocco, Arena said his entire squad is ready to play although Reyna said that he ''hoped to be training in the next couple of days''.

''I think we're healthy, right across the board which is a change from 2002 when we had a couple of question marks,'' Arena added.

REUTERS