Heading into Friday’s U20 World Cup opener, the United States is sure to have its hands full in not just the matchup against Spain, but with all three group games against high quality international opposition (France and Ghana being the other two).

And while the year and a half of preparations have closely resembled a roller coaster ride when it comes to on field results against other U20 national teams, head coach Tab Ramos carries a quiet confident into the team’s opening match.

“I like the players that we have,” he told reporters in a conference call. “I like the talent that we have on our team. Obviously we play Spain in the first game. Spain happens to be the favorite to win the World Cup. At the same time, I see that as a great challenge for us that maybe tells us whether we’re close or really far away… I do know that if we can somehow survive in our group and get through to the next stage, I think that coming out of this group, we would probably be able to beat anybody.”