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The U.S. may be out of the World Cup, but American captain Clint Dempsey showed up on two morning shows on Thursday, Good Morning America and CBS This Morning, to talk about the team’s experience in Brazil and share his thoughts on the home team’s crushing loss and the upcoming final matchup between Germany and Argentina.
On both shows, Dempsey argued that both Germany and Argentina have a good shot of winning the final game, but he seemed to give the edge to the team that knocked out Brazil.
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“It’s just difficult to look past Germany at the moment right now, but at the same time, Argentina, being a big rival of Brazil, being in the final in that country, that’s going to be a lot of motivation as well for Argentina. I don’t know, you can’t look past Germany,” he said.
Dempsey elaborated on Germany on CBS This Morning, saying, “I think they look sharp. They’re full of confidence … They’re just very organized.”
With respect to Brazil, Dempsey said on GMA he didn’t know what happened to the home team, which suffered a humiliating 7-1 loss to Germany on Tuesday.
“It’s a tough one. You never want to go out of a World Cup that way, but at the same time, when you start conceding goals and maybe start chasing a little bit, the floodgates tend to open, he said. “Maybe they were just a little bit unlucky in terms of … a number of shots that Germany had, it just seemed like everything they shot went in so, it kind of feels like your luck’s against you a little bit.”
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Dempsey also told GMA that having support from American fans, particularly in Brazil, bolstered the team and made them feel like they had a “home away from home.”
“I remember a time playing games in the states, World Cup qualifying games or a friendly, when you felt like you weren’t in your own country, you weren’t at home,” he explained. “And then now we’re at the point that we’re going down to a World Cup, playing in Brazil, and you’re feeling that home away from home. So it’s pretty special. It gives you that confidence, that belief, that people are there supporting you. “
Dempsey said on CBS that he felt like support for soccer is “growing with every World Cup.”
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He added that he does want to play for the U.S. team in the 2018 World Cup in Russia as long as he can still “play at a high level and make an impact.”
The athlete also raps and is set to release an album, but declined to freestyle on CBS This Morning, despite co-host Gayle King’s insistence.
“It’s too early; I haven’t had coffee,” he protested.
Watch Dempsey’s full interviews below.
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