Forward Tajon Buchanan stressed the need for a mental reset entering the elimination round.
“It's about putting all that in the past aside,” Buchanan said.
“Now it's about going out there competing and having a strong start and playing a strong game for 90-plus minutes.”
He anticipated a brief period of tactical assessment from both sides at the beginning of the match.
“Like any game, when it's a new opposition, you try to learn as much as you can prior,” Buchanan said.
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“You try and see what they do well and they don't do well. You try and exploit those things when it comes to the match.”
Coach Marsch Evaluates Defensive Passivity
Head coach Jesse Marsch evaluated his squad's occasional defensive passivity, expressing difficulty in pinpointing its exact cause given their aggressive training regimen.
“I don't know because everything we work on and work through is about really being aggressive and using our athleticism and our team speed,” Marsch said.
He suggested that the high-stakes environment of a home World Cup tournament might cause players to react defensively under pressure.
“The only thing I feel a little is when the momentum, or when the occasion is momentous, players get a little tighter and then their natural reaction is to pull back a little bit instead of going for it,” Marsch said.
Marsch committed to reviewing tactical film to ensure the team uses its speed effectively on Sunday.
