By DAN KARELL
Players trying to break into the U.S. Men’s National Team will have plenty of chances to impress over the first half of 2015.
U.S. Soccer confirmed the USMNT’s schedule from January through June, with seven friendlies lined up — including two road trips to Europe, a trip to Chile, and a match against archrival Mexico.
“We want to consistently benchmark ourselves against the top teams in the world, and to give new and different challenges to our players,” said U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. “Competition gives your team an opportunity to grow, and this schedule allows us to do that. At the same time, our most important goal for the senior National Team in 2015 is to win the Gold Cup and qualify for the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2017, and these games will be excellent preparation.”
As part of MLS’ and the USMNT’s new TV rights deal with ESPN, FOX Sports, and Univision, every one of the seven matches will be televised by either ESPN or FOX Sports, while UniMas and Univision Deportes will cover each of the matches for Spanish-language viewing.
The U.S. will kick off 2015 with a match at Chile on Jan. 28 before returning home to take on Panama on Feb. 8 at the StubHub Center. The USMNT will then travel to Europe for the next official FIFA dates, where they’ll visit Denmark on March 25 and face Switzerland at the Stadion Letzigrund in Zurich on March 31.
A little more than two weeks later, the USMNT will return to action in a midweek friendly match against Mexico before a June trip to take on the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Arena on June 5 and finally traveling to Klinsmann’s native Germany to face Die Mannschaft on June 10 at the Rhein Energie Stadion in Cologne.
According to a report, the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, is being considered as a venue for the USA-Mexico friendly match. A venue has not been chosen for either the Chile or Denmark games.
Here’s a look at the USMNT’s first seven matches of 2017:
Jan. 28 – Chile – Away (TBD) – FOX Sports 2, UniMas, UDN
Feb. 8 – Panama – StubHub Center; Carson, California – ESPN Network, UniMas, UDN
March 25 – Denmark – Away (TBD) -ESPN Network, UniMas, UDN
March 31 – Switzerland – Stadion Letzigrund; Zurich, Switzerland – FOX Sports 1, UniMas, UDN
April 15 – Mexico – Home (TBD) – FOX Sports 1, UniMas, UDN
June 5 – Netherlands – Away (TBD) – ESPN Network, UniMas, UDN
June 10 – Germany – Rhein Energie Stadion; Cologne, Germany – FOX Sports 1, UniMas, UDN
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What do you think of this schedule? Who do you see taking advantage of this schedule? What do you expect Klinsmann to learn about his roster?
Share your thoughts below.
I am actually more surprised that the first away game with Chile will be televised on Fox Sports 2. This channel only reached 37 Million households…..I thought we were over this already….
write to guliati… he seems to know everything… NOT!
I think this is a pretty good stretch of games, and as someone who tries to follow the team abroad, having this much notice to make plans is fantastic. Now, if only Copenhagen and Zurich weren’t 2 of the top 5 most expensive cities to travel too, we might actually have some supporters there!
Ah, that Colombia match that could have been in San Antonio. Don’t forget about Texas, U.S. Soccer!
Details count, preparations count. any manager or coach will tell you that. Why did Klinsmann hold a camp and training sessions at several of the Brazilian WC stadiums ahead of the WC? His words “because it’s important for the players to get a feel for the stadiums they will play in” now I know that the GC is not a WC, but stay consistent..
The Fifa dates are all reserved for just the European friendlies and I’m sure Klinsmann has scheduled these friendlies so as not to inconvenience the Euro teams. He must have heard that the Nantes team claimed that Bedoya was “too tired” to play (their claim, not Bedoya’s) after his one hour plane trip to the UK and the two hour plane trip to the Czech republic in those friendlies.
We must not upset them.
Following this.seems to me his reasoning is that the MLS players who are called to these friendlies in the middle of their season to fly across the Atlantic can play more effectively as they fly more in one month in the MLS than a Euro Player will fly all year. So what if it diminished the effectiveness of important MLS players, if your not in Europe, you are no better than a second string Euro sitting in a last placed team, and you know the euro will always get the start anyway.
The problem has never been getting MLS players for non FIFA dates, its getting euro teams to release its players on non-euro dates. Good luck in seeing any of the US euro players on the non-Euro Dates for the friendlies in the US, especially if they are important to their team. Jozy Altidore seems to have found an effective method, just play lousy for a lousy team then they will happily let you go. No problem if you are also a favorite of JK, you don’t need to start, or play good or play consistently at your club, you only have to be German
So for all the friendlies scheduled, we will not see the same team together in any of them. If the aim is to evaluate new MLS or euro players. then they will have a handicap in that bereft of the same Euro players at each friendly you cannot effectively evaluate them and how they will integrate and play with the final team. Can you figure out if they play well with those players its due the chemistry? the opponent?. what factors?. And if they play poorly, is it due to travel, weather, chemistry or what.
