USA has a plan to "bottle up" Cristiano Ronaldo in the upcoming clash against Portugal.
Jurgen Klinsmann, United States’ coach, and Tim Howard, the American national team’s goalkeeper extraordinaire, talked about their upcoming game against Portugal. Both the German manager and the American keeper talked about the number one threat, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Former Sampdoria player talked about his players’ strategy to put the Portuguese squad in place. Klinsmann stated:
“There’s a lot of admiration for him and for the players who play at big clubs and in the Champions League. But this is the moment to prove yourself, to step up, play those guys and put them in place. We want to put Cristiano in place.”
Klinsmann has won a World Cup and knows what is needed to win
Moreover, the USMNT’s coach revealed:
“We want to make it our game, we are ready for that, we have been preparing for that a long time. We are not worried about any players, we respect them of course, as we always do, but we are ready.”
Howard is confident the Americans can own the game against Bento's squad
Tim Howard also mentioned the current Balon d’Or holder, and said:
“[Ronaldo is] strong, he’s a fast runner, the best in the world when running with the ball, good in the air, good with both feet, the list goes on and on, this is why he's the best in the world.”
All eyes will be on CR7 during today's match between the United States and Portugal
As to the Americans’ plan to shut Portugal down, Everton’s goalkeeper announced:
“We want to bottle him up, it has not been done for four or five years but we’ll see what we can do. We have a gameplan and if we put that in place we’ll give ourselves a good chance.”
Tim Howard plays with Everton and is one of the most experienced players on the USMNT
It will not be easy for team America to beat Portugal, but with Ronaldo at 70%, Pepe suspended, and Coentrao likely out, the Americans may just do it.
