USMNT Goalkeeper Sean Johnson Says the World Cup Team Is 'Always Pushing Each Other'

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Goalkeeper Sean Johnson says he and his teammates are prioritizing team chemistry on the field as they prepare for their first World Cup match on Monday.

"We're always pushing each other," says Johnson, 33, who has played with his teammates on the U.S. Men's National Team for "the better part of three or four years."

Johnson tells PEOPLE that "being somebody who my teammates can count on" is important to him, as is being mentally prepared to count on himself. "Feeling good physically and mentally is the most important thing."

Ahead of the tournament's kickoff on Sunday, Johnson says the team has focused on stability on the field and really connecting as a unit.

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"That's a part of the consistency that you try to build day in and day out and make sure that you're on top of it so that when you step on the pitch, your teammates have all the confidence in you and you have confidence yourself."

As the goalkeeper, Johnson knows his role can make or break it for his team, which is why the support from his teammates is so crucial to the group's success. "Goalkeeping can be the difference between winning and losing a game," he says.

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Johnson tells PEOPLE that he's "a big believer in the mindset of just taking it one day at a time" when it comes to the pressures of performing on the sport's biggest stage.

But the goalkeeper's best trick for mental clarity is actually another activity — going fishing, which he says is a lot like goalkeeping. "It's so peaceful. There's a certain element of patience, and you could not catch a single thing but still be alone with your thoughts."

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Patrick Smith - FIFA/FIFA via Getty

On the field, he applies that same solitude and patience to watching the game unfold in front of his net. "Fishing is exactly that — you're waiting for a comment and you're reacting as fast as you can to try to get your fish. And as a goalkeeper as much as it is reactive, you're always trying to be proactive to put out fires."

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Johnson and his teammates will enter the 2022 World Cup with low expectations from fans, who were disappointed in 2018 when the U.S. failed to qualify for the tournament, but with championship aspirations for themselves. "There's no better feeling than winning, lifting a trophy," he says.

"Winning is a feeling that you chase time and time again. You only think about being on the right side of that when you step across the lines. I mean everything else, honestly, the thought process on the field; nothing else matters besides that 90 minutes and what you have to do to win."

The U.S. will take on Wales in the first game of the group stage Monday at 2 p.m. EST.