The U.S. Soccer Federation has announced a six-game series of high profile friendlies that will take place later this year.
Called The “Kickoff Series” it will begin on Sept. 7 with a match against five-time World Cup champion Brazil at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. That will be followed by a game four days later against long-time rivals Mexico, which will take place at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.
The series will resume in October with two home matches against opponents yet to be determined. Some media reports have indicated that Argentina and Colombia were the teams being lined up.
The series will conclude in November with two road matches against England and Italy. The England match will take place at Wembley Stadium on Nov. 15, while the match against the Azzurri will be held five days later at a site to be determined.
“We are at the beginning phase of building our identity,” men’s national team general manager Earnie Stewart said. “These games are obviously huge challenges, and for young players it’s an opportunity to see the benchmark of some of the top teams in the world.”
The focus of the games will be on gaining experience for a side that is undergoing an overhaul in the wake of the U.S. team’s failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
Stewart added:
“We can use these experiences to learn about ourselves and take the next steps towards developing into the team we want to become.”
Considering that five of the six potential opponents are expected to progress to the knockout stages of the World Cup this summer, this is a very aggressive schedule that Stewart has put together, especially when you consider that the USMNT does not have a coach at this time.
USA 2018 Schedule
September:
Sept 7: USA v Brazil in New York
Sept 11: USA v Mexico in Nashville – Buy USA v Mexico Tickets
October:
Two home matches TBA
November:
vs. England at Wembley
vs. Italy TBA venue in Europe
