KANSAS CITY – The content producers circled in tight around Clint Dempsey, the biggest name among a handful of U.S. internationals gathered at Sporting Park to comment on Friday’s happenings from Brazil.
One of the first questions: did he “dread” the kind of draw that fell Friday, a real thorny bunch, one that won’t make second round advancement very easy. His retort was quick … and there was even a hint of a smile, something not always seen from a guy who tends to be pretty serious.
“It’s excitement,” he said. “That’s what the World Cup is about. It’s about playing the best teams. We got a good group as far as that’s concerned. We have the quality if we play our best ball that we can get out of the group. We just have to do that, try to get the most out of every game and not wait until that last game and not needing other teams to do favors for you.
More on the World Cup Draw
“But at the same time,” he said, “looking at that group, you’d think it’s going to go down to the last game for everybody.”
“It’s a difficult group. That’s what the World Cup is about, playing the best teams. The trick is to get off to an early start, hopefully, and try to get out of the group. After that, anything can happen.
Dempsey’s other thoughts …
On facing Ghana once again. (Dempsey was on the field in 2006 when the African side kept the Americans from advancing into the second round. And he was on the field in South Africa as Ghana eliminated the United States from World Cup 2010):
“Seems like that’s been the case, the last couple of World Cups. We have to get them back for that. We’re due a win.”
Did he and other players sit around and calculate out groups ahead of Friday’s draw (like the rest of us)?
“No. It’s going to be what it’s going to be. You don’t hope for anything, because you can’t control it. Once you know what the group is, you got to prepare, got to work hard, make sure you put yourself in the best position to get out of the group.”
Could it have been tougher?
“Yeah it could have been a tougher draw. But it’s one of the toughest groups, I think. At the same time, there’s always a worse possible scenario. But, like I said, if we play our best ball, we have the quality to get out of the group.”
Has the team’s attitude about big opponents changed over the last couple of years?
“I think so. We played against the big teams and we played some of those teams away from home. I think getting the result against Italy away from home was big. Against France, we didn’t get the result, but we got some experience. Beating Germany, even though we didn’t see their A team, they still had some big players on big clubs.”