By DAN KARELL
According to a report, the U.S. Men’s National Team could be playing their final FIFA international fixture of 2013 against European opposition.
The Scotland Herald is reporting that the Scottish Football Association and Scotland National Team head coach Gordon Strachan are “close to announcing a home friendly against (the USMNT) at Hampden (Park) in November.” If true, the game would be a rematch between the two sides after meeting in Jacksonville, Florida in May, 2012, a game that the USMNT won, 5-1.
Scotland, already eliminated from the 2014 World Cup, are currently ranked 50th in FIFA’s rankings, having won just one out of seven of their World Cup qualifiers. Despite their ranking, the team features a number of English Premier League based players, including Jozy Altidore’s Sunderland teammate Steven Fletcher, Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher, and Stoke City midfielder Charlie Adam.
FIFA has designated the dates between Friday, November 15 and Tuesday, November 19 as available days for international matches, meaning that the USMNT could potentially play two games during the international break. In the past, the November friendly date has been like the August friendly, a mid-week fixture with a number of players pulling out due to injury.
In the USMNT’s match against Scotland on May 26, 2012, Landon Donovan scored a hat-trick with Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones chipping in with goals as well in the 5-1 rout.
Hampden Park, where the game is reported to potentially be played, is the national stadium of Scotland, with a capacity of 52,063 in southern Glasgow.
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What do you think of this report? Would you like to see the USMNT play Scotland? Do you see the USMNT scheduling more than one European-based friendly match in November?
Share your thoughts below.