The sides clash in Rustenburg for their Group C clash on June 12, and England will have to be wary of an improving United States set up, according to the midfielder.
Donovan spent a successful period on loan with Everton this season and will head an attack for a United States team that is 14th in the FIFA world rankings, six places behind England.
The 28-year-old is planning an upset in South Africa like they did in last summer’s Confederations Cup when they beat Spain in the semi-final and blew a two-goal lead against Brazil in the final
"We know England's players well," Donovan said in The Sun. "We have a lot of European-based players and watch the Premier League all the time on TV, so there will be no surprises from the England team for us.
"And, after our experience in the Confederations Cup last year, we feel we have a good chance to play against anyone in the world - and beat them."
The American believes by taking inspiration from last summer’s performances, they can compete with the top sides when the tournament gets underway next month.
"This is a proven group of players who have come through a lot together but last summer was a big breakthrough," he added.
"It made us confident we can play all the big teams and not only compete with them but get the better of them, too, starting with England.
"We're not going to win every game against them but we feel we now have a good chance on any particular day. For us, it is just a case of showing up and doing what we know we're good at.
"We're not kidding ourselves. England are a very talented team, one of the best in the world, and we might do everything right and still not win."
By Owen Edwards
