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. Akiem Hicks Youth Jersey . 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. You get a feeling for what its like here, and it helps a lot." Klinsmann is expected to visit the Arena da Amazonia on Friday in the jungle city of Manaus, where the U.S. will play Portugal. Anthony Miller Womens Jersey . -- For one night, Nick Calathes provided a big reason to believe the Memphis Grizzlies might be able to withstand the loss of Mike Conley on a short-term basis. Mike Ditka Jersey . "We cannot stay the same way the whole season long," said Reyes. "This is not acceptable. Something needs to change because were a better team than what were showing right now. Its a long season and we just need to continue to push." Its been a frustrating week for the ballclub.Justin Rose believes that the conditions during his first round at Augusta were the toughest he has had to content with at the Masters. The Englishman shot a three-under par 69 to finish three shots behind clubhouse leader Jordan Spieth.And Rose feels that, if the greens firm up, nine-under may be enough to claim to Green Jacket on Sunday.In terms of the conditions, the weather conditions, Id say its the most breeze I think Ive ever played in here at Augusta, he said.2007, I think we had maybe similar conditions.  We had cold, windy conditions, and because of that the low humidity really dried out the golf course and that made it incredibly tough.So barring the rain that happened this morning, I think that that was probably equally as tough as 07. Just the rain that softened up the course made it playable today.But with the forecast the next couple days maybe being as windy, I think this place is going to dry out very quickly and become much more difficult. Justin Rose shot a three-under 69 in his first round Given those tricky conditions, Rose argued that the score required to win may not be as low as some might expect.I think it wouldnt take much if the greens firm up to think that nine-under par could still win this golf tournament, added last years runner-up.You see six-under and you think, well, theres not much progress from there, but thats quite feasible at this point.Sunday looks nice, so that might be a day to play catch-up for a few guys. Who knows? But thats feasible for sure.Meanwhile, Roses fellow Englishman Paul Casey also finished on three-under but joked that playing partner Jordan Spieth had made his round look rather less impressive. Paul Casey said the timing of shots is very important after shooting an impressive 69 on his opening round It feels great, then you look at who I just played with and he made it look very average! he told Sky Sports.Casey revealed that the toughest thing, given the gusty conditions on the course, was choosing when to actually strike the ball.Pretty much everybody here knows how to play the holes, the yardage are pretty straightforward to get, he added.Its picking a time in space to pull the trigger because the difference one minute to the next, or every second with the way the wind is swirling through the trees is very difficult. The same shot executed at a different time is a drasticcally different result. Mike Singletary Womens Jersey. Ian Poulter joined Paul Casey and Justin Rose on three under par Ian Poulter joined his fellow countrymen on three-under after recovering back back-to-back bogeys on 10 and 11 to birdie three of the next five holes.That was tricky out there today, you want to take care of all the par fives, he said. I played lovely on the front nine, [there were] just two or three putts for the day which were a little bit frustrating.Had I not have done that then Id have been a bit higher up the board but its a good start. Its probably one of my best starts at the Masters. Lee Westwood was pleased with his opening round after finishing one-under-par at Augusta. Lee Westwood also remarked on the wind after a first round 71.Its tough out there, the Englishman, who is still seeking his first major title, said of the swirling winds at Augusta. Very tricky.The flags, considering that there was going to be wind, they werent by any means easy, so Im delighted to be under par for the most part. Get a Sky Sports Week Pass Dont miss the Masters. Watch live on NOW TV from ￡6.99. No contract. Also See: Masters day one LIVE! Latest leaderboard Spieth: One of my best WATCH: Els nightmare 10 ' ' '