The USMNT’s players appreciate the team’s tough schedule leading up to the World Cup

TAMPA, Fla. — Once the U.S. men’s soccer team knew it wouldn’t have to qualify for next year’s World Cup as a cohost, it faced a different challenge.

Having no qualifiers to play meant the program would have to fill its calendar with exhibition games, which the world’s game calls “friendlies” even when they aren’t polite. (Look no further than the brawl that ended Saturday’s U.S.-Paraguay match in Chester.)

Since it started to matter in June, U.S. Soccer could have picked several lesser opponents to try to rack up wins for public perception. But it knew those would have been empty calories, and many fans would have agreed.

So manager Mauricio Pochettino and his staff chose the harder path: aim high, suffer along the way, and come out the other side sharpened.

There was certainly suffering for a while: a 2-1 loss to Turkey and a 4-0 blowout to Switzerland in June, and a 2-0 loss to South Korea in September.

Pochettino’s words after the Switzerland game were as true then as they are now, with the U.S. on a four-game unbeaten run against Japan, Ecuador, Australia, and Paraguay.

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“We knew that we wanted to play with two important teams in Europe like Turkey and Switzerland,” he said. “When we decided to play them, it’s because we wanted the players to feel the high level. And when you take the risk, this accident can happen.”

Had the Americans not turned results in their favor, as they have over the last four games, the ride would still be bumpy. Perhaps some critics would claim to prefer the easier path.

But the good results have further justified a correct decision.

Now the hill grows steeper. After facing Turkey and Switzerland in June, South Korea and Japan in September, Ecuador and Australia last month, and Paraguay last week, the U.S. closes its year by facing South American superpower Uruguay at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Raymond James Stadium on Tuesday (7 p.m., TNT, Universo).

Next March’s games, the last before the World Cup is set, are expected to be against Portugal and Belgium at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium — a fittingly glamorous stage in U.S. Soccer’s new hometown.

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All 10 of those teams were or will be in the top 40 of FIFA’s global rankings at the time of the matchup, with nine in the top 25 and five in the top 20. (The U.S. sits 16th, and has for all but one ranking period over the last year.)

And since the opponents had their own World Cup qualifiers to play, U.S. Soccer earns more credit for getting them over here in the rare times they were available.

“That’s ultimately what you want,” former Union centerback Mark McKenzie said. “I think any competitor wants to play against the best of the best, and as you go into a World Cup where we don’t have the luxury of a qualification period, you want to play against opponents who ultimately you have the potential to see in the World Cup. So I think when you play against those teams that are especially high-ranked, it puts you up to bat, and to figure out where you stand against those kinds of teams.”

The competitive juices especially come out when the U.S. plays South American opponents. Though big-name European nations draw more fan interest, South American teams deliver an unmatched mix of talent and passion.

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“There’s a real, raw passion that comes along with that,” McKenzie said. “There’s a sense of real pride that South American teams play with. You hear it with the national anthems — the stadium is rocking because their supporters are all singing and screaming their anthem.”

McKenzie tries to bring the same mentality to playing for his country, and to his teammates.

“We have that mentality of, it’s not every day you get the chance to represent your crest, [or] every day you get to be one of 20-some-odd players to step on that pitch,” he said. “So, yeah, we’re going for the same mentality. We approach each game [as] it’s not a friendly match, but this is a preparation for what’s to come.”

The U.S. has a long history of big games against South American foes. Its first guest appearance in a Copa América, South America’s continental championship, was in 1993 — a year before facing Colombia and Brazil in the first men’s World Cup hosted here.

Kasey Keller’s 10-save masterclass against Brazil in 1998 still lives in the history books, as does a 1999 upset of an Argentina squad that Pochettino played for. More recently, the U.S. hosted two Copa Américas, in 2016 and last year, and in them faced six of the continent’s 10 teams.

That Uruguay landed the knockout blow in last year’s group stage makes this meeting even more of a benchmark.

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Among the players who have gotten the message is outside back Alex Freeman, one of the younger members of this group but with a fast-rising profile.

“I feel like it’s a good test for us,” he said. “I feel like, especially in our home country, we need these tests. We need to show what we’re capable of and what we can do, and I feel like just knowing that we’re able to compete against these teams, it’s just a good step for us, and for the U.S. in general for soccer.

Here’s a look at the teams the U.S. has played in friendlies since the start of June, and will play leading up to the World Cup.

After the World Cup roster is announced in late May or early June, the tournament squad will play two friendlies against teams and in cities that are still to be announced.

The FIFA rankings below are as of the date of the matchup, or as of this week for games that haven’t happened yet.

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