IRVINE, Calif. (AP) 鈥� Although the cheers are still ringing in the Americans’ ears after , this U.S. team says it’s prepared for the physical and mental challenges of the weeks ahead 鈥� including what’s likely to be a physical meeting with on Friday.
Midfielder Sebastian Berhalter gives credit for this tenacity to coach Mauricio Pochettino, who has taken over a team that repeatedly flopped on the international stage and infused it with a stronger mentality grounded in a few core beliefs.
鈥淚 think one is that we鈥檙e American. We don鈥檛 take s鈥�-,鈥� Berhalter said Tuesday.
鈥淚 think that鈥檚 something that (Pochettino) really put in,鈥� Berhalter continued. 鈥淓ven though he鈥檚 Argentinian, he has that mindset of, like, 鈥楲ook, this is what we do, and this is who we are, and this is what America is about.鈥� So I think he just, you know, even from an outside perspective, he showed us Americans what we鈥檙e about. He really drilled that into us, and I think that鈥檚 something that has helped us this last cycle.鈥�
That mentality was partly forged last October when the U.S. faced Australia in what turned into in Colorado. Pochettino lambasted his team at halftime, imploring the players to stand up for themselves after the Socceroos delivered physical tackles and punishing play while U.S. midfielder Christian Pulisic left with an injury.
鈥淲atching that game last year, you could see they were up for it,鈥� said Berhalter, whose father, Gregg, coached the U.S. team before Pochettino. 鈥淭hey were putting in challenges, and I think that鈥檚 one of the reasons Mauricio had that halftime rant, and said, 鈥楾hese guys can鈥檛 kick us around.鈥� I think he was right.鈥�
The players heard their coach’s pleas, and they responded with an increased physicality in a game that ended with a combined 19 fouls and two yellow cards.
The Americans have largely kept it up since then, playing with a confidence and assertiveness that manifested throughout their 4-1 victory over Paraguay last Friday in Inglewood, California. Although they haven’t racked up a string of impressive victories since Pochettino took over, the team’s improvements in temperament and tactics have been obvious, and the World Cup could be the place where everything blossoms.
鈥淭hat game in Colorado was fun,鈥� winger Tim Weah said with a grin. 鈥淭hat experience was fun. It was aggressive. I think from that game, we鈥檝e changed a lot. We鈥檝e gotten a bit more aggressive as well.鈥�
for the Americans after he was forced to work out on his own for the second straight training session Tuesday because of the calf injury that limited him to the first half against Paraguay. The team described its playmaking attacker as 鈥渄ay to day鈥� for Friday’s match in Seattle.
Even if Pulisic is limited again, the Americans believe they can go toe-to-toe with Australia again. Berhalter could play an important role after he made his World Cup debut by replacing Pulisic for the second half against Paraguay.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a physical game, but a fun game, and we鈥檙e excited,鈥� Berhalter said. “(The Socceroos) are going to fight. We like teams that have that brotherhood, you know? We like teams that you can see they鈥檙e hungry, they want to fight.鈥�
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