{"id":4497,"date":"2026-06-29T22:06:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T22:06:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4497"},"modified":"2026-06-29T22:06:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T22:06:59","slug":"us-riding-wave-of-confidence-to-world-cup-knockout-rounds-after-strong-start-to-home-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4497","title":{"rendered":"US riding wave of confidence to World Cup knockout rounds after strong start to home tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>IRVINE, Calif. (AP) \u2014 U.S. captain Tim Ream says his teammates all recognize the golden opportunity in front of them to make their nation\u2019s best World Cup run in their home tournament over the following days \u2014 and hopefully weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4495\">Portland is acquiring 2-time All-Star Ja Morant in a trade with Memphis, AP source says<\/a><\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWould it be weird if I told you I don\u2019t really feel too much pressure at this minute?\u201d Ream said with a grin.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we felt more pressure for that first game against Paraguay than anything, and that\u2019s coming from ourselves, not from anything on the outside,\u201d Ream added, referring to the Americans\u2019 impressive 4-1 win in their World Cup opener on June 12. \u201cWe just have to put in a performance the way we have in the group stage, and then we see where that takes us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. faces Bosnia-Herzegovina in the round of 32 in Santa Clara, California, on Wednesday night. The Americans are significantly favored \u2014 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.<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019 confidence and excitement is undeniable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe game is going to be about us and what we\u2019re prepared to do, and what we have to do to advance,\u201d U.S. striker Folarin Balogun said. \u201cIt\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<h3>Tim Ream says the US team felt more pressure at the last World Cup in Qatar<\/h3>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4493\">North Carolina budget agreement being finalized, state representative says<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Those Americans weren\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n<p>They also didn\u2019t have Balogun, the elite goal-scorer who made a major impact on the Americans\u2019 victories over Paraguay and Australia by a combined 6-1, clinching their group in style and rendering their third match meaningless.<\/p>\n<h3>Folarin Balogun taking in American culture during the World Cup<\/h3>\n<p>Balogun\u2019s 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\u2019s an endless source of amusement and insight for his teammates.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe says America is a simulation quite often,\u201d defender Mark McKenzie said with a laugh. \u201cWe\u2019ll be driving down the road and he\u2019ll see something and be like, \u2018What 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?\u2019 It\u2019s stuff like that, where he\u2019s like, \u2018Bro! America! What is going on?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Many of the top Americans now play their club soccer internationally \u2014 another obvious factor in this team\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>And count Richards among those who find Balogun\u2019s culture shock to be a hilarious distraction during the down time on international breaks and this World Cup cycle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think (Balogun) still has this notion that he says Americans aren\u2019t real,\u201d Richards said. \u201cThere\u2019s some stuff that we do that doesn\u2019t fly back in London. It\u2019s a lot to learn and especially when you\u2019re only here for a few weeks at a time. It\u2019s been cool (for Balogun) being able to see different pockets of America.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Cristian Roldan and Auston Trusty do modified training ahead of round of 32<\/h3>\n<p>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\u2019t played at this World Cup, while Trusty scored in the Americans\u2019 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.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4491\">Gabriel Martinelli scores late in injury time to help Brazil beat Japan 2-1 at World Cup<\/a><\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>\n                See more of AP\u2019s World Cup coverage here\n              <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>IRVINE, Calif. (AP) \u2014 U.S. captain Tim Ream says his teammates all recognize the golden&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>US riding wave of confidence to World Cup knockout rounds after strong start to home tournament - Raleigh Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4497\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US riding wave of confidence to World Cup knockout rounds after strong start to home tournament - Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"IRVINE, Calif. 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