SAO PAULO - Landon Donovan says the United States will head to the World Cup with its most experienced group of players, giving the Americans a "real chance" to do well at this years tournament. As the U.S. finishes a week-and-a-half training camp in the host country, Donovan said American players have enough confidence and experience to confront more traditional World Cup teams heading into a first round that includes matches against Germany, Portugal and Ghana. "I think the experience that we have now far exceeds the experience that we ever had with any team, and that lines up to give us a real chance," Donovan said Thursday. "We are confident in how we play. We are confident in what we do. Our guys have had enough experiences against all of these players, against teams like Ghana, Portugal, Germany. ... We feel confident that we can get results against them, and thats a nice feeling going into a World Cup." The U.S. opens against Ghana on June 16, plays Cristiano Ronaldos Portugal six days later and closes the group stage against Germany on June 26. The Americans will be playing in their seventh straight World Cup, and Donovan is heading to his fourth. "Theres never been competition for places like there is in our team now," the midfielder said during a news conference. "You can really make a case for probably 35 or 40 guys to be a part of a 23-man roster, and thats never been the case. Its really up for grabs in a lot of positions, and that in itself obviously creates competition, which makes the team better." Donovan, who turns 32 in March, said the U.S. team is more respected by opponents. "The reason its the group of death is because we are in it," he said. "In the past, it would have been a relatively easier group for Germany or Ghana or Portugal because they had us in it. But now, because we are in it, it makes it one of the most difficult groups in the tournament." Donovan said the first goal remains to reach the knockout stage of the 32-nation tournament. "Our expectations, like most teams, are to get out of the group," he said. "We are aware that we have a difficult group, but the expectation is that we can do it and we are going to try to get out of our group, just like most teams in this World Cup. That is the objective. That is the goal. But we feel good about where we are at." German coach Jurgen Klinsmann brought 26 players to this training camp get acclimated to the teams World Cup base in South Americas biggest city. The team, mostly with players from Major League Soccer, will play an exhibition against South Korea on Feb. 1 at Carson, Calif. "Weve been very lucky to have two weeks here in Sao Paulo," Donovan said. "Its been very nice to have a couple of weeks to adapt to what its going to be like this summer. When we come back we have a comfort level. We know the people, the club, the training facilities. It makes it a lot easier. 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The Canadiens added to their defensive depth this week by acquiring veteran Mike Weaver from the Florida Panthers.There is a list right now that is at least five fighters long. All injured. These fighters suffered mostly knee injuries and all of these ailments are bad news for fight fans. Chris Weidman, Georges St. Pierre, and Tarec Saffiedine top the list and for St. Pierre, its the second time with this particular injury. This is the toughest sport on the planet. Tell me another sport where the practice claims as many injuries as the game itself. Honestly I have never worked with an athlete who can get back into training within two weeks of a fight. Ok, thats a lie, Ive had a few fighters get first round KOs. If the fight goes one round, the fighter is going to miss two weeks at least. The whole point of me writing about the training is to bring about a change in the fans perspective of what goes into a fight, for example the lead up is intense. As my seventh week goes in the books, I needed the support over at Elite Performance. I dont want to diet anymore and I dont want to push hard. 500 feet on the Jacobs ladder, five sets of five minute long foot touches on a tall box with a minute rest and speed skipping are all grinding on me. Add that to the fact that Im only hitting a heavy bag or working with the Nexersys for striking, Im not sparring or rolling with anyone. MMA fighters are impressive for making it through a camp. So as Jeff Fisher gently encourages me to get through my bike sprints with 1100% effort, or go train somewhere else if I want to take it easy, I think about guys who train so hard they get injured.dddddddddddd The guys who dig down deep, do the physical conditioning, then go full throttle spar. Then after all of that, go into a cage and fight for 15 to 25 minutes. As they compete, if the action slows because two great fighters find themselves in a ground game stalemate, the crowd boos. That infuriates me. Id love every fan to get to the seventh, eighth, ninth or any week of a training camp. Eat the food, drink the water, sweat, and put in the hours. Then grapple with even just an average level jujitsu player. Once you get pinned, and you grab on for dear life, think about how boring it is to be there. The game, and what people who understand MMA love is the chess match. Its the preparation that went into that moment when two amazing athletes find themselves in a tie. The training, the work, and the injuries are what make MMA an amazing sport. Go put your time in. Change your health, fitness and your view of whats really going on in that cage. If you have tried CrossFit, go spend some time kickboxing, or better, try jujitsu. There is no better workout on the planet. Week 7 is in the books and the lesson learned is really how tough this is on the body. Im not even competing. Shout out to Dan Henderson at 40+ to be doing this and knocking people out. ' ' '