U.S. Soccer (finally) made the official announcement that the U.S. men’s national team will face Argentina at Giants Stadium on June 8. As SBI reported on March 5, the two sides have agreed to a rematch of last summer’s Copa America match (which Argentina won, 4-1, against what amounted to a U.S. B team). Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and the match will be aired on ESPN Classic and Galavision.
The friendly will come just 11 days after the USA faces England at Wembley Stadium, just four days after the United States is set to face Spain in Santander on June 4, and a week before the U.S. team’s World Cup qualifier against Barbados at Home Depot Center on June 15.
The match will be the first played by the U.S. team against Argentina on American soil since Argentina beat the Americans, 1-0, in Miami on Feb. 8, 2003. The U.S. team lost to Argentina, 4-1, in last summer’s Copa America in Venezuela.
Argentina is 6-2 against the Americans, though the teams have split the past four meetings. The U.S. team last beat the South Americans in 1999, when Joe-Max Moore scored an 88th-minute goal to help the Americans post a 1-0 victory at RFK Stadium. Before that, the United States beat Argentina in the 1995 Copa America, 3-0.
One difference between the June match and previous installments of the series is the likelihood that both teams will be featuring full-strength squads. Argentina is set to face Ecuador in World Cup qualifying on June 14, with a showdown against Brazil on June 18. The Americans will also have a World Cup qualifying match a week later so it should also field its first-choice starting lineup.
The match is the latest for the U.S. national team against top competition. It will actually be the fifth match by the U.S. national team against a Top 10 team since 2007 (Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Spain).
What do you think of the match-up? Are you excited to see the Americans put its first team against a top squad like Argentina? Are you happy to see the U.S. national team return to Giants Stadium against such a tough opponent? Share your thoughts below.
Who would be handling the tickets for this? When do you think they’d be available?
does NJ area use Ticketmaster?? if so just type in the venue and it should have the on-sale date if announced
Ives, if you or anyone knows when tickets will go onsale, post it. I’d like to be able to see my first Men’s National Team game.
steve- then let him go play in the USL… MLS would do better for his career then the USL will… regardless of how things went down, he is still an unproven rookie who just happened to get picked in the 1st round… no analyst had him going in the 1st round… an impressive combine got him the pick and olympic call-up…
never said Cervi is dumb, i said if Cervi was smart he wouldve taken the offer and then proved himself by grabbing the starting spot by next year and then have a solid year, then move abroad… he has access to a work permit due to his gparents being italian, but he shouldve used the league as a platform into europe…
Brett, you just showed how clueless you are. Cervi didn’t turn down an offer before the draft. he wasn’t given one. That’s the problem with this whole thing. The league makes offers to the players it THINKS should go in the first round. Meanwhile the idiots making those decisions have no idea who really is or isn’t good so you end up with players in the second round who make double or triple what players in the first round are offered.
You think Cervi is “dumb” because he feels he should get paid more than a second-rounder when he’s a first-rounder? You’re the dumb one buddy. Cervi can make more money in the USL.
steve- anyhow, your arguement is pretty much the same thing Guppy is saying… by not signing with the league before the draft he negated any incentives/benefits that would come with the offer… thus his contract is probably pretty slim
what this tells me is that he had hopes of going abroad, but then got no offers or interest so his agent tried to get him the offer that was originally presented… another reason why players shouldnt immediately expect offers abroad without proving themselves worthy first
steve- just posting what is said… your statement is nothing more the opinion as you have no proof what-so-ever…
even if it is b/c they offered him less then he wants, HE’S AN UNPROVEN ROOKIE… his games in the olympics were shakey at best… he would have been 3rd string at best… there was no reason to offer him anymore then any other unproven rookie
low-ball?? he shouldve taken the offer and proved himself worthy of a quality offer…
Brett, you are an idiot. Do you honestly believe anything John Guppy says? If so then you need to go back to pre-school.
The league tried to low-ball Cervi and he said no thanks. I’m glad he did. Maybe some day when more players grow some balls and say not to the league maybe MLS will start having to pay respectable wages.
kpugs- RE:Cervi “His representative was looking for a change in policy in terms of Major League Soccer,” Fire president and general manager John Guppy said. “Several players signed with the league before the draft and received additional benefits. Cervi did not sign and his representative was requesting the same benefits. At the end of the day, we could not accommodate his wishes.”
Prediction:
USA 2-0
The Argies are the best in the world….when they want to be. They won’t try to be the best team in world against the US. They try to get away with being good enough and underestimate the Americans.
