The United States faces the Netherlands in Qatar on Saturday as the knockout phase of the World Cup begins.
This is the first time the Americans have faced the Netherlands in a World Cup, and they face them as underdogs. The Americans haven’t made it past the round of 16 since the 2002 tournament.
But Captain Tyler Adams said they’re ready.
“We’re going to have to give it our all,” Adams said. “But I think that’s where our mentality has been very, very good against some of the biggest opponents now.”
The United States has reached this stage seven times before, most recently in 2014.
“The United States has been to this point before, but it’s pretty rare to get past it,” said journalist Grant Wahl. “I don’t think this American team is afraid of any other team in the tournament.”
They have been relying on star forward Christian Pulisic, nicknamed Captain America, who was cleared to play on Friday night after a pelvic injury. The 24-year-old scored the team’s winning goal against Iran on Tuesday, but collided with the goalkeeper and ended up in hospital.
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He said “his team’s talent and spirit help him focus on the pitch.
“They know I had their back. They had my back. That’s how it works,” he said.
The American players are “giving everything for each other, for this country,” he said.
“You can see all the individual talent… but without the brotherhood and without this family aspect, you know, we wouldn’t be in this position,” he added.
The match at the Khalifa International Stadium cannot end in a draw. Instead, it could go to extra time, maybe even a penalty shootout.
The winning team advances to the quarterfinals. The losing team returns home.
Defender for the US men’s national team Walker Zimmerman he told CBS News on Friday that the team is focused on the task at hand.
“We’ve been underdogs before,” Zimmerman said. “US Soccer is used to that role, and I think it’s something that has made our team so special, it’s the resilience that we have, that competitive spirit that every team before us has had.”
