US national team coach Bob Bradley says he is confident his team can overcome El Salvador in their World Cup qualifier on Saturday.
In a pre-match interview, Bradley expected his side to be good enough to take the three points on offer and said his squad was ready for the final stretch of qualifying for South Africa 2010.
The following are excerpts for Bradley's press conference:
On the previous El Salvador game that was a 2-2 tie on March 28: "There were parts to the game that we felt should have been better. We were certainly pleased at the end, given the challenge of being down two goals on the road, to fight back. That said a lot about the mentality of the team. So that was the big positive. You know, we actually started that game pretty well. But we weren't always sharp enough in the attacking third, and a game can sometimes change a bit on one play. We were attacking because they had a lot of people back, and their first goal came on a counter-type situation where we didn't react well enough as a team. So we'll look at all those things, and yet we believe that the improvement in the group over time is a big part of things. So we know as we go into this game that we're confident and ready to play well and take three points."
On the importance of getting the early goal and how it affects tactics: "The ability in all games when you have the lead to find the right balance to still attack and recognize that the game's going to change is important. Often times teams will take more chances and throw more people forward. To be able to deal well with that but still find the right way to get forward, get the right numbers forward, and take advantage of opportunities to get more goals is important."
On how El Salvador might play different this second time: "I think that their starting points are the same. It's a group of players that's been together. I think they are well coached and organized. We saw even in a home game that they had a real game plan on how they wanted to play us, and I think that's one of their strengths in all of their games. So we expect that."
On the result he expects to get Saturday night: "I think the group is ready for this final stretch of qualifying. Playing at home is always something that means a lot to all of us, so I expect a great effort and a great result."
