COLOGNE, Germany – Not satisfied with a surprise victory in the first game of their Euro trip, midfielder Kyle Beckerman says the US national team are intent on proving their brand of lightning can strike twice in Wednesday's friendly visit to face world champs Germany (2:45 pm ET; FOX Sports 1, UniMás, UDN).
Despite a solid effort by the Real Salt Lake ace, the visitors trailed 3-1 when he departed on 63 minutes. Three goals over the final 20 minutes earned the USMNT their first ever victory over Oranje, and now Beckerman reports the squad is on the hunt for their first ever win in Germany.
"We're going to try with everything we've got," he told reporters with a big grin prior to Tuesday's training session at RheinEnergieSTADION. "This is a chance you don't get too often, to play the No. 1 team in the world, in Germany. This is fun. This is why you put in all the hard work. Anything is possible once you get inside the lines."
Beckerman expects a bit more action in the center of the park against Germany than he saw against a Dutch team known for terrorizing defenses on the wing. He says the USMNT will need to be ready to handle another European constellation of stars regardless of how they choose to attack on Wednesday night.
"Maybe Holland likes to whip the balls in a little bit more," he said. "Germany plays a little more possession-based, where they try to pass all the way in. If they try to go down the middle, hopefully we'll close them off and make them go wide, and then deal with it there. But they have high-quality players. It will be tough."
The 33-year-old is in a peculiar position on a Nats squad teaming with young defensive midfielders vying to knock the World Cup 2014 starter out of the lineup. Beckerman knows he must perform a balancing act between competing for his spot and acting as a leader to the up-and-comers, especially on a two-game swing against world powers such as the Netherlands and Germany. Unsurprisingly, he is perfectly fine with that.
"It's just being a good teammate, that's all it is," he stated. "If it's helping a guy be ready for the game, then that's what I have to do. If it's to start, then I have to show by example for when the younger guys get a chance."
