Talk to anyone who has taken a transcontinental flight, and they'll tell you what a toll it takes on the body. The inactivity of sitting on a plane for hours can leave one feeling stiff. Sleep is disrupted, and a person's body clock is off-kilter thanks to traveling across multiple time zones. The impact can last for days.

Now imagine having to play a competitive soccer match later that week, where performance is still expected to be at or near a player's peak. It makes for a massive task in terms of keeping players ready.

That challenge falls under the banner of recovery, and it's one that clubs and national teams all over the world face -- including the staff for the U.S. men's national team , who will have 13 of its 24-man roster for this month's friendlies flying in from Europe. Un

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