US Soccer has scheduled two international friendlies for October 2023 in the United States. The US will play Germany on October 14 in Hartford, CT (Pratt & Whitney Stadium) The US will play Ghana on October 17 in Nashville, TN (Geodis Park, the Nashville SC stadium). https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/20...rld-cup-champion-germany-and-ghana-in-october Germany is the rare UEFA national team that has an open schedule, since it has automatically qualified for Euro 2024. Ghana is available as it looks like African Cup of Nations qualification will only occupy one international break in the fall. It looks like November 2023 will have CONCACAF Nations League matches, but September 2023 will be open for the US to schedule more international friendlies.
good comp that (timing-wise) should allow at least mid-full teams, while conversely most mls players will likely be out due to playoffs barring a manager who refuses to play without. and obviously the big question is do we hire a manager by then.
Germany could have gotten a huge gate in a big stadium near an airport with lots of nonstops from throughout the country. Hartford is an odd choice. And why make these guys travel so much for a short window?
Given all the continental tournaments anymore this is pretty outstanding and as good as its likely to get in the future too. Well done USSF!
UEFA should have some teams available on September matchdays due to 5 team groups, so perhaps a trip to Europe that month? It doesn't even need to be two UEFA opponents, but I would aim for 1 away match at least, and either another away match or a neutral site match. For example, Group B has France available on one matchday, and Gibraltar on the other. Group D has Wales and Turkey on one matchday each. Group F has Austria and Azerbaijan available. Etc. The US should move fast though if that is the plan, as some of these national teams like France have already started scheduling matches for their one open September date
I don't think it is a bad plan but people should also be prepared for an uninterested, rotated French squad in that situation. I'm no sure the alternatives but I wonder if Asia or Africa provides better options?
I was speaking in a general sense -- if you are the friendly in a window where the other match is competitive, I wouldn't expect a lot of intensity or an A team.
This. Friendlies, by and large are just not going to give any team a real top notch competitive match that some fans think they are. Ah, they are called friendlies for a reason....lol
I’m not sure who hasn’t already scheduled friendlies but UEFA teams with open dates in addition to France includes Norway, Scotland, Gibraltar, England, Malta, Turkey, Wales, Czech Republic, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Austria, Montenegro, and Hungary. I feel like I prefer doing away matches verses neutral site games that have no atmosphere, but we’ll see what happens. I believe once we schedule September we are all booked up through the September 2024 window.
I think we should schedule more against Japan, South Korea, and Australia. Teams at our level (maybe Japan a little better, maybe Australia a little worse) that we know will play hard and give as good as they get. That kind of competition should be achievable and will be at least as helpful as playing Germany in the US, I think moreso. You know Germany are just getting it in, not really invested.
I'd already looked into that for Canada. Very few teams remain available. See: https://www.canadiansoccernews.com/...iendly-matches-plans-speculation-rumours-etc/
I think with Germany it depends on how set the starters are. If they are secure they don't go full bore but if they are trying to win spots it would be different. Since they haven't impressed that much recently there may be chances for new up and comers.
France also refuses to play a game on US soil. That dates back to a beef with the USSF from the 70s. They've held that grudge for a long time. We've played them twice since 1979. In fact, the USMNT has only played France 4 times in history. And the USMNT has never beaten France. We've only ever scored one goal in history against France. That was who? Survey says? You nailed it: Julian Green I imagine that France is the power that we've played the least. I think we've played Spain 5 times. Famously beat them once in a competition that mattered, when they were the #1 team in the FIFA rankings.
I do agree with the sentiment that its getting harder and harder to schedule top international opponents. However, I do think the USMNT is a team that these top international opponents like Germany increasingly WANT to play. So we'll be able to fill windows. Our friendly opponents since the start of 2022 have been pretty good. Morocco, Uruguay, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Colombia, Mexico. And now we have Germany and Ghana scheduled. So..................that's good.
I didn’t know that about France. Maybe that explains their otherwise inexplicable failure to qualify for USA 1994, when they only needed a total of 1 point from their last 2 qualifiers, both at home (against Israel and Bulgaria).
First team Roster GK Matt Turner GK [open] GK [open] FB Sergino Dest FB Joe Scally FB Jedi Robinson FB [open] CB Walker Zimmerman CB Miles Robinson CB [open] CB [open] MF Weston McKennie MF Tyler Adams’ spot >>> [open due to injury] MF Yunus Musah MF Luca de la Torre AT Christian Pulisic AT Gio Reyna AT Tim Weah AT Brenden Aaronson AT [open] AT [open] FW Folarin Balogun FW Ricardo Pepi ….Maybe, you can call in 26, which would maybe add another fullback spot, another forward, and either another center back, midfielder, or winger. Fighting for a spot (note: not everyone has as realistic of a shot but listed everyone on the u20 roster, the GC & NL provisional rosters, and a few extras)…. Gabriel Slonina, GK Roman Celentano, GK Drake Callender, GK Antonio Carrera, GK Alex Borto, GK Bryan Reynolds, RB Marlon Fossey, RB Brooks Lennon, RB Reggie Cannon, RB Shaq Moore, RB DeAndre Yedlin, RB Julian Gressel, RB Justin Che, RB Michael Halliday, RB Auston Trusty, CB Chris Richards, CB Mark McKenzie, CB John Brooks, CB Brandon Craig, CB Josh Wynder, CB Matt Miazga, CB Erik Palmer-Brown, CB Sam Rogers, CB (not on any summer roster) Aaron Long, CB Jalen Neal, CB Marcus Ferkranus, CB John Tolkin, LB DeJuan Jones, LB Caleb Wiley, LB Jonathan Gomez, LB Mauricio Isaias, LB (dual national) Sam Vines, LB (what’s his story?) George Bello, LB (needs a resurrection) James Sands, MF Noel Buck, MF (did not make any summer roster) Jack McGlynn, MF Rokas Puktsas, MF Jackson Yuiell, MF Keaton Parks, MF Cristian Roldan, MF Kelyn Acosta, MF Lennard Maloney, MF (under the radar?) Amir Richardson, MF (dual national) Alex Mendez, MF (don’t forget about just yet) Aidan Morris, MF Tanner Tessman, MF Gianluca Busio, MF Owen Wolff, MF Daniel Edelman, MF Obed Vargas, MF Johnny Cardoso, MF Tim Tillman, MF Paxton Pomykal, MF Paxten Aaronson, AT (not on any summer roster) Richie Ledezma, AT Djordje Mihailovic, AT Taylor Booth, AT Brian Gutierrez, AT (did not play in any summer tournament) Benjamin Cremaschi, AT (did not play in any summer tournament) Niko Tsakiris, AT Diego Luna, AT Alan Sonora, AT Quinn Sullivan, AT Cade Cowell, AT Kevin Paredes, AT Tyler Boyd, AT Alejandro Zendejas, AT Jordan Pefok, FW Haji Wright, FW Brandon Vazquez, FW Jesus Ferreira, FW Jeremey Ebobisse, FW Matthew Hoppe, FW Darren Yapi, FW Keyrol Figueroa, FW (not on any summer roster) Oh, and we’ll have to see where they’re at, health wise…. Tyler Adams, MF Tim Ream, CB Cameron Carter-Vickers, CB Daryl Dike, FW Zack Steffen, GK Ethan Horvath, GK Malik Tillman, AT Jordan Morris, AT Paul Arriola, AT Josh Sargent, FW