For two days in April, the best wrestlers in the United States will be teammates, and everything in Iowa City will be about the Red, White, and Blue.

The 2018 wrestling World Cup will take place in Carver-Hawkeye on Saturday and April 8, making the Iowa campus the mecca of wrestling for the weekend.

In addition to the U.S, Azerbaijan, Cuba, Georgia, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia are set to compete, leaving some big no-shows — most notably Iran and Russia. USA coach (and former Hawkeye wrestler) Bill Zadick said the absence of those teams hasn’t really affected the team’s preparation, saying the wrestlers need to take care of themselves.

Still, it was a little bit of a letdown when the Americans found out that two of the best wrestling nations in the world wouldn’t attend.

“There’s always disappointment when you don’t get to face some of the best,” said J’Den Cox, who wrestles at 92 kilograms. “Those are two teams that year in and year out have produced some really great guys, really good wrestlers … We have to keep our minds ready and our eyes on the prize, and that’s basically just winning another world title.”

Jordan Burroughs, who is set to wrestle at 74 kilograms, said the goal doesn’t change based on the competition. As the reigning world champions, Team USA knows what it wants to do.

“We’ve got a great team, everybody’s prepared, so when we step out on the line, it’s not necessarily a country that we’re trying to beat,” Burroughs said. “We’re trying to get that Cup. We want the Cup. So if we got to go through Mongolia or if we got to go through Iran or Russia, the goal is always the same.”

Team USA has six 2017 world medalists on its roster: Burroughs (gold), Kyle Snyder (gold), Thomas Gilman (silver), James Green (silver), Nick Gwiazdowski (bronze), and Cox (bronze).

Being the best team in the field puts a target on the back of Team USA unlike anyone else in the tournament.

Every time an athlete sporting a singlet with “USA” across the chest, the opponents across from them are going to give their best every time.

“Wrestling and any other sport, whether it’s sports or economics, everything — we’re the greatest country in the world,” said former Hawkeye Gilman, who will wrestle at 57 kilograms. “Everyone wants to maybe get their little dig in on the United States. If you beat the United States, that’s all that matters, whether you win the tournament or not.”

While the increased physicality and aggression from opponents might not be an easy thing to deal with every match, it raises the performance level of competitors wearing the colors of the American flag.

Zadick said that though it has its positives in terms of performance, there’s also a responsibility in wearing “USA.”