COHEN ON REAL ESTATE

I hope I’m wrong.

I’d love to see the United States lift the trophy.

I don’t think they will.

Watch Spain versus Cape Verde and you’ll see a lesson that applies far beyond football.

Spain carried the talent, the history, and the expectation. Cape Verde carried freedom. Spain played cautiously. Cape Verde attacked with conviction.

One team defended its reputation. The other chased an opportunity.

Every boardroom has lived through the same dynamic. People with something to protect become conservative. People with an opportunity become dangerous.

Here are five lessons from the World Cup that every CEO and manager should consider.

1. Talent is essential. Teamwork wins championships.

Elite ability earns a place in the tournament. You need players with ego and the resilience to keep competing no matter what happens. Down a goal in the 89th minute, top players never quit.

But talent alone tells you very little.

Watch the USA against Paraguay. The scoreline looked convincing. What it didn’t show was how many American mistakes went unpunished — errors that a Spain, a France, or a Brazil would have converted without hesitation. Weaker opponents give you more time, more space, more forgiveness. The game flatters you.

The danger now is that the result has raised expectations. And expectation, as Spain just learned, is its own kind of burden.

Winning requires something beyond individual quality. Every player understands their role. Every teammate trusts the person beside them. Individual ambition serves the collective objective.

Chemistry compounds. Ego divides.

The pattern looks the same in business. A team that closes easy deals builds confidence but not capability. The scorecard looks great until the competition gets harder.

2. Internal competition often creates hesitation.

Many leaders believe constant competition raises performance. Manager, Mauricio Pochettino, is from that old school that believes internal competition raises the team. Maybe it did. He’s one of the best managers of all time and that’s from a Tottenham Hotspur supporter but times have changed.

Pressure frequently produces caution instead. Players avoid the difficult pass because the safe option protects their position. Salespeople give lip service to collaboration while secretly protecting themselves from criticism. Managers defend decisions instead of really understanding what makes each player tick.

Accountability builds strong teams. Fear builds careful ones.

3. Strategy requires predetermined adjustments.

The best teams prepare for moments, not scripts.

“When they overcommit, we counter.” “When they press high, we play through.”

Everyone recognizes the trigger and responds immediately. The ideal team doesn’t wait for the manager to shout from the sideline. They are prepared and know what to do when each situation presents itself. It’s harder to teach but the payoff is far greater.

Organizations need the same discipline. Shared responses create speed. Speed creates advantage.

4. Great teams earn supporters.

Cape Verde entered without a home crowd. By the second half they had one.

Not because of results. Because of the way they played — with energy, belief, and a refusal to be intimidated by a bigger name. Neutral fans don’t back underdogs out of sympathy. They back teams that make them feel something.

Companies have supporters too: customers, employees, investors, and partners. They’re not obligated to believe in you. You have to earn it through how you show up, especially when you’re the smaller team on the bigger stage. Conviction is contagious. So is caution.

5. Play the process until the final whistle.

Football has an old saying: the most dangerous lead is 2–0.

Comfort changes behavior. Teams protect the score instead of playing the game that produced it. Momentum shifts one decision at a time.

The same pattern appears in business. Strong quarters encourage complacency. Weak quarters encourage panic. Leaders drift toward the scoreboard and away from the daily actions that create results. There’s a football chant that has always resonated with me, “You only sing when you’re winning, you only sing when you’re winning!” How true is that in business?

Pat Riley called it the Career Best Effort. Measure and reward the controllable actions: tackles won, passes completed, chances created, sales calls made, customer meetings held, products shipped.

The score arrives as a consequence of sustained execution.

Spain entered the Cape Verde match expecting victory. Cape Verde entered expecting a fight.

That mindset changes decisions. Decisions change outcomes.

The USA has the players. What knockout football demands is harder to assemble — teams that trust one another completely, adapt without panic, and play with freedom precisely when the stakes are highest.

That’s what wins World Cups.

It’s what builds great companies too.

And right now, I’m not sure the USA has it.

I hope I’m wrong.