By Sam Tobin
SEATTLE, July 5 (Reuters) – The United States are confident enough to play their own game against Belgium, talisman Christian Pulisic said ahead of a World Cup match which will provide the sternest test yet of the co-hosts’ major tournament credentials.
The sides meet on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals in a repeat of their clash in 2014, when Belgium knocked out the U.S. in extra time despite the heroics of goalkeeper Tim Howard.
The difference in quality between the sides, though, is smaller this time and Pulisic said the U.S. have growing confidence, despite a 5-2 defeat in a friendly in March.
“We know what they (Belgium) have to offer,” he told reporters on Sunday. “They have really talented players that can make a difference really quick.
“But we’re not going to completely reinvent our style either. Of course, we want to be aggressive and try to hurt them, as we have to other teams this tournament,” Pulisic added.
“We have confidence regardless of the game in March. We know what we can do.
“We think we can hang – not just hang, but dominate spells of the game against some of the best teams … I think we have the right to feel confident.”
U.S. BELIEVE THEY CAN WIN
Pulisic called on fans to continue to get on the U.S. bandwagon.
“Because we’re Americans, that’s what we do. We believe anything is possible,” he said.
“We’re a team that’s going to fight and we’re going to give it everything we got and we believe that we can win this thing. So I’d say that’s a good reason to believe.”
Shortly before Sunday’s training session, news broke that U.S. forward Folarin Balogun would be available to play against Belgium after FIFA suspended his one-match ban for a red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Pulisic described the red card as “super harsh” and welcomed FIFA’s decision.
“He’s obviously super happy, man … you want to be able to play in games like this”, Pulisic said of Balogun’s reaction.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin, editing by Ed Osmond)
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