'We showed that we're ready': USA captain Tim Ream hails team intensity after hot start

[p]The [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/usa/fuitL4CF/"]US[/a] squad has spent three weeks with coach [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pochettino-mauricio/zuJM7XDg/"]Mauricio Pochettino[/a] since assembling for pre-tournament friendlies. Preparation racheted up several gears last weekend as they arrived at their California base camp.[/p][p]Carrying the high expectations and intense scrutiny of being joint hosts - along with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/mexico/O6iHcNkd/"]Mexico[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/canada/x4toKORL/"]Canada[/a] - the US players and staff struck a relaxed pose in front of the media through the build-up.[/p][p]But Ream admitted tensions had run higher behind the scenes, insisting that same passion proved essential as they ran rings around [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/paraguay/YaNlqp6j/"]Paraguay[/a] Friday night.[/p][embed guid="deabf734-4c92-4c34-a26d-deafaf7f0854" url="https://x.com/USMNT/status/2065872977359712407?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"We've been together for almost three weeks, and training has been intense - there's been some tense moments, amongst ourselves,"[/b] Ream said.[/p][p][b]"That's just a sign of guys who are ready to go, ready to get after it, and we showed that today from the very beginning" [/b]of the Paraguay win, he said.[/p][p]Ream did not specify the nature of those fractious "moments", but said by the time his team took to the field in front of 70,000 fans, [b]"I didn't have to say too much today - we'll leave it at that."[/b][/p][h2]'We were desperate'[/h2][p]The emphatic scoreline puts the US in a strong position to progress from Group D, with games against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/australia/xSrf6qMM/"]Australia[/a] on Friday and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/turkey/QeijuHo5/"]Turkey[/a] the following week still to come.[/p][p]In his post-game press conference, Pochettino emphasised the importance of having his full 26-man roster together for an extended period of training.[/p][p]It is a luxury he has not often been afforded since taking the job nearly two years ago.[/p][embed guid="a694e284-130f-4817-9b23-dcc69dc1d4e2" url="https://x.com/USMNT/status/2065660021627814173?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"We were desperate one year ago to work with the whole team, and we didn't have the possibility," [/b]said Pochettino.[/p][p][b]"Because we know very well that if you have the possibility to work three, four weeks with a whole group that you believe can arrive to the World Cup, these type of things can happen, no?"[/b][/p][p]Since Pochettino took the national team role in 2024, players have had to juggle club commitments and recover from injuries, while several key players, including [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pulisic-christian/vTuaEfRq/"]Christian Pulisic[/a], chose to rest during last summer's Gold Cup.[/p][p]"They need to know us, we need to know them, to understand what we expect from them. When you only have a few days to reunite and to play, you only select players, but you cannot coach players," said Pochettino.[/p][p]The victory was watched by 16 million people on Fox - a record for a US soccer match on English-language TV.[/p][embed guid="4e20f44b-8080-4f9d-a6a8-763ad76aac75" url="https://x.com/USMNT/status/2065895910538960995?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]It has triggered a spike in ticket prices for upcoming US games, and has some fans and pundits wondering if their team could win the whole thing.[/p][p]While not going quite that far in his post-game statements, midfielder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mckennie-weston/jZHxRi2A/"]Weston McKennie[/a] said his team have no intention of letting that intensity fade.[/p][p][b]"This is something that we don't want to over-celebrate. Because we want this to be the normal for us, and the normal expectation that we have for ourselves,"[/b] he said.[/p][p]Ream added: [b]"It's easy to do it one game, you then have to back that up with another game. And then another game."[/b][/p]