Also, Altidore will rock Giants Stadium and dance on Milito’s head. Milito will then call Calderon to sign this beast of a striker. Altidore starts 2008 with REal Madrid.
kpugs- Cervi’s agent is dumb. He held out for incentives to be placed on his contract and he would have had to sign it before the draft. Now he’s banking on european teams to pick him up. He’ll vanish from anyone’s radar and probably end up in the USL. In all honesty, he looked shakey at best during the O.Qualifiers… no skin off our noses, except we wasted a draft pick… If Cervi was smart he would’ve signed, trained maybe play a couple games this season. Stand a chance to become starting keep and then make a name for himself then go to europe. He’d be lucky to get picked up by a euro team when the kid is unproven
howd the off season fair for the redbulls?? for the redbulls sake, JCO better find someone at least for the summer transfer or the Redbulls may be looking for yet another coach O.o
I CAN’T WAIT, I ALREADY HAVE A GANG OF PEOPLE THAT WANT TO GO. DO YOU THINK THE TICKETS WILL SELL OUT QUICKLY?
Dom Cervi chooses not to sign with MLS, the Fire lose again!
MOOHOOOHHOOOAHAHAHAAAHAHAHAHA!
I’m sure they’ll put down real grass for this game…they did for the Gold Cup last year.
I’ll be at this game, and I can’t wait. I’ve never seen the USMNT play live, and my first game will be against Argentina! Amazing stuff.
ANY WORD ON WHEN TICKETS SHOULD GO ON SALE IVES????
This is great news; with the Nats’ good form lately, you have to wonder how they measure up against the top teams. I think that four points from those three games isn’t out of the question.
I just wish it wasn’t being played on turf.
lazo: e.e.u.u. Is ‘estadios unidos’ in Spanish you abbreviate a plural by doubling the letters, if I remember my high school espanol that is.
I understand that Baseball will be on Sunday Nights on ESPN, but ESPN 2 has what on Sunday night? Re-runs of their precious SportsCenter? How rediculous. I know ESPN Classic isn’t that hard to find, but let’s be reasonable here. This is freaking ARGENTINA! One of the major powers of world soccer against the USA & it’s being kicked to the curb for what? World Series of Poker?, Power boat racing?, Drag Racing?, NASCAR 2night?, It’s two freaking hours of Soccer. So these shows get pushed back. Big “F’en” Deal
I’m excited about this matchup. The US should continually rotate playing these 16 clubs: Argentina, Brazil, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Mexico.
They should have scheduled this game to be played somewhere with real grass. Looks like June is going to be a rough month for the G’s.
These games are awesome for the US Soccer program and personally I think, it speak volumes. We U.S soccer fans need to figure out how put together a travel package so we can support our team!
First stop England, 2nd stop Spain and with NYC being the final stop.
Who’s in?
ives what does E.E.U.U. mean. anyone? Will this game be played while the olympics are on, if so riquelme & donavon will not play = waterdowned 2 me.
First off, credit where credit is due, the USSF has done brilliantly addressing the lack of quality opponents. Its possible by the end of the 12 month period from July 2007 to June 2008 the U.S. will have played as many games against teams ranked inside the top 25 than outside it. (Argentina 2x, Brazil, Sweden 2x, Mexico 2x, Poland, Spain, England).
Consider this:
Four of those teams (if you include the Swiss) will contest the European championship, two played in the final of Copa America (and are ranked in the top 3), the other two are our historic rival (England), and our archrival (Mexico).
Bob Bradley and the USSF have done three things incredibly well since the beginning of 2007.
– Playing tougher opponents
– Getting results on the road
– Allowing younger players to play
I still hold reservations tactically and formation wise, but all of those major issues above have been addressed.
I will say this friendly schedule once again indicts MLS. This is why Bradley will continue and should continue, to focus on European based players for top flight matches, because the MLS schedule runs right through prime international friendly and tournament season.
I would like to see a road friendly in the fall to a quality Asian country, perhaps Japan or South Korea, but qualifiers may make this impractical.
The road to the Confederations Cup 2009 is looking bright.
Mark, valid points. And not only did we play a weak send-off series, we didn’t take it seriously in terms of preparation, Bruce admitted he didn’t even spend a minute coming up with game plans and tactics for the opposition and we even lost to Morocco in Nashville.
Elevating the level of play throughout the cycle will be helpful. It may not mean as many results in terms of the scoreboard, but if the purpose is being ready for South Africa, we fans need to support such scheduling.
