Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
IRVINE, Calif. — U.S. captain Tim Ream says his teammates all recognize the golden opportunity in front of them to make their nation's best World Cup run in their home tournament over the following days — and hopefully weeks.
Yet instead of feeling amplified pressure under the raised expectations created by their strong group round and a groundswell of national support, these Americans appeared to be energized by the opportunity to make history as they broke camp Monday at their training base in Orange County.
"Would it be weird if I told you I don't really feel too much pressure at this minute?" Ream said with a grin.
"I think we felt more pressure for that first game against Paraguay than anything, and that's coming from ourselves, not from anything on the outside," Ream added, referring to the Americans' impressive 4-1 win in their World Cup opener on June 12. "We just have to put in a performance the way we have in the group stage, and then we see where that takes us."
The U.S. faces Bosnia-Herzegovina in the round of 32 in Santa Clara, California, on Wednesday night. The Americans are significantly favored — which is sort of an achievement in itself, given that this team has won exactly one knockout-round match in its entire World Cup history.
But these Americans are on the international stage with more optimism and likely more talent than nearly all previous editions of this team. Whether that translates into a deep run is still to be decided, but the Americans' confidence and excitement is undeniable.
"The game is going to be about us and what we're prepared to do, and what we have to do to advance," U.S. striker Folarin Balogun said. "It's crunch time. This is the business end, and this is the stage where, in my opinion, the big players step forward and the big players carry the pressure and make things happen."
Although the Americans reached the semifinals at the inaugural World Cup in 1930 by winning their group, their only knockout victory came at the 2002 tournament when they beat Mexico in the round of 16.
The 38-year-old Ream believes the Americans felt more pressure four years ago in Qatar, when they muddled through group play before getting blasted 3-1 by the Netherlands in the first knockout round.
Those Americans weren't led by accomplished Argentine coach Mauricio Pochettino, who has made strong tactical advancements and clearly instilled many of his players with a new kind of confidence after previous U.S. cycles were spent under more parochial coaching.
They also didn't have Balogun, the elite goal-scorer who made a major impact on the Americans' victories over Paraguay and Australia by a combined 6-1, clinching their group in style and rendering their third match meaningless.
Balogun's impact is undeniable on the field, but the Brooklyn-born, London-raised forward is also a focal point away from the field. This World Cup cycle has been his first significant exposure to U.S. culture, and that's an endless source of amusement and insight for his teammates.
"He says America is a simulation quite often," defender Mark McKenzie said with a laugh. "We'll be driving down the road and he'll see something and be like, 'What is that? Why is an individual dressed like that, or why are they throwing a sign up in the air on the corner? What is Bojangles?' It's stuff like that, where he's like, 'Bro! America! What is going on?'"
Many of the top Americans now play their club soccer internationally — another obvious factor in this team's improved competitiveness in this World Cup. Defender Chris Richards, an Alabama native who plays in London for Crystal Palace, says his team is more mature and more tested than most previous editions of the U.S. roster because of its experience at all levels of the sport.
And count Richards among those who find Balogun's culture shock to be a hilarious distraction during the down time on international breaks and this World Cup cycle.
"I think (Balogun) still has this notion that he says Americans aren't real," Richards said. "There's some stuff that we do that doesn't fly back in London. It's a lot to learn and especially when you're only here for a few weeks at a time. It's been cool (for Balogun) being able to see different pockets of America."
NOTES: Injured players Cristian Roldan (quadriceps strain) and Auston Trusty (ankle) did modified training while their teammates went through a full workout Monday, but McKenzie (foot irritation) remained sidelined for a second straight day. Roldan hasn't played at this World Cup, while Trusty scored in the Americans' 3-2 loss to Turkey before he rolled his ankle late in the match. Roldan was on the field doing drills for the second straight day. McKenzie is getting treatment away from practice. None of the three injured Americans was expected to play a major role in the knockout rounds.
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