Lewis puts in overtime for the final push

With the First Division ending two weeks before the Premiership concluded, Fulham manager Jean Tigana took his team to America so that they would finish playing at the same time as the teams they will face next season.

"I had about 10 days off after that before linking up with the USA squad," said Lewis. "Fulham said I can report back for pre-season training later than the other guys and I will probably head back home to California for a while.

"We've got off to a good start in the group but both Jamaica and Trinidad will not be easy games.

"However, if we can win both games then we will be more or less there. I reckon that 15 points is usually enough to qualify."

America are aiming to feature in their fourth World Cup finals in a row and if they make it to Japan and South Korea next summer the players will have to try and play down expectations back home.

"America expects us to win the World Cup every time," said Lewis. "They can't understand why we don't. It is only when we explain to them about the game and the track record of other countries, they begin to under-stand. Because we tend to excel in most other major sports, the public believe we must do the same in football.

"A few years ago, nobody cared about soccer in the States. It is only since Major League Soccer got going that they have taken notice and success for the national team has helped."

Although the US squad is a mixture of domestic and foreign-based talent, Lewis believes this has created some advantages. He explained: "England is a tremendous place to play. I'm one of the few to get that experience and all the players in the squad with European experience have helped greatly with the program.

"Things are changing in the States too because whereas a few years back they would play a few games, most US players are now getting 50 or 60 matches a year.

"I am lucky at Fulham because it was a great opportunity and the club had massive ambition."

So what means more to him, playing in the Premiership with Fulham or playing for America?

"That's a toughie," he admits. "I love playing for Fulham and would not want to give up the experience of playing in England but although I know we won't win a World Cup in my time, I am proud I will have been part of the USA progression for them winning the competition one day and that is close to my heart."

Three teams qualify for the finals from the final round of the Concacaf region and the USA look almost certain to make it.

They are five points clear at the top of the group and wins over Jamaica tomorrow and Trinidad will almost guarantee them a place in the 2002 finals.

Trinidad, of course, have had their own trouble with English-based players and have banned Manchester United's Dwight Yorke and Reading's Anthony Rougier from facing Honduras tomorrow because they missed a training session.

Both may be allowed back into the fold to take on America.

In the meantime, Lewis has his work cut out steering his country towards Japan and South Korea.