LOS ANGELES — US coach Jurgen Klinsmann says the Americans are "pretty sure" of reaching the last 16 of this year's World Cup in Brazil, according to an ESPN website report Friday. The former German international made his confident prediction before the team departed for a camp in Sao Paulo, where it will be based in June. "I'm pretty sure we are going to make it through to the (knockout) round," Klinsmann said in the blog posting. "Nothing will be laid out perfectly. Nothing (in Brazil) will be kind of the German way of 2006 where everything was on time and ironed out. There will be delays and logistical challenges with the hotels, fields, stadiums or whatever. "I call this tournament the 'World Cup of Patience' because of the Brazilian style of life. There will be a lot of surprises waiting. ... It's not going to be a perfect World Cup for anybody." The Americans will need to finish in the top two in their opening-round group to reach the last 16 knockout stage of the 32-team event. They were drawn into a group with Germany, the side Klinsmann once coached and played with, Portugal, led by superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and Ghana, the team that eliminated the US from the 2006 and 2010 World Cups. The schedule also has the US traveling almost 9,000 miles to play its first-round matches, the longest travel load of any team. "I think it is still possible for us to go eye-to-eye with the big nations and give them real games even if it is difficult climate zones or circumstances," Klinsmann told ESPN. "The more we are able to adjust quicker than the other ones to those circumstances ... to prepare ourselves on a higher level physically and mentally, the more we have a chance to beat them." Klinsmann has kept players competing hard for World Cup spots, toughening the team for last year's North American qualifying final stage and the test to come in South America. "In the World Cup, you need to be ready to go through two months of extreme stress, problem-solving and high tension, to be a team that is ready to go through thick and thin," he said. "It does not matter if your odds are 40 percent or 10 percent. "We know on a God-given day we can beat big nations. We just have to time it extremely well so it happens in June 2014, and that's why I am not scared about Ghana, Portugal or Germany." — Agencies
