KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — One more loss and it could be auf wiedersehen for the U.S. World Cup team.

Little-known back home, the Americans are mostly no-names to some of their Italian counterparts, who've heard of captain Claudio Reyna and DaMarcus Beasley. That's about it.

"Hopefully," Reyna said Friday, "they'll remember them after the game."

Trying to stave off elimination, the United States takes the field Saturday against the famous Azzurri, a team stocked with many of the sport's richest and splashiest stars.

Following a quarterfinal finish four years ago, the United States hoped to become a contender in the world's game. But an opening 3-0 loss to the Czech Republic made the Americans look as though they simply didn't belong.

Another loss, and they can start reconfirming their reservations out of here.

Another loss, and surely fans will wonder whether the Americans have regressed to the bad, old days of 1998, when the United States finished last in the 32-nation field.

There is a needle-slim chance the team could advance with three points, but it would require a rout of Ghana by the Americans and an almost improbable combination of results from the rest of the group.

"We better have a bit of an attitude that we can play and that we're ready to play over 90 minutes, or else we're not going to be successful," said U.S. coach Bruce Arena, whose job could be at stake.

To get ready, the Americans garrisoned themselves at Ramstein Air Base, a short distance from Fritz-Walter-Stadion, a neighborhood ballpark like Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. With about 50,000 military and civilians, the base provides some of the comforts of home.

"We have American channels in the rooms so guys can kind of feel at ease a little bit," Reyna said. "A lot of people that we saw I think put our game into perspective right away ... seeing some of the troops that were just back from war."

Downtown Kaiserslautern was filled with Americans on Friday night who waved the red, white and blue and rocked out in the vibrant late-night bars near the Stiftkirche, built from 1250 to 1350.

While the Americans are trying to join the top soccer nations, Italy is famous for its three World Cup titles and Serie A, one of the strongest leagues. All 23 players on Italy's roster play at home, unusual for top soccer nations, and the Italian culture can tend to be insular.

Following earlier remarks by midfielder Andrea Pirlo and defender Fabio Grosso about their knowledge of the U.S. team — or lack thereof — Italy coach Marcello Lippi made a point Friday of reeling off the American roster.

"They've got many weapons," he said, adding that for his players to underestimate the U.S. team "would be a real serious mistake."