Nate Bukaty

I think the chances are all over the map with this team.

I've been told that quite a bit.

Yeah, that's pretty good.

Well, it's an astute observation, especially defensive midfielders.

Yeah, they're short on that for sure.

Yeah, you got it.

I've read a couple things.

Very fair observation.

There's that kind of news cycle I was talking about earlier of negativity leading up.

Certainly been a fair share of that for this U.S.

team, and some of it I think justified.

Others, I think it's kind of like when we try to dive into the results of a Chiefs preseason game where you're like, okay, what can we really take from this?

There is talent on this team.

There's enough talent for this team if the cards fell right to get to the quarterfinals, and then, you know, hey, maybe even make it to a semifinal, but it would really have to, the cards would have to fall right.

There's enough talent on the team to do that.

Can they find a sense of identity and unity and drive and all those things?

That's to be determined because this group of players hasn't really shown us that at any point yet.

Now, they're on home soil, and it's kind of like, I mean, the NCAA tournament, sometimes you see a team in the first round look terrible, but they sneak through, and then all of a sudden they go on a run, right?

Sometimes all it takes is one moment, and then all of a sudden the whole group galvanizes and believes.

I think it's going to take something like that for this team.