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USMNT announces Guatemala friendly on July 5th in San Diego

JoeCoronaUSA (ISIPhotos.com)

By IVES GALARCEP

The U.S. Men’s National Team will take on CONCACAF rival Guatemala on July 5th in San Diego in their final tune-up before the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

The match, first reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune three weeks ago, will mark the U.S. team’s first visit to San Diego since tying Canada, 0-0, at Torero Stadium in 2006, and the national team’s first game at Qualcomm Stadium since  beating Mexico there in 1999.

The match is the ninth match scheduled for the USMNT this summer to date, not including the knockout rounds of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The U.S. is also expected to play a friendly in mid-August, with Bosnia-Herzegovina reportedly the opponent.

The match could be Landon Donovan’s first with the national team in 2013 after Donovan was named to the 35-player provisional USMNT roster for the Gold Cup. The match could also be a showcase for San Diego-based Joe Corona and Edgar Castillo, who play for nearby Club Tijuana.

The match will mark the first meeting between the Americans and Guatemala since the U.S. defeated the ‘Chapines’ last October at Sporting Park in Kansas City to secure their place in the Hexagonal Round of World Cup Qualifying.

The match will take place four days before the U.S. team’s Gold Cup opener vs. Belize in Portland on July 9th.

What do you think of this development? Disappointed in the opponent? Excited at the possibility of Donovan’s return to the national team?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. The Gold Cup ‘B’ team has a chance to be a better unit than the first team. Hopefully our talented youngsters like Gatt, Diskerud, Wood, Jack Mac will good minutes. I’d prefer seeing Landon on the WCQ teams right now but on the bright side he will provide leadership for this group along with being the talented distributor he is. So this may very well be a blessing in disguise come WC2014 when some of these young players that will hopefully make that roster already having a familiarity of playing with LD from this squad.

    Reply
    • Do you mean in the future they have a chance to develop into a better unit?

      Because if the starting XI of the WCQ played the starting XI for the Gold Cup they’d win by 4 or 5.

      Reply
      • Only if the WCQ team learns how to score, which seems unlikely considering how many failed efforts they’ve recently had. And with Donovan supplying Gomez, McInerney, Wondolowski etc., I’d expect at least a couple from the Gold cup team.

  2. I’m really hoping these friendlies are utilized to test different central midfielders. Outside of Bradley/Jones, the drop off in quality and general expression of ability is insane.

    …and by “different”, I’m completely ok with calling up some young players. The usual suspects we’ve used have been bland, made little to no impact and are just bodies at this point. Let’s test some new blood while we have a chance.

    Reply
    • Building on your point about testing different players (center mids), I’m thinking these friendlies should be used to help cement the D by playing the same back 4 consistently so they can better gel and play more cohesive as a unit when it counts. Barring decisions/circumstances on Cherundolo and Boca, would like these matches to help get the D into a rythym. That said, certainly reasonable to assert that JK starting selections/squad positioning means we likely do not know what the best back line set looks like at present and the above point is impractical.

      Reply
  3. I’m not sure if I’ll get a four day weekend but I’ll definitely make the trek if I do. San Diego alone is worth the trip, but add in July 4th and the USMNT game and it’s a can’t miss.

    Reply

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