"The match showed us a lot. We played against an opponent that wants to play football, that opens up the game and doesn't rely on long clearances. We had certain problems with long balls, but we know the reason why: we play with a high line, and when you have players who know how to punish that, it's normal for those situations to happen. We have to think about who we are, what we are, and how we got here. Nothing was handed to us; we achieved everything through hard work and determination."

He particularly pointed out the importance of playing the game at this time in order to help the team adapt as well as possible to the conditions they'll face during the tournament.

"It was important to play this match at an early kickoff time so we could see how difficult it is. That's why we arrived earlier, to get used to it. It'll be easier in Toronto. We'll see how much time we'll need to recover, but some of the players I substituted were a little upset because they wanted to keep playing, which is certainly a good sign regarding our physical preparation."

Barbarez also reflected on the decision to spend the preparation period in St. Louis: "We knew where we were coming, and we chose St. Louis precisely because of our community here. We've had good communication with our supporters over the last two years, and I'm proud that we had the opportunity to play in front of these people."