It's a big ask for the USA Men's 7s team to cross nine time zones and rock up at the Madrid 7s, but of course they'll face it with relish in part because they just want to play.

Head Coach Mike Friday said he expects some stiff competition when the USA kicks off on Saturday for the first of two weekends of games. 

"It won't be like a typical February on the World Series where we'd be hitting our straps," said Friday. "We're probably operating at kind of 70% of where we expect to be, where we want to be, where we need to be. This is a very competitive tournament with Argentina, Spain,. France, a very physical Kenyan team. Lots of different styles for us to contend with."

They will have to shake off some rust, but they will also have expectations as the Olympics beckon later this year.

See more of what Mike Friday had to say in the video.

Friday went into detail about the young players who need wants to see perform, and he made it fairly plain that these players are still pushing for Olympic spots. Martin Iosefo and Kevon Williams will be captain and vice captain. Iosefo has become very much of a father figure for younger players, especially for the Polynesian youngsters, and he has an analytical mind that puts him in a position to help players develop. Williams is perhaps more emotional, but that's needed too. Both have high standards, and will show the newer players what's expected.

It will be interesting to see Tala Talapusi and Christian Dyer on the field after both saw most of the last 18 months or more go by the wayside. They had to work very hard to get back to match fitness.

All six men's teams will play each other once (so nobody is split into pools) and then they play one more game to decide the placements.

The tournament will be live-streamed by FloRugby behind their paywall with English-language commentary.

It should also be available with Spanish commentary on the Spain Rugby Union's YouTube page>>

The USA Men's team Schedule for Madrid:

Saturday February 20
USA vs Portugal 5:06AM ET
USA vs Spain 7:51AM ET
YSA vs Kenya 11:20AM ET

Sunday February 21
USA vs Argentina 5:06 AM ET
USA vs France 7:51 AM ET
5th/6th Place 9:52AM ET
3rd/4th Place 10:36AM ET
Final 11:20AM ET