If you listen carefully this Sunday at the Super Bowl, through the plangent harmonies of the pop stars who will sing the Star-Spangled Banner, the girlie chants of the gleaming-toothed cheerleaders and the full-throated roar of a beer and hot dog-fuelled crowd of patriotic Americans, you may make out the odd English accent.

This year's great American sporting extravaganza, at which, in between the hoopla, the New England Patriots and the New York Giants will battle here for the title of champions of the National Football League, has the merest tinge of a different, Union Jack sort of red, white and blue, about it.

There have been Britons at the Super Bowl before, but they have generally been confined to the half-time entertainment - Sir Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger have performed in the past few years - and the small but dedicated band of British journalists and broadcasters who cover the quintessentially American event for a hardcore of fans in the UK. But this year, in a fitting end to a season during which Wembley Stadium hosted the first regular-season NFL game played outside North America, there will be a British player or two on the field, perhaps even making contact with the ball.

Osi Umenyiora, the Giants defensive end, was born in London and has a British passport. “I'm proud of it. It's what I represent,” he told The Times this week.

Lawrence Tynes, the kicker who in the Giants' game against the Green Bay Packers two weeks ago missed an easy field goal to put his team in the Super Bowl and then kicked a much tougher one, was born in Greenock on the Clyde. He even played for the Scottish Claymores, the former NFL Europe League team.

“I still have a lot of friends there. I got a tonne of e-mails from them after the Green Bay game,” he said.

The two men have been key in the Giants' unexpected run to the Super Bowl. New York have won ten straight away games, an NFL record, including three play-off games in the past month. They are again long-shot underdogs against the Patriots on Sunday, who are heavily fancied to become the only team in NFL history to go though a 19-game season undefeated, capping it off with what would be their fourth Super Bowl in seven seasons.

It is a stretch to call either of these foreign-born Giants British. Umenyiora's Nigerian parents returned from London to Africa before settling in the United States. Tynes left Scotland at the age of 10 when his American father moved with his Scottish mother to Florida. Neither is audibly distinguishable from any of his all-

American team-mates, but it is an unexpected fillip for the NFL's efforts to demonstrate that its product can have a global appeal.

Of particular cheer for American football is that it was the Giants who played at Wembley in October - they beat the Miami Dolphins 13-10 - and now they are contending in the big game.

The NFL has said that it will play another game in the UK next season - the names of the teams will be announced this week, but it will not be either of the teams here.

This weekend's event is the main occasion when the rest of the world gets to look in on the the US's biggest and most lucrative sport. Despite the NFL's best efforts, there are many who doubt whether, beyond the Super Bowl or the odd game in London or Frankfurt, the NFL will catch on abroad. Tynes thinks it unlikely. “I can't see it,” he said. “Maybe one or two games, but soccer is king in the UK.”

The Patriots seem to be following a more traditional route in trying to globalise. Robert Kraft, the owner, was recently one of those who considered joining the growing ranks of American football teams with a stake in the Barclays Premier League, by making an offer for Liverpool. In the end he decided against it, but it is clear that he has not given up interest in owning an English team.

On Sunday, at least, a small part of American sporting history could be made by an unlikely couple of British passport-holders. And it is an odd thought that, while Umenyiora and Tynes can play in a Super Bowl, they can never, as foreign-born citizens, become President of the US.

Osi Umenyiora (defensive end)

Born London, Nov 16, 1981 (to Nigerian parents)

Raised Golders Green, North London (until age of 7)

Supports Manchester United

Fascinating fact Was made a chief in Nigerian village of Okbunike

2007 salary $1.445million (about £727,000)

2007 statistics Tackles 52, forced fumbles 5, sacks 13. Twice NFC defensive player of the week in 2007 season

Lawrence Tynes (kicker)

Born Greenock, June 3, 1978 (to Scottish mother and American father)

Raised Campbeltown (until age of 10)

Supports Celtic

Fascinating fact Will be Grand Marshal of New York City's Tartan Day Parade in April

2007 salary $875,840 (about £440,000)

2007 statistics Field goal percentage 85.2, longest successful attempt 48 yards