Combine this slate with the Confederations Cup coming in ’09 and there’s no doubt we’re seeing a different approach in this cycle…….
Man I wish this game had an earlier start time!
A great set of opponents this summer, and a smart move by US Soccer. We should continue to schedule teams like these four to let us know how our USMNT is progressing. I hope they will cover the artificial turf with real grass.
Not quite Morocco, Venezuela, and Latvia, but I’ll take it. I still think that was the biggest mistake from the disastrous year that was 2006. It’s funny how we prepare for Barbados as oppose to a WORLD CUP!!! I know U.S. soccer wants their fancy send-off series before a World Cup, but that weak set of friendlies better not happen in 2010. The problem is no World Cup team would travel to the U.S. and then to South Africa, but if you have road friendlies before the tournament some of the excitement and a lot of money would be lost. Still, playing teams involved in the actual tournament needs to happen the next time around.
Another point is that MLS will probably suffer from these friendlies. Will Landon Donovan be in all three friendlies and then the qualifiers? The MLSers need these tough games, but that is a lot of time away from their clubs. I’m anxious to see how the rosters are handled for these games.
This is great news, can’t wait.
Ives, I think the team we sent to Copa America was more like a C team. No matter, we need our full squad to play them tight.
I will be there, I am hyped.
I love soccer fans that whine about ESPN classic. And by love, I mean hate.
From ussoccer.com press release, “This will be the last friendly match for the U.S. Men at Giants Stadium.” Sniff Sniff
Even if they are required to have Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN, I wonder what’s on ESPN2 that night? NBA playoffs?
I hpoe to go to the game, but if I can’t, I’m bummed it won’t be in HD.
ESPN Classic!? What the hell!
I could care less what station its broadcast on seeing as I’ll be attending the game but it does kinda suck. I understand that ESPN has MLB obligations and after all that is America’s pastime but a game this big should be available in HD. Isn’t ABC and ESPN part of the same network? What could possibly be so important and ABC on a Sunday night during summer? They could move baseball to ABC which would make more sense seeing as that will probably draw more viewers and put the game on ESPN.
…..
Seriously, we can’t get this game in HD? Awful.
to those questioning espns motives for putting the game on classic, think about the timing of this game. June 8th, the summer, a night game… what else is played on summer nights in america that people watch? ESPN has sunday night baseball, always has always will. Just like everyone else id love to see it in HD, id love to see it get big airtime but espn has a contract with MLB and that contract has obligations that have to be met. Also, its baseball, we’re in america, some things just won’t change, although we may wish they would. That being said, espn classic isnt exactly setanta, its not THAT hard to find
Dare I actually go to NY to catch this one?
Ah, I need to win the lottery first. Or think up the world’s next great invention.
Bidets! Da*n, already invented.
I prefer the night game, so it doesn’t conflict with the Euro 2008 games in the afternoon…
Ha, “the world leader in sports” that won’t broadcast the world’s leading sport.
any idea when tickets would go on sale?
didn’t we play argentina last year at the copa america in venzuela, not paraguay?
Sweet, if the traffic is anywhere serene as Mexico v brazil last year we are all in for a treat
No creo que los Estados Unidos estan jugando con los gigantes de futbol en el mundo, como Inglaterra, Espana, y Argentina.
I don’t believe that the U.S. is playing world soccer powers, like England, Spain, and Argentina.
I thought I’d practice my Spanish!
Kegs and eggs at our tailgate spot for this one.
So what would we have to do to get ESPN to put the game on ESPN2 or ESPN? This is ridiculous. ESPN Classic for the best competition. I mean there will be millions of viewers for this game. They don’t have an excuse for England or Spain because those games will be at 2:30 about after the NBA season is over. I’m getting fed up with ESPN and not recognizing soccer. They’ll show highschool sports before they do soccer.
why a night game, i have to work the next morning!!!
DAVID NO PUEDE ESPERAR HASTA EL 8 DE JUNIO!
ARGENTINA y MIS ESTADOS!
ON ONE FIELD!
Ahhhh this Argie is living a dream – can I volunteer to be the SBI Correspondent to this one?!?!?
Loving it.
The next three US summers will be pretty an amazing three year run of games for the US national team.
08′ Top Notch Friendlies
09′ Confederations Cup
10′ World Cup
Technically 09′ 10′ summer games will be played in the winter (Southern Hemisphere).
ESPN Classic! Do I have to explain my disappointment.
I will be flying back from London for this one. USA v. England at Wembley and then Argentina in NJ two weeks later…excellent