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You've heard the words breathlessly uttered countless times this week: Saturday's World Cup tilt between the U.S. and England is the most anticipated match in American soccer history. The game will be broadcast live on network TV (coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. ET on ABC), and record-setting ratings are expected. With so many casual fans tuning in to this game and, indeed, the entire month-long futbol fest, we thought it would be fun to ask U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard how to watch the game. Turns out Howard had so much insight that there's plenty of stuff to love for both newbies and die-hards alike. So let Howard guide you through each phase of a game, from start to finish:



Q: What goes through your mind during the singing of the national anthem?



Howard: It's always a very cool time. For me it's a very peaceful time. It's the calm before the storm. Either the crowd is quiet or singing their anthem. In some cases you can't hear your own anthem because it's getting booed. Regardless, it's a peaceful time for me. All of my personal preparations have been done at that point, so there is nothing I'm anxious about or intense about, I'm just looking forward to knowing that the whistle is imminent. I don't do anything to prepare.



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I sing the national anthem as loud as I can. Oftentimes when I hear it played, particularly away from home, it's a really humbling feeling knowing that we have soldiers who have fought to keep our country free. It's very special to represent our country at any level, but particularly at the highest level possible for a soccer player.

I remember [when I was with] our U-20 national team, which also had Carlos Bocanegra and Steve Cherundolo. Sigi Schmid, our coach, gave us a printout to make sure everyone knew the national anthem. He thought it was a disgrace not to know the words. As a 19-year-old kid, I already knew it, but now we all make sure we sing it. It makes us proud.



Q: What are you looking for right after the kickoff in terms of whether the opponent's game plan is as coach Bob Bradley predicted it would be?



Howard: From a goalkeeper's standpoint, it's probably a little bit different. I'm not really concerned with the other team, because we hope, from a scouting report standpoint, we pretty much know whether they're going to dribble down the middle, play big balls over the top, etc. Whatever they're going to do, we hope we have that pinpointed.

Of course, that can change. The thing I look for the most is to make sure that our back four -- the four defenders in front of me -- are pulled in tight, that their lines are tight, that they're not running all over the place. That sets the tone for the rest of the game. If the back four and the players directly in front of them -- the defensive midfielders -- are talking, communicating, giving the thumbs up, making sure that the body language is right really early on, that carries us.

That's one of the things I look to do early because once it gets away from you it's hard to get it back. If you can pull in the reins and get everyone -- or at least the back four, five or six -- pulling together, then you can attack and go forward.

Q: You must pay some attention to the other team, no?



Howard: It's sort of a catch-22. If I'm communicating and correcting all those things with my team, that's obviously when the opponent has the ball. So I have to be focused on them, too. The patterns of the other team will slowly develop. Then you can slowly start to read them a bit more.

The first 20 minutes of a soccer game are so helter-skelter. It's like a boxing match. That's why you hope you don't give up an early goal. You're still trying to feel each other out. If the other team scores, your game plan goes out the window. You have to go get that goal back.

Q: Why are the first 20 minutes like that?



Howard: I don't know. Everyone's so keyed up and excited, you feel like you can get away with things during the first 20 minutes. As I said, it's like the first couple rounds of a boxing match -- no one's going full tilt to try to win the game -- you're kind of counter-punching.

Eventually, after 15-20 minutes, a rhythm gets set. Then I can start to read what the game is like -- are they attacking more down the left side? The right side? Are they sitting back?

Q: Does the crowd ever affect you, positively or negatively?



Howard: Where I'm at now, both at the international and club level, is such a high level with such massive amounts of fans that they are very rarely singling out one particular player. It's more about, 'Our team hates your team.' When we went to Mexico it was the same thing. At this level, the atmosphere, whether it's home or away or at a tournament like the World Cup, is awesome. You then realize, 'Wow, we're here to do something really important. This is a big deal.' When you see the passion of the crowd, the amount of people in the crowd, you think to yourself, 'Game on.' It doesn't even matter if they are for or against you.

Q: How does being down a goal affect the way you and your teammates play?



Howard: You hope that game experience helps because it's hard to reel 11 players in and go, 'OK, here's what we're gonna do.' There's no timeouts, no chalkboard talk. You just hope that you can stick to the game plan and stay within yourself long enough to find that goal. When time starts running out and you start to get desperate, that's when your shape goes all out of whack and guys have their own ideas, own agendas. It's hard when you go down a goal because ultimately you still have to get it back from somewhere.

Q: And when you're up a goal?



Howard: I've certainly found that when you go up a goal, complacency is the worst thing. You can't just sit back and defend. Of course, you can't take unnecessary chances either. But when you rest on a goal it usually comes back to bite you. Personally, I think you have to continue to attack -- again, not crazily, not by sending massive amounts of numbers forward -- but you have to continue to push the momentum. Make them defend. Turn their attackers into defenders. A team that's down a goal is going to open up, so that's going to give you more chances eventually. Hopefully, you get enough of the ball to do that. Then it's a matter of actually taking advantage of those chances.

Right after we score a goal, emotions are high. If you can even get your defenders' attention, you tell them -- through body language sometimes -- to switch on and really concentrate here because this is obviously a vulnerable time for us.

Q: How often does a halftime speech or adjustment turn around a game?



Howard: Bob's really good about not being too over the top with us. His management style is more giving us some time to ourselves. He's not a guy who panics. If he needs to ask for more, he does, but in his own way. He'll have small conversations with individuals, a conversation with the group. But it's all about looking forward. He doesn't spend 15 minutes on 'What the heck were you just doing?' It's all about going into the second half. In that way, it's really good for the players because we can just concentrate on looking forward.

Q: How do the players work out on the fly how to adjust their formation according to their opponents' tactics?



Howard: I remember one particular game at Everton. It was a European qualifying game. We knew a little bit about the team but they came out looking like Brazil. We were like, 'Holy cow, where did this come from?' It was very much a change on the fly. Once we got smacked in the teeth a couple times we realized we had to change our plans and really get up against the ball because they were passing it around us. Collectively, we had to change our way of playing on the fly because there was no time to discuss it.

Q: Can you remember anything like that happening with the national team?



Howard: Probably our qualifier last spring in Costa Rica, when they came out and spanked us 3-1. Right from the start they were pressuring us and they were up in our faces and I don't think we necessarily thought that was going to happen. That caused problems because while we knew they were going to keep the ball, we didn't realize they were going to go high-pressure on us. When a team high-pressures, you have to play differently. You have to get the ball up the field and out of dangerous areas.



Q: What does it feel like at the end a game knowing you've been eliminated from a tournament?



Howard: For me it's always the immediate disappointment of what could have been. A lot of times, particularly in a tournament situation, you reflect on how hard you worked to get yourself fit and ready and prepared. That stuff usually is the first thing that sticks out. But usually it's utter disappointment because if you get knocked out of a tournament, it's usually a major tournament and you worked your tail off to get there.