Cherundolo anticipates France challenge

United States defender Steve Cherundolo believes his side will have to be at its collective best if it hopes to get a result against France.

“France has some amazing individual players,” Cherundolo said ahead of the friendly at the Stade de France on Friday.

“The only way to succeed against a team like that is to be good and smart collectively. That is the key for us tomorrow night.”

The US have not faced Les Bleus in 32 years, when it was beaten by a combined score of 9-0 in two exhibition matches.

But the visitors should be encouraged by the fact that France coach Laurent Blanc may field a younger team as he evaluates his options heading into the 2012 European Championship.

Cherundolo believes that the team is beginning to become more comfortable with the direction of coach Juergen Klinsmann, with the German appointed in July and experiencing a slow start at the helm of the US.

“I think the performances have gotten better with every camp we’ve been in together, which means the coaching staff has done a good job of implementing their ideas,” Cherundolo said.

Klinsmann has marked his early reign with a desire to evaluate all the players at his disposal, leading to chances for some not previously in the US fold.

One of those new players is defender Alfredo Morales, who – like Cherundolo – plays his club football in the Bundesliga.

Hannover captain Steve Cherundolo has only had a chance to train briefly with the 21-year-old Hertha Berlin centre-back, but has been impressed so far.

“It’s only been a couple training sessions, but the first impression was good. He has shown some signs of talent,” he said.

In the second of its two friendly matches, the US will face Slovenia – a team it drew 2-2 against during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The US had a late goal by midfielder Maurice Edu controversially disallowed by referee Koman Coulibaly, but there is no element of revenge for Cherundolo and his side ahead of the match.

“There’s no revenge factor or anything like that. I’m looking forward to the match,” he said.

“It’s an interesting opponent since we have seen them before in the World Cup. It should be an exciting game.”