Position: Goalkeeper
Born: 06.03.79
Club: Manchester United

Tim Howard will probably enter this summer's Finals feeling he has something to prove after being usurped as the No 1 for both club and country.

With Edwin van der Sar having taken 'his' shirt at Manchester United and Kasey Keller ensconced as America's first-choice goalkeeper, Howard has had to endure a frustrating 18 months or so on the sidelines.

After moving to Old Trafford from the MetroStars in 2003, he had an excellent first season at the end of which he was named in the Premiership Team of the Year selected by his fellow players.

But costly mistakes led to him sharing time with Roy Carroll last year before the arrival of van der Sar last summer relegated him to the bench.

An athletic custodian with excellent anticipation and reactions, Howard was a star basketball player through high school but a trial spell at Italian giants AC Milan in 1998 set him on his way to a career in football.