Real Salt Lake Players Anxious About Upcoming Orlando Trip
Jun 23, 2020, 2:27 PM
Photo courtesy: Real Salt Lake
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – As Real Salt Lake continue their preparations for the upcoming MLS Is Back tournament in Orlando, the playing group continues to ponder the unknown.
Defenders Justen Glad and Aaron Herrera both emphasized their concerns heading to Orlando.
“With all of the precautions that we are taking and stuff there is still a lot of stuff that we don’t know and there is a lot that can still go wrong in Orlando,” Herrera said. “Who knows, maybe one of the chefs that is cooking our meals has the virus and then somehow eight guys on our team ends up getting it,” he added.
Regardless, the tournament still has plenty to offer. Regular season points are up for grabs during the group stage matches, and if RSL can manage to finish in the top two of Group D then they will have a chance to qualify for the Champions League if they can win the tournament.
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) June 18, 2020
“Even in the small-sided stuff in training people get mad, people get heated because we all have that competitive drive in us. Hopefully, the will to win is already there in everyone and I think the Champions League is nice,” Glad said. “We weren’t sure what the incentive was at first or if there was even going to be one, that is why we were questioning the tournament to begin with so it (Champions League) is a good incentive,” Herrera added.
Herrera and Glad will be relying on their United Stated U-20 experience when the duo travelled to South Korea in 2017. The MLS Is Back tournament has a very similar, if not identical, format to the FIFA World Cup. Winning your first game is a priority if you hope to make a run.
U-20 #USMNT head coach Tab Ramos names 21-player squad for 2017 @FIFAcom U-20 World Cup.
📸 gallery and roster: https://t.co/AsIkxpawNU pic.twitter.com/3wuxv35lzq
— U.S. Soccer YNT (@USYNT) May 9, 2017
The team will fly out of Salt Lake City on July 4th, the tournament begins on July 8 with the final being held on August 11.
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Tom Hackett is a Utah and Real Salt Lake Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the It’s Utah’s World Podcast (Utah Football themed) and The Lion’s Den Podcast (Real Salt Lake themed). Follow him on Twitter: @TomCantHackett.
