IRVINE, Calif. — Ever since the U.S. men’s national team announced its roster for the World Cup, nearly every player has talked about the emotions they’ll feel walking out onto the field at SoFi Stadium on Friday.
After Germany bossed the Americans around for the opening 15 minutes of a 2-1 loss in their final send-off game, though, guarding against those emotions turning into another listless start will be critical.
“It would be nice to score early, but I think if we have a strong start where we’re pressing high up the field, we have momentum going into the 15-minute mark, I think we put ourselves in a good start,” midfielder Cristian Roldan said Tuesday. “If we can start like that, a really good shot of getting out of the group.
“The first game, the first 15 minutes, really important in the tournament, and we need to be ready. We cannot be asleep like our game against Germany. That’s when things can change and your tournament outlook can change.”
Complicating matters, though the situation likely will change by Friday, thousands of tickets are still listed for sale for the match both at face value by FIFA and in its resale portal, making it unclear what the atmosphere will be like.
While the USMNT has been buoyed by good crowds in Charlotte and Chicago, as well as the 5,500 who came out to Irvine to watch them practice Monday, there is a long history of the national team feeling like it’s playing on the road in its own country.
FIFA’s pricing of games at this World Cup has been highly controversial, and the host country openers are priced even higher than other games in the group stage.
A packed and loud home crowd should, in theory, be one of the USMNT’s biggest advantages at this World Cup. Countries like Russia and South Korea went on historic runs when hosting the tournament, carried in part by fans.
“I don’t really focus on the ticket sales and all that kind of stuff,” goalkeeper Matt Turner said. “For me, what I felt here yesterday with 5,000 people … that’s the kind of stuff I’m more focused on.”
Turner indicated that a decision on who will start between himself and Matt Freese still hasn’t been made. Or, at least, the national team isn’t ready to tip its hand publicly.
“I think whatever the coach ultimately decides, we owe it to each other to respect that decision and support each other till the end,” Turner said.
For the first time since camp started, all 26 USMNT players trained.
