Charles Boehm is covering the USMNT and the World Cup for Gothamist from Brazil for the duration of the tournament. He has covered MLS and the American soccer scene since 2004, contributing to MLSSoccer.com, The Soccer Wire, and USSoccerPlayers.com.

NATAL, Brazil—Michael Bradley appeared stern and careful, sporting the stone-faced glare that could stop even the most devoted fan in their tracks. Captain Clint Dempsey wore the well-practiced blank look that has hidden his depths so effectively since he became a nationwide superstar.

Jurgen Klinsmann was smiling broadly, of course, as he almost always does.

Focus and caution dominated at the Arena das Dunas on Sunday as the U.S. Men's National Team made their final press appearance before Monday's World Cup opener vs. Ghana, speaking to a multinational gathering of media before a closed training session at the stadium.

The team's trio of designated representatives said little that might rock the boat, but emphasized their eagerness and readiness for the match that will do much to determine whether their stay in Brazil is a lengthy one, or short and difficult as most pundits expect.

After nearly three years of buildup, the big moment is finally here.

"We worked hard for it," said Klinsmann. "Over a month in camp, we had the three send-off games, we had endless scrimmages, and we prepared well. So we are full of confidence to approach Ghana.

"Ghana are a good team, full of individual talent that you all know. It's going to be a challenge but we are very confident."

This tropical corner of Brazil has been swamped by nearly a foot of rain since Friday night, damaging roads and washing away one of Natal's favelas, and more is forecast for Monday. This beautiful new venue's lush grass playing surface appears to be in good shape, however, and no one in U.S. colors was inclined to help conditions become a talking point.

"As players that's not something we can control," said Bradley. "Certainly the game played in this stadium, the field looked to have held up really well, so we'll get a better feel for it when we go out to train today.

"You get to this point and you're not worried about little details, about whether the wind's blowing, whether the sun's out. We're just excited to get on the field."

Klinsmann noted that extreme weather is only one of many unpredictable quirks that followed his team throughout a CONCACAF qualifying campaign that included a sudden snowstorm in Colorado and a tense, 100-degree afternoon in violence-wracked Honduras.

"This group is ready to go the extra mile to make it happen tomorrow, to get it started with a win," said the German-American coach. "If it's raining, if it's snowing, if it's thunder and lightning or whatever, this is about football where you play in any circumstances. Field wet, field dry, heat, humidity, whatever. Both teams are on the field and they will give their best. We are not worried about that stuff at all."

"We'll just take it the way it is," he added. "This is just also our environment going through CONCACAF, you know. You're not complaining, you just go into the countries and make the best out of it."

The theme of exacting revenge against the country that knocked the U.S. out of the last two World Cups was also broached, and also given short shrift.

"Ghana's a good team, they've done well the past two World Cups," said Dempsey. "But at the same time, every time you come to the World Cup it's always a fresh slate and an opportunity to prove to the rest of the world that you're a quality side and continue developing the game in your home country, moving in the right direction. I think our preparation has been very good."

As usual, Klinsmann gave away few hints in terms of Monday's starting lineup, but his warm praise of Kyle Beckerman in response to a question about the dreadlocked defensive midfielder suggested that the U.S. will field a team similar to the one that defeated Nigeria 2-1 in their final pre-World Cup friendly last week.

Klinsmann even compared Beckerman to Brazilian legend Dunga, who led this year's host nation to their fourth World Cup championship when the event was held in the United States back in 1994.

"He's there for his teammates, he's cleaning up in front of the back line, he's there when you need him. And those are very rare players in the way that Kyle is doing it," said Klinsmann. "Maybe for the Brazilians to have a comparison, it's definitely Dunga from the '94 team. He just cleaned up things in front of the back line and just played simple passes, he passed them on to the creative players. Dunga was never the creative one but he organized the whole orchestra.

"We are very excited about having [Beckerman] around because he's just a positive nature, 24/7."

After the hundreds of practice hours, thousands of miles of travel, dozens of qualifying games and millions of words of media coverage leading up to this moment, the U.S. are ready to let their feet do the talking.

"The beauty of the game is still that with all that gets talked about beforehand," said Bradley, "it's still up to us when we step on the field tomorrow, to give everything, and to enjoy the moment, to relish the opportunity to play in the World Cup, of representing ourselves and our country."

By Charles Boehm