Manchester City midfielder Claudio Reyna claims the United States have saved their best for last as they try to stave off an early World Cup exit in their crucial Group E battle with Ghana on Thursday.

Bruce Arena's troops still have a chance of advancing to the knockout stages despite their opening 3-0 loss to the Czech Republic, which was followed by a battling 1-1 draw against Italy.

They now need to beat Ghana in Nuremberg to progress and hope for the other result between the Czechs and Italians to go their way.

Reyna is confident the US will become the last team "to win a game in the group of death".

"This team has done it before," Reyna said. "Four points got us through the last time (in South Korea and Japan). We're alive and we know what we have to do."

The United States were reduced to nine men in last Saturday's clash with 10-man Italy when Pablo Mastroeni and Eddie Pope were given their marching orders after Daniele de Rossi had seen red for the Azzurri.

Arena4s troops have been criticised for their lack of a scoring touch as their only goal in the tournament so far has come from an own goal by Italy defender Cristian Zaccardo.

However, the spirited display against the Italians, which saw them squander several glorious scoring opportunities, left enough room for optimism according to Reyna.

"If we can do it against Italy that is a big confidence booster that the chances will be there," he continued.

"We have to frustrate Ghana, try not to let them win the game in the first 10 minutes and create chances. We know we can break out and score a few goals. We have players that can score and we have players that can run."

With four years of hard work at stake, Arena has prepared his players to fight until the very end.

"You certainly don't compare a football or soccer match to war," the coach said. "But this is going to be a match at the highest level and all the players need to be prepared for that.

"I think we need to step out on the field with confidence knowing that this will be a battle for the full 90 minutes because of the quality of Ghana."

Arena remained tight-lipped over the two changes to his starting line-up he will have to make, with Jimmy Conrad seeming a likely candidate for first-team action.

Ghana meanwhile have encountered a similar difficulty as they will be missing the attacking pairing of Asamoah Gyan and Sulley Muntari through yellow cards.

Ironically, it was these two men who were on target in the stunning 2-0 defeat of the Czech Republic last Saturday.

"We are missing two starters but they are missing their two goal-scorers from the last match, so that hurts them a little bit on attack," added Arena.

The coach also admitted he will be keeping an eye on the score in Hamburg in the last 45 minutes.

"I am not really concerned with the score (between Italy and the Czech Republic), especially not in the first half," he said.

"But at half-time we will determine whether we are still in the tournament."