NETANYA, Israel — Tag, you’re it.

In the last three Federation of International Lacrosse Men’s World Championships, Canada and the United States have alternated wins and losses. Dating back to 2006, the team that has won in the round robin has gone on to lose in the championship game. In 2014, the U.S. raced to a 10-7 win over Canada on opening day in Denver, only to falter when it mattered most nine days later.

That’s not to say either team is tanking Sunday.

“It would be inconsistent with our coaches and the way that we’ve handled the entire process — from tryouts to training camp to practices to these games — to put more stock in that round-robin game,” said U.S. midfielder Paul Rabil, who played in the 2010 and 2014 games, earning MVP honors for the gold medal-winning team in 2010. “The way they’ve gone back and forth and the way the championships have ended up, there’s people calling this a game of jockeying for position. But we’re just competitors. We want to win, and they want to win.”

Some Team USA veterans are taking a page out of the Canadian playbook by downplaying the significance of Sunday’s game, which will be televised live on ESPN2 at 12 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local) from the Wingate Institute in Netanya.

“Certainly it’s an important game, but you also have to know that you can’t treat the first Canada game like it’s the championship, because it’s not,” U.S. attackman Rob Pannell said. “I look back to 2014, and it was opening day, it was opening ceremonies, it was a night game, it was in a big stadium — you put so much into it, and it really felt like a championship game.”

“This is certainly going to be a different atmosphere,” Pannell added, noting that the July 21 championship game will be in the larger Netanya Stadium, where Team USA opened against the Iroquois on Thursday. “It’s not in the main stadium. It’s not opening day. It’s a good thing. We’re trying to build to that last day and to make sure we’re our best on that last day.”

The U.S. and Canada, both 2-0, are operating at peak efficiency entering Sunday’s encounter.

After sputtering early against the Iroquois, the U.S. offense has hummed like a finely tuned engine, scoring 12 goals in the second half of the opener en route to a 17-9 win Thursday and then blasting Australia 19-1 on Saturday. Twenty-five of the Americans’ 36 goals have come off of assists, and 11 different players have found the back of the net.

“It’s one of our goals — to make everybody feel like they could make a play,” U.S. coach John Danowski said.

Added Rabil: “You have so many talented players that it would almost be selfish not to lay it off to the open man when you have a double team. It conveys a message from a teammate’s perspective of trust and sharing the ball and wanting to, because you’re so confident in the other man’s ability. It’s also just really great offense.”

Canada doubled up England 12-6 in its opener — it might have been a wider margin were it not for a fourth-quarter scuffle that led to unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on Zach Currier and Brodie Merrill and an ejection for Merrill — and throttled Scotland 22-3 on Saturday.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CANADA LACROSSE

Cornell star Jeff Teat doled out seven assists in the win over Scotland and leads all Blue Division scorers with 13 points (four goals, nine assists).

“We’ve got veteran leadership, and you’ve got some of these younger bucks that probably looked up to these guys. They probably had a poster of Brodie up in their room,” Canada coach Randy Mearns said. “It’s a great dynamic. There’s this youthful energy.”

Canada’s not lacking for motivation, either. The team brandishes its bench with the jerseys of the late Chris Sanderson, Kyle Miller and Dave Huntley — all of whom were instrumental figures in the Canadian lacrosse community before their deaths. Sanderson, a three-time All-World goalie, and Miller both died of cancer. Huntley, a member of both the Canadian and US Lacrosse Halls of Fame, died of a heart attack in December.

Huntley’s death also was a galvanizing force for the National Lacrosse Team Players Association in its dispute with the Canadian Lacrosse Association over insurance coverage and restoring the CLA’s charitable status. After seven months, the NLTPA and CLA reached an undisclosed agreement June 13 that ensured Canada’s premier players would compete in the world championship.

“It just feels like we’re playing for something that’s bigger than us,” Mearns said. “Hunts is smiling down on us and he’s probably laughing at Chris and Kyle. It’s something we just kind of cherish. We don’t forget about where we came from and what our foundation was. We want to make them proud.”

Asked about the keys to Sunday’s game, Mearns identified faceoffs — grizzled veteran Geoff Snider (17-for-27) and youngster Jake Withers (13-for-21) provide a similar tandem to Team USA’s Greg Gurenlian (12-for-21) and Trevor Baptiste (26-for-31, tournament-best 84 percent) — goalie play, clearing, shooting and defensive efficiency.

“It’s not rocket science,” Mearns said. “It’s just really hard to do.”

Danowski said he would not soft-pedal the rivalry to the U.S. players. Nor would he hype up the game. There’s already enough juice to squeeze there.

“To me, there’s a week left in the tournament,” he said. “You’ve got to let them be who they are. And let’s play.”