If you have ever taken a science class or even statistics and math, there are always variable, but there are constants too. Without them you cant solve problems or equations, in the real world and even in soccer. having the same team that is consistently playing together and doing well as a constant, it’s easier to introduce new players a a variable. You can then solve you problem
The way it seems the way things are set up, its to challenge the players to step up in adverse circumstances. If you want that ,schedule Mexico at Azteca during the summer during daylight hours on a holiday, its cheaper and a bigger test. And the consequences of failure at the foreign friendlies, especially in Europe may have a bigger psychological barrier. This is not to say that these friendlies are not needed, but it seems the way they are set up, seems contrived and not thought out
I am aware of the difficulties in setting up friendlies, but all the friendlies are approved and/or conceived by Klinsmann and US Soccer. The US will not make much from the foreign friendlies, the US is NOT a big attractor there. So the US will use the filled-to-capacity by Mexicans friendly to recoup the losses. It is a business you know.
Wow! Haven’t seen diarrhea of the mouth that often but that was spectacular! [slow claps]
What a pleasant and charming response. Texas represent.
What this boils down to is that you don’t like Klinsmann, so you are coming up with off the wall reasons to complain about these friendlies. Playing in Europe against top European teams is always better than playing CONCACAF teams and scheduling European teams you often have to bow to their wishes. If you look at college basketball, for example, if a team without a national reputation want to play a team with one, the only way they will get a date is if they play away at the top team’s venue. The bottom line is that these friendlies are all against teams that should provide very difficult competition, with one exception–Panama. I like this scheduling. If you want to be among the best, you have to play the best and often.
“Playing in Europe against top European teams is always better than playing CONCACAF teams”
well, it all depends on what your goal is. if you just want to play against the best in the world, then sure only go with the top euro or south american teams. but if your short-term goal is to win the gold cup, then you’ll want to practice playing against ‘lesser’ teams who might just pack it in against you and try to play/waste time for a draw.
i think this is a decent set of opposition. the only one i’d rather not have is mexico, simply because i think ‘friendlies’ water down the rivalry.
I already said we will hold a camp and acclimate so my second comment would be that depending on the opposition and where the game is some home games feel like road fixtures anyway.
I don’t think you prepare for Gold Cup like the World Cup. You whip the team into shape and work on tactics and chemistry but a literal campaign of bedding the players into the stadiums is too much. I’d think the opposite, you want to see how players handle a bigger stage.
bottlecaps,
Re: Preparing for a competition by playing CONCACAF like opponents.
Clearly you think JK is an idiot or at least not as good a manager as you would be.
So JK was incredibly detail oriented with the WC and suddenly became stupid over the Gold Cup? A competition he has repeatedly stated is perhaps more significant than usual?
In preparing for Brazil, my guess is the vast majority of the USMNT player pool ( except for Benny Feilhaber) and the USMNT staff and the organization ( don’t forget them) might not even have ever been in Brazil let alone played in those stadiums.
So while pricey, it seems that the preliminary “dry run”, to get a feel for operating in Brazil, was a good idea.
I have not seen the list of the US stadiums but, I’m guessing the vast majority our Gold Cup roster and the USMNT staff and organization will probably have a real good “feel” already for the US stadiums they will play in.
I think they will know how to operate in America. That is why they call it home field advantage.
I’m also taking the wild guess that most of the American players will have a real good feel for their Gold Cup opponents as more than a few of those opponents either play in MLS ( for example Alvaro Saborio plays at RSL, do you think Beckerman and Nicky need an introduction to him, if we face Costa Rica ?), Liga MX (where we have Americans playing) or have faced these same US players in the Gold Cup before.
As for actually playing them, there is only so much to be gained by playing CONCACAF-like opponents. First of all outside of CONCACAF, what teams fit that description?
And when we play actual CONCACAF opponents ahead of time like the USMNT are doing in friendiy games with Panama and Mexico, what exactly is to be gained?
Of course things might have changed since the last time we played them, but do you really think that Panama and Mexico, for example, will show us their best shot, their latest new wrinkle, in those friendlies? Unlike you, I don’t think those guys are fools.
If you can play them ahead of time as they will with Mexico and Panama then fine but otherwise ,it seems to me that the USMNT should just try and play the best teams they can that make the most sense for whatever their logistics are leading up to the tournament.
bottlcaps,
Re: playing CONCACAF like opponents as tourney prep.
Your ideas don’t seem completely thought out.
So JK was very detail oriented with the WC and suddenly became stupid over the Gold Cup? How does that work?
My guess is the vast majority of the USMNT player pool ( except for Benny Feilhaber) had never even been in Brazil let alone played in those stadiums.
So pricey though it was, the whole preliminary trip was a useful “dry run” not only for the players but for the team staff and the organization that does all the behind the scenes stuff for the USMNT when they play a game. .
The Gold Cup is in America. I’m guessing the vast majority our Gold Cup playing roster, which is expected to be mostly veteran laden, and the team staff and organization will probably already have a real good understanding for what it means to play CONCACAF teams in the Gold Cup in the particular US stadiums and cities they will play in.
.
It’s called home field advantage.
I’m also taking the wild guess that most of the players and coaching staff will have a real good feel for their Gold Cup opponents. After all, more than a few of our CONCACAF opponents play in MLS ( for example, Saborio plays for RSL. Do Beckerman and Nicky really need to play him in a friendly to get an understanding for how he plays?) , or play in Liga MX ( where we have some American players) or have played against the US in the Gold Cup before.
How much do you expect to gain by playing CONCACAF-like opponents? