Friday acknowledged that teams were wary of the United States.

“We’re not under the radar; I’m fully aware of that,” Friday said. “Everyone is talking about us as being an exciting team. We have a great balance of power, pace and physicality, so we are able to mix it with all of those Tier 1 nations, and we’re able to play a different type of game against different teams.”

But he added: “We still have to play to the best of our ability because come the business end of the series and as we build towards the Olympics, I see the Tier 1 nations — for example, New Zealand and South Africa — will be at a new level which we haven’t seen from them yet.”

Fiji, South Africa and New Zealand are tied at the top of the standings, with 69 points. New Zealand is the hottest team, having recovered from a slow start to win the last two tournaments, in Wellington and in Sydney, Australia.

New Zealand, bolstered by the addition of the star Sonny Bill Williams and the Super Rugby players Ardie Savea, Rieko Ioane and Akira Ioane, beat the United States, 24-7, in the Sydney quarterfinals.

In that game, the United States missed crucial tackles and showed that it needed to recycle the ball better at the rucks, which occur when a player is tackled and players from both sides compete for the ball. The team also needs to be more potent in the middle of the field, where, despite the efforts of Hughes, Zack Test and Barrett, it has struggled to break through defenses to create room for Isles and Baker to strike.

Although Friday’s team is consistently reaching the quarterfinals of tournaments, he believes it will not beat the top nations regularly until the players improve their mental toughness.

“I think the Americans are very good at the bravado part and the whoop-whooping,” Friday said. “But we’re talking about mental resilience and the ability to make cold, clear decisions when you’re in that state of panic emotion, which you’re going to have in these high-pressurized events like the sevens, where one mistake can cost you a game and can be the difference between winning or losing. You have to be 100 percent accurate at the most important time.”