In honor of today's U.S. Men's National Soccer match versus Germany, we wanted to take a few moments to reflect on and celebrate some of the traits that have made the Men's team successful so far in the World Cup.
Some background
The U.S. Men's team is second in the standings in the dreaded "Group of Death," the label that is given to the group considered to have the most challenging set of teams (and which has the hardest path for advancement through group play). In order to move on to the next round, The U.S. likely needs to win or draw against one of the top teams in the world.
To be clear, The U.S. was not expected to be in a position to advance.
You control your own destiny
The Men's Soccer team has earned the opportunity to play Germany and have put themselves in the position to move onto the knockout round.
They set out with ambitious internal goals, dedicated countless hours, and have executed at a high level. In doing so, they've overcome a challenger that has beaten them in the last two World Cup's (Ghana) and narrowly missed defeating another world power (Portugal).
And, hey look, they are certainly embodying the #ICANIWILL mentality!:
Three traits of success of the U.S. Men's Soccer team
Ambition:
Resilience:
Injuries are a part of sports, but teamwork and gritty individual performances have proven to be a formula for success. Jozy Altidore, one of U.S.'s premiere players, went out with an injury during the first half of the first game -- and in came an unproven replacement. In the same game, another star, Clint Dempsey, was kicked in the face, swiftly breaking his nose. Clint, along with the rest of the team, forged on and won the game. Clint then played in the subsequent game, scoring against Portugal, fortifying his place in U.S. soccer lore by becoming the first American to score in three different World Cup's.
Persistence:
With that, enjoy the game! Go USA!
P.S. Need a little help boogieing out of work so you can catch the game? U.S. Coach Jurgen Klinsmann can help with that.
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Aaron is leading the charge with Marketing and Sales here at CogniTea. He is deeply passionate about helping people become their best versions of themselves, and loves being in the great outdoors. You can find him running around Boston/Cambridge/Somerville, organizing meetups, hiking, meditating, writing, and generally exploring the world!
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