Christian Roldan says USA squad needs to be 'more savvy' for World Cup

[p]The [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/usa/fuitL4CF/"]US[/a] kick off their campaign against the highly experienced South Americans on Friday, and are under pressure to top a group also containing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/australia/xSrf6qMM/"]Australia[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/turkey/QeijuHo5/"]Turkey[/a].[/p][p]Following Saturday's defeat in a friendly to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/germany/ptQide1O/"]Germany[/a], coach [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pochettino-mauricio/zuJM7XDg/"]Mauricio Pochettino[/a] urged his men to [b]"learn to play right on the edge of the rules,"[/b] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/roldan-cristian/UZsrETt7/"]Roldan[/a] echoed those words at the team's training camp on Tuesday.[/p][p][b]"I think that's one thing that we can get better at, for sure,"[/b] he told AFP.[/p][p][b]"I think being a little bit more savvy, understanding that being too honest at times is probably too much of a fault for us.[/b][/p][p][b]"We need to be a little bit savvier in the way we manage games, the way we take fouls, stay on the ground a little longer, you know?"[/b][/p][embed guid="3f85a80c-bc9a-487b-9cea-b85594694b13" url="https://x.com/AndrewGreif/status/2064435222654206034?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]The US recently faced [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/paraguay/YaNlqp6j/"]Paraguay[/a] in a friendly in November. Though the US won 2-1, the feisty clash ended in a stoppage-time brawl.[/p][p]Australia and Turkey are also expected to offer robust challenges to the co-hosts. But memories of that Paraguay clash are currently top of mind for the Americans.[/p][p][b]"I think these are things that we can learn from different nations, but Paraguay does a really good job of that,"[/b] said Roldan, of the opposition's confrontational and streetwise style.[/p][p]The US need to be [b]"smart with not taking it overboard, and not feeding into what they do... really important for us to be able to manage the game,"[/b] he said.[/p][p]Roldan, 31, is one of the more experienced members of the United States' 26-man roster, who all trained together for the first time at base camp on Tuesday.[/p][embed guid="fb56ebd8-4bb8-4840-b835-48f2145afbe3" url="https://x.com/FOXSoccer/status/2064432814242881618?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]The [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/seattle-sounders/6P5S63Ah/"]Seattle Sounders[/a] defensive midfielder, who has earned 47 caps since his 2017 debut, is not considered likely to start for the US on Friday.[/p][p]But he said he sees his role as an enforcer who can bring added intensity if needed, to a US team which boasts more technical ability and attacking flair than in previous World Cups.[/p][p][b]"It seems really funny to say, but being a dog in there, right?" [/b]Roldan said of his job.[/p][p][b]"I think in the end, that's what got me here - being intense... make sure that I energize our group entirely.[/b][/p][p][b]"If I'm not in a starting lineup, it's 'how can I help the boys off the field, or even at halftime?'[/b][/p][p][b]"But I really do think that being intense is what got me here, and I got to keep doing it."[/b][/p][embed guid="ed5f7772-5242-46b8-9075-a13dab318054" url="https://x.com/USMNT/status/2064195283907666213?s=20" social-type="twitter" /]