Could Colombia's trash talk help loosen up the U.S.' nervous attackers?

Yes, I really wrote that headline, and yes, I know, you probably think I'm going just a bit over-the-top with it. Give it a chance.

EDMONTON, Alberta - The U.S. women's soccer team had a day off Friday, so I spent some time ruminating over something veteran defender Christie Rampone said during her roundtable chat with reporters on Thursday.

Rampone was asked what the squad's mindset is heading into the knockout stage of the World Cup, which for the Americans begns with Monday's round of 16 matchup against Colombia. She offered an interesting insight:

I think the mindset is having a positive outlook, and having that confidence going into these games of playing better and playing better soccer. And kind of just letting loose and getting more into our attack and not so much being on our heels. I think we need to go after teams a little bit more, and we need to have a better presence in our attacking third. I think have the defensive organization down; it's now just kind of releasing, and being a little more free and confident on the offensive side.

That will be music to the ears of American fans who've been waiting to see the team's attacking stars really start firing on all cylinders. But a lot of people it would happen against Nigeria, and it didn't.

So what will it take to light the spark? Rampone was asked that too. Her answer:

I think it just comes from the experience of playing through that group play, knowing that you're in the Group of Death, and all that pressure and stress, and realizing: Hey, we came out on top. We did what we need to do. And then it's more just getting together as a team and unit, because you start to rely on each other, and it becomes more of a team atmosphere, which I think then starts loosening up the players.

Obviously, our goal is to win this, so we're looking at the big picture of seven games. And we say that out loud because we want to believe that. If you don't believe it, you're never going to feel it, you're never going to put yourself out there. You have to put yourself out there and make mistakes in order to succeed.

It's the emotion and feeling that you have when you're here, because once you get through that group stage, yeah, you think it becomes more stress, but I think we do better under the pressure. And it's more of: Hey, we beat three amazing teams in this first round, and now we're moving on, and it [Colombia] is a tough opponent. We realize, too, we can't take anything lightly - I mean, they beat France 2-0.

That ability to thrive under pressure is the Americans' signature calling card, of course. So it was news to hear Rampone admit that for as much as the U.S. players like to talk about building a bubble to block out distractions, they were feeling some of that pressure during the group stage:

I think it was kind of that we had that feeling of we at least wanted to make it through the group. Now I think you'll start to see people really loosening up and going after it...

Jill wasn't putting the reins on us at all. She wanted us to go after it. I think it was just more the team feeling that pressure, and maybe not combining as we would have, or going one-on-one. But I think you're egoing to see that really open up, and the personalities, I think, will really come through. Because it was just too tight. We were playing too tight. We have such creativity and amazing players up top that I think the personalities will start shining through.

That's all really interesting stuff, but I'm not sure it quite answered the question of where the aforementioned spark will come from. I was going to write a column on here to that effect... until I found something that might just do the trick.

Before Colombia's team left Montreal for Edmonton - and by the way, I think I saw them during my field trip to the West Edmonton Mall on Friday afternoon - USA Today got a few minutes with star striker Lady Andrade. We saw against France that Andrade is not afraid to force her way into the spotlight, and she did so again when asked about the upcoming game agains the United States.

"They belittle us," Andrade said. "They think we're a team they're going to walk all over and it will be an easy game for them. We're going to beat them since they like to talk so much."

Shots fired.

Now, I would argue that the American players are currently doing quite the opposite of what Andrade accused them of, especially in the wake of that France game. But I am not going to stand in the way of an underdog that wants to talk trash at this Women's World Cup. That buzz and hype - even if it's shallow - is good for women's soccer and helps build the buzz around the tournament.

"There would be huge repercussions (with a win) because of what the U.S. symbolizes and what has been said about us there," Andrade said. "They play very physically, taking a lot of shots, kicking out at you all the time. Colombia's game is nice to watch, we play with touch, movement, we look for spaces, we try to trick you, to use our skill to deceive you. I think they will have a hard time dealing with this."

Shots fired and bear poked.

Heck, Andrade even offered a candid reflection on what had been her most famous moment in the global soccer spotlight before this World Cup: punching Abby Wambach in the face during a game at the 2012 Olympics.

"I hit her, what else I can say?," Andrade said. "If you look back at the video you'll see she hit me too, but we're Colombia so they don't want to review the whole episode."

Shots fired and bear poked and... you get the idea.

It's been said many times by many U.S. players that being at the World Cup is enough motivation to feed this team's desire to win it all. But given what Rampone said about how her team played during the group stage - and more importantly, why - I'd imagine that the American camp won't mind having a bit of extra spice in the pot.

To be fair, Pia Sundhage chucked an entire bottle of hot sauce into the pregame hype around the U.S.-Sweden game, and Sundhage ultimately prevailed. Although Colombia's free-spirited style was the opposite of the United States' reserve during the group stage, Las Cafeteras are still overwhelming underdogs in a way that Sweden never was.

Even if Andrade's remarks only raise a few laughs out of the U.S. players, that could be just enough to loosen them up for Monday night. And at win-or-go-home time in the World Cup, you take anything you can get a hold of that works.