ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates—This was the last act of the World Cup preseason for Team USA.
“I had to see the mosque,” Kerr, the US coach for the World Cup, said earlier in the week. “It looks amazing.” There was plenty of time to chill at the pool or walk along the sand as the 102-degree bath water of the Persian Gulf gently lapped the shore.“I know everyone’s going to be focused on who wins, and obviously we are—we desperately want to win,” Kerr said. “But this is an incredible experience, too, for our players, our coaches, our families to see the world, to really experience competition at the highest form all over the globe. What an experience. I think our guys are loving it.
It’s a new experience for almost everyone on the trip. Some players hadn’t been to Abu Dhabi, some haven’t been to Manila and some hadn’t been to Spain—which was the first of three international stops for the Americans this summer.