{"id":141233,"date":"2022-11-27T21:40:07","date_gmt":"2022-11-27T21:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/usas-problem-against-iran-isnt-politics-its-that-we-dont-know-how-to-win-usa\/"},"modified":"2022-11-27T21:40:07","modified_gmt":"2022-11-27T21:40:07","slug":"usas-problem-against-iran-isnt-politics-its-that-we-dont-know-how-to-win-usa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/usas-problem-against-iran-isnt-politics-its-that-we-dont-know-how-to-win-usa\/","title":{"rendered":"USA’s problem against Iran isn’t politics. It’s that we don’t know how to win | USA"},"content":{"rendered":"
T<\/span><\/span>he flavor of this World Cup is very different: I’m tempted to call it \u201cThe beautiful distraction.\u201d It’s Argentina focusing only on doing this for Lionel Messi and then forgetting how to play soccer without him. It’s Germany trying to make a statement before kickoff and then losing to Japan. It’s what’s happened to Iran in their opener, where they were dealing with so much politically that England smelled blood and destroyed them. It’s Qatar hosting the tournament despite not being good enough to play in it. (This game will not only punish a coward, it will also punish the untalented.) Make sure you’re good enough to be there next time.<\/span><\/p>\n The US can’t engage in the distraction. Next they have to play Iran, and the decades-old political backdrop is enormous. For our players, I think this is the one week to say, \u201cNo comment\u201d. It doesn’t mean you don’t care. But if they stuck a microphone in my face as a player and asked how I feel about what’s going on in Iran, I’d say, \u201cAsk me on Wednesday. Next question.\u201d<\/p>\n When you have to be ultra-focused on an objective, it’s best to stay ultra-focused on that objective \u2013 and our objective is to win at all costs. It’s too important for us not to, and I hesitate to use the word \u201cruthless\u201d, but we need to be. Iran are going to fight. Their coach knows us: Carlos Queiroz was once hired by the US Soccer Federation to write the Project 2010 report. It’s no secret that he would love the USMNT job.<\/p>\n