Like many other long-term British expatriates in the States, Stanislas remains a follower of England’s Premier League, especially his team, Manchester United. But for years he has also rooted for American soccer, as it has grown from an obscure niche in this nation’s welter of big-time sports to become increasingly popular and globally competitive.

Today, as the American team faces England in their opening match of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Stanislas has found himself in a position not unlike his Revolutionary-era ancestors who had to choose between king and colonies. Not wanting to be seen as a vestige of the redcoats in the cradle of the Revolution, he has arrived at a diplomatic solution.

“I suppose I will be hoping for a draw,’’ said Stanislas, who serves as president of the British American Business Council of New England.

Americans, notoriously oblivious to the world’s most anticipated sporting event, have taken a greater interest this year in a national team that ranks number 14 in the world and is no longer taken for granted by the likes of still-favored England, which ranks eighth. The game will be broadcast on network television (2:30 p.m. EDT on ABC), and the House of Blues in Boston expects up to 2,000 US fans for the match. Another sign of US interest: Americans have flocked to South Africa to watch the tournament in far greater numbers than fans from any other country.

Americans also want to bring the World Cup back to the United States, which hosted its first tournament here in 1994. Mayor Thomas M. Menino proclaimed yesterday “National USA Bid and World Cup Day.’’ Boston is one of 18 cities that are part of the US bid to host the tournament in 2018 or 2022.

The increasing prowess of the Americans has given pause to the English in Boston, who are all too aware of the “Miracle on Grass’’ in 1950, when the Americans shocked the English by beating them 1-0 during the World Cup in Brazil.

Phil Budden, Britain’s consul general in Boston, understands Americans’ growing skill and knowledge of the game.

His American wife and British-American daughters notwithstanding, he is clear in his loyalty. He plans to fly the Union Jack at the United Kingdom’s official residence on Beacon Hill and will offer those invited there to watch the game Cadbury chocolates, pints of Old Speckled Ale from a 300-year-old English brewery, and “tooters’’ for the children to blow if the English score.

“I think we have history on our side,’’ said Budden, whose staff this week beat Italy in the interconsulate World Cup of Boston. “We’ve played the game more regularly, but one shouldn’t underestimate the Americans. They’re going to be very good physically.’’

Any qualms about raising the flag in a city from which the British were once booted?

“Despite the Revolution, this city feels fundamentally comfortable to us,’’ he said. “After all, it was founded by the British. There’s no other American city where I would rather be.’’

There are expatriates here rooting against their economic interests. Stephen Myles, assistant coach of the New England Revolution, left his native England a decade ago and has devoted his time to improving the quality of the American game, hoping it would appeal to more Americans. A US defeat of the English could help expand the local audience, he says, but he still plans to root for the old country.

“I’d like to see them both advance,’’ he says, noting that two of the four teams in each group will go on from the first round, in which 32 teams are competing. “I’m obviously for England, but I think the Americans have a real chance. The beauty of soccer is nothing is guaranteed.’’

Stig Bjornebye, a Norwegian raised in England who helped found Boston Brits, a Facebook group that now has 550 members, relishes the opportunity to root for the English from the belly of the beast.

“I want to see England crush the Americans, as well as every team they play,’’ he said.

He worried what a loss might do to the English psyche and compared a US win to what Americans might feel if an English football team beat the Super Bowl champions.

“If we lose, it would be a nightmare,’’ said Bjornebye, who has organized a gathering of local expatriates tomorrow at a bar in the Back Bay. “Football isn’t your game. If we lose at our game, I’m going to have a lot of American sports fans berating me for it, without even caring about it.’’

American anglophiles are also finding their loyalties tested.

Kelley Pope, who was born in Oklahoma City and now lives in Brookline, spent 12 years in London.

“I have to say that I’m rooting for England,’’ she said. “For me, that’s where my heart belongs. It means so much more to them if they win.’’

Michael Fallman, the American owner of the British Beer Company, plans to open his eight bars in the area early over the next month.

“A lot of our clients are from Britain, and we want to make them feel welcome,’’ he said. “We’ll even be putting out an English breakfast for the morning games. But we’re rooting for the Americans.’’

Paul Stanislas, who retains a strong English accent despite decades in the United States, said that he has been the target of some ribbing but that many of his friends are not aware of the World Cup.

“To be honest, I’m not sure the Americans are ready to take it all,’’ he said. “I suspect that if England wins, I’ll fly the flag at my desk.’’

David Abel can be reached at dabel@globe.com.