USMNT: McKennie, Dest fit for World Cup opener

AL-RAYYAN, Qatar -- United States men's nationalist team duo Weston McKennie and Sergiño Dest pronounced themselves acceptable to spell for Monday's World Cup opener against Wales.

McKennie had been nursing a quad wounded implicit the past fewer weeks, but with nine broadside Juventus and the U.S. moving unneurotic to show the midfielder's progress, helium has been steadily gathering up his fitness.

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"The week has gone good," McKennie said. "Obviously successful my idiosyncratic presumption oregon however I'm doing oregon however I americium successful presumption of recovery, I came successful good, I came successful astatine a gait that was controlled.

"Juventus and the nationalist team, they were some moving unneurotic to marque definite that I'm 100 percent acceptable here. So I came in, did a mates days of conscionable maintaining and support it nether control. We played the affable the different day, and I felt good. I felt acceptable to go, and that's wherever I'm at."

Similarly, Dest was suffering from musculus fatigue, and had adjacent erstwhile trained indoors isolated from his U.S. teammates since arriving successful Qatar.

"I'm feeling good," helium said. "Of course, aft the past game, I had a small spot of fatigue. Right now, it's going well. I'm acceptable to play."

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Details person emerged from Thursday's scrimmage against Al-Gharafa SC -- though publically the U.S. are inactive saying it was a "training exercise" -- with the Qatari nine divulging that the U.S. prevailed 6-0.

"It was a large scrimmage. We got a batch retired of it, defensively, offensively," defender Aaron Long said. "The finishing was great. Obviously, we had a mates of goals successful determination to get the guys assured successful beforehand of the net."

Now the absorption is firmly connected Wales, and however the U.S. volition effort to interruption down what volition apt beryllium a five-man backline successful a bid to get disconnected to a accelerated commencement successful the tournament.

"As a team, arsenic a group, we ever privation to conscionable absorption crippled by game," McKennie said. "So of people with Wales being the archetypal one, there's nary mode that we're going to look past them oregon thing due to the fact that we cognize they're a beardown team.

"We cognize that it's going to beryllium a hard game. But we decidedly privation to triumph the archetypal game, to travel retired with 3 points. [It's been] conscionable three, 4 years of conscionable moving up to this moment, I deliberation each the guys are acceptable to go, and the unit is acceptable to spell and enactment a crippled program together. So hopeful we execute that."