Klinsmann Not Looking Past U.S. Monday

German striker Jurgen Klinsmann said Friday his team has a lot of respect for the United States going into their game Monday in Paris.

“They have several experienced players who play in Europe and they’ve achieved some good results recently,” Klinsmann said.

He said the reigning European champion and three-time World Cup champion would not underestimate the Americans.

“They’ve grown as a team. They’ve made progress since the 1994 World Cup, they are self-confident, which is typical of their mentality, and we have a lot of respect for them,” Klinsmann said.

“We expect a physical, strong team,” added Klinsmann, who according to some reports might be heading to the Galaxy of Major League Soccer after the World Cup.

German Coach Berti Vogts, whom U.S. Coach Steve Sampson has accused Thursday of not respecting the Americans, also said he expects a physical game.

“They had great problems against Belgium” [in a 2-0 exhibition loss Feb. 25), Vogts said, adding that Germany, of course, was the favorite.

“But we can’t talk about small teams anymore. There are no small teams. The world of soccer is growing closer,” he said.

Friday morning, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl predicted a German sweep of the first round, showing little regard for the Americans’ chances.

While visiting the German team’s training camp in Nice, he predicted a 3-1 win Monday.

He said Germany would beat Yugoslavia, 2-1, and Iran, 2-0.

“Then we’ll probably play one of our neighbors, and one is definitely more uncomfortable than the other,” Kohl said of a possible second-round game against the Netherlands, a traditional German rival.

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France has long been known for its fine wine . . . and its strikes among workers. Friday, the U.S. team got a taste of the latter, presumedly without being permitted a taste of the former.

This work stoppage involved small-businessmen and artisans, who protested in Lyon, blocking traffic around the city. They say the government has spent too much money on organizing the World Cup and not enough on local needs.

That meant the planned U.S. team outing to Lyon was canceled. So several American players, finally out of the team’s hotel, settled for a lesser trip. They went to Macon and walked around the bustling town of 37,000, a metropolis compared to Saint-Jean D’Ardieres (population 1,200) where they are based.

“We’re ready to go!” Cobi Jones said, looking ahead to Saturday’s train trip to Paris for Monday night’s game.

Players describe the Chateau de Pizay as something like the Overlook hotel in “The Shining.” Even while the players were in Macon, gendarmes on horseback roamed the grounds, guarding the roosters and the ducks.

“There’s really nothing to do but read, play cards, darts, feed the ducks and watch videos,” defender Alexi Lalas said. “It’s like dorm-living--without the girls.”

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The number of U.S. households watching the World Cup opener plunged 57% from four years ago, ESPN said.

Brazil’s 2-1 victory over Scotland on Wednesday got an 0.8 cable rating, which translates to 592,000 homes among the 74 million that receive ESPN.

In 1994, Germany’s 1-0 victory over Bolivia got a 2.2 rating, equivalent to 1.39 million homes.

Part of the reason for the decline was that the 1994 World Cup was played in the United States. Another reason was this year’s opener was at 8:30 a.m. PDT, while the 1994 opener was played in the afternoon.