Friday, December 6 was the day of the 2014 World Cup draw. What this means is that the World Cup Qualification phase is over, and 32 teams have been selected to play at the World Cup in Brazil in 2014. The World Cup draw is where they randomly sort these teams into 8 groups of 4. Each team in each group will play each other, with the top two teams in each group moving forward to the next stage.
The groups were selected on December 6, and the United States got one of the worst draws possible. The three other teams in their group are Germany, Portugal, and Ghana. Germany is ranked number two in the world right now. Portugal has one of the top players in the world on their team (Cristiano Ronaldo). Ghana has eliminated the United States from the past two World Cups.
Not only are their opponents very tough, but the 2014 World Cup is in Brazil, which is a HUGE country. The stadiums the players will have to play in are stretched all across the country. Due to the draw that the US got, they will have to travel over 10,000 miles and play in three different stadiums, one of which is on the border of a tropical rainforest. This means that not only will the games be difficult, the conditions will be difficult, and the days between games will be difficult. Nothing about the World Cup campaign for the US in 2014 will be easy.
Why am I telling you all this? So that we can learn how to approach a difficult opponent or situation from the responses of the US National Team. There are 4 things we can learn from the players and coaches’ reactions to this situation. The first two have to do with your mindset and attitude. The second two have to do with your preparation.
1. Treat it as an opportunity
2. To be the best, you’ll have to beat the best
3. Create a game-plan
4. Use the conditions to your advantage
We’re going to talk about these lessons one at a time. This week, we’re going to discuss lesson 1 –
1. Treat it as an opportunity
If you’ve ever seen the movie “Miracle” about the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team, you probably remember the speech coach Herb Brooks gave before the game against the highly favored Russian Team. It starts out with one of my favorite lines ever – “Great moments are born from great opportunity.” What he means is that the only way you can do something great as a player or a team is to be in a situation where doing something great is possible.
For this situation, no one would remember if the US ended up in a group with Iran, Australia, and Japan (will all due respect to those teams, they just aren’t ranked in the top teams in the world) and advanced to the next round. It would be expected! However, by being in a group that no one expects them to advance out of, the US Team has a great opportunity. They have a chance to prove what a good team they are by beating some of the best teams in the world.
When interviewed for his opinion on the US World Cup draw, head coach Jurgen Klinsmann said the following – “This is what the World Cup is about, it’s about these challenges. It’s exciting in certain ways, and a big challenge. That’s what we want.”
This should be your mindset as well when you get matched up against a difficult opponent. Don’t look at the matchup as a misfortune. Instead, look at it as an opportunity to show just how good you are. Look at it as a chance to put all your training and hard work to the test. It’s your chance to show the world that it wasn’t you that had the misfortune of a difficult matchup – it was your opponent.
Next week – To be the best, you have to beat the best
Photo Source – Cape Town Stadium at Night by Warrenski
