ISTANBUL – The US Under-20 national team won't be wasting any time licking wounds after a 4-1 loss to Spain in its World Cup opener, with all involved already setting their sights on Monday's matchup against France.
Coach Tab Ramos and his charges gave a daring account of themselves against the Spaniards, but the result leaves them in the position of needing to rescue their tourney hopes in Group A’s game two.
“There's no question that getting prepared for a game after the monumental effort we made tonight is certainly a challenge,” said Ramos in Friday's postgame press conference. “We'll do our best.
RAMOS: Aggressive gameplan was a worthwhile risk
“I think we have a lot of positives to focus on. It's not often you have a team losing 3-0 that makes the type of effort we made today. I think that's something to build on.”
The coach wasn't the only one in US camp quickly champing at the bit for a crack at France. Team captain Caleb Stanko was already looking ahead to the contest as he left Türk Telekom Arena on Friday night.
“We'll just try to get as fit as we can for the next game, recover and start looking at film for France in order to get three points,” said the defender. “I think we have a positive outlook on the game, so we're excited.”
