"You talk about pressure but they grasped at it, they enjoyed it. They probably shocked the world with that performance," tuturnya.

Mantan gelandang Liverpool, Danny Murphy, menyoroti ketajaman dan kesiapan fisik skuad asuhan Mauricio Pochettino.

"They look a really dangerous team, they look fit, they look sharp, they look hungry," kata Murphy.

Menurutnya, dukungan suporter di stadion menjadi faktor intimidatif bagi lawan.

"When you are playing well the crowd get behind you.

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This is an intimidating stadium when the majority of the crowd are for you, that's for sure," ujarnya.

Perubahan Taktik Pochettino

Perubahan taktik yang dibawa Pochettino sejak 20 bulan lalu terlihat jelas melalui gaya bermain menekan dan menyerang.

Pochettino juga berhasil mengubah pola pikir pemain untuk percaya diri dan tidak merasa sebagai tim yang tidak diunggulkan.

"Why not us?" kata Pochettino pada awal tahun ini.

Ia menekankan pentingnya berani bermimpi besar.

"We need to really believe that we can be there. We need to dream," tuturnya.

Mantan bek Wales, Ashley Williams, memprediksi AS berpeluang besar melangkah jauh jika konsisten.

"The United States brought in Pochettino with this tournament in mind after failing to deliver in past World Cups," kata Williams.

Ia menambahkan bahwa AS memiliki pemain yang diharapkan bisa melaju jauh, sehingga ekspektasi akan besar.

"If things click with Pochettino and with a strong starting 11, I think United States can go far in this tournament on home soil.

They will be looking at this group and thinking they should top it," ujar Williams.

Kekhawatiran Cedera Pulisic

Meski menang besar, timnas AS dihadapkan pada kekhawatiran setelah Christian Pulisic ditarik keluar pada awal babak kedua karena masalah betis.

Pochettino mengonfirmasi bahwa pergantian tersebut sebagai langkah pencegahan.

"I hope it is not a big issue but when we finished the first half he could not work," kata Pochettino.

Tim medis akan terus memantau kondisi kapten tim menjelang pertandingan berikutnya melawan Turki dan Australia.

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"Hopefully not a big issue. Now I think is better and hopefully for the next game he will," ujar Pochettino.