Jay DeMerit hopes the United States defence can frustrate Wayne Rooney to the extent the England striker loses his cool during Saturday's World Cup clash in Rustenburg.
Defender DeMerit insists the USA will not try to deliberately wind up Rooney, whose temperament has again come under the spotlight after his yellow card against the Platinum Stars.
But he believes keeping a tight rein on the Manchester United striker could result in him losing his self-control.
"A lot has been said about Rooney over the years as far as temperament goes," DeMerit said. "I think Wayne more than anyone knows that people are going to try to use that against him.
"That's not our worry. My worry as an individual is not to try to wind him up and try to get him sent off.
"He is a competitive guy, an aggressive guy, he wears his heart on his sleeve.
"Those guys in a lot of people's minds are easy to wind up. It is not a tactic we will employ on Saturday.
"But it is our job to make his day as difficult as possible and, if he uses that as a way to upset himself, then that is an advantage for us."
DeMerit, 30, has played against Rooney on several occasions with Watford and rates him one of the best strikers in world football.
"I have played against him three or four times, certainly twice in the Premier League, once in an FA Cup semi-final.
"There is no argument that he is in the top three forwards in the world and he has proved that this season with his scoring record.
"He is becoming a 100 per cent complete player.
"Rooney doesn't just test you as far as your soccer skills go. He tests you mentally, he tests your reserve, he tests your physical ability as well.
"He is the ultimate competitor when it comes to things like that."
DeMerit believes the US team can take confidence from their performances at the Confederation Cup in South Africa last summer.
They defeated Euro 2008 winners Spain in the semi-final and led 2-0 against Brazil in the final before losing 3-2.
He said: "I don't think it is a huge advantage but I think there are one per cent and two per cent advantages you can find in that whole experience moving forward.
"Little things like the climate, the atmosphere, the crowd. If you can get a crowd on your side, that can be a little advantage as well.
"We can use last summer as a major advantage for us as a collective, as a team confidence builder, to know that we can come here and have success."