The USA kicks off against Samoa in Denver at 2:30 PM ET in what will decide who is 5th in the Pacific Nations Cup, and, more importantly, is a World Cup 2027 Qualifier.

For USA Head Coach Scott Lawrence, the importance of the game is more about it being the next game, not how big a game it is.

I don't know what, what 100% of potential looks like, to be honest, you know what I mean? It's, you know, there's, I think the important thing, Alex, is that we look at

"It's what we call plus-ones," said Lawrence. "Today can either be a plus one in terms of 1% better, or a minus one. For me it's always just about, let's just be plus one better than we were before, because our potential last week is not as high as our potential is this week. We have to remember the age and caps of the team, the growth, the learning that they're getting right now. This is going to be a journey for us. Sunday, it's going to be a process. We're gonna keep getting better."

The game is live on Paramount+