The 27-year-old defender was in Bavaria on Friday night, where he made his first appearance for Stoke following his transfer from Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo.

He headed back to England with his new club, then flew to Amsterdam to catch an overnight flight to Mexico City, where he joined up with the US national team on Sunday.

"It's been one of my dreams since I was a younger kid. I grew up watching the English Premier League and I said one day I want to be playing in England," Cameron said on Tuesday. "Everything has kind of worked out."

US coach Jurgen Klinsmann, preparing for a pair of World Cup qualifiers against Jamaica next month, included Cameron on his 22-man roster for tonight's exhibition against El Tri at Mexico City's Azteca Stadium. The Americans are 0-23-1 against El Tri in Mexico, including 0-19-1 in the thin air at altitude in Mexico City.

"We have to go in and prove ourselves," Cameron said.

waiting for paperwork

Cameron played his last match for the Dynamo on July 15 and joined up with Stoke in Florida during its preseason US tour. But waiting for paperwork to be completed and for his British work permit to be approved, he couldn't play. He finally got on the field for Friday's game at Greuther Fuerth, which is preparing for its first season in the German Bundesliga.

After starting the game in central midfield, Cameron finished in his more familiar central defence role.

"He's on a very positive path," Klinsmann said. "It's been a little bit of an emotional roller-coaster for him, but it's finally done. ... On Wednesday, he just has to settle in as fast as possible and keep his nerves under control while 100,000 Mexicans make some noise."

Klinsmann, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan and Tim Howard were among those who wrote letters for Cameron to the UK Border Agency, whose work permit rules require that a player appear in at least 75 per cent of his national team's competitive matches during the previous two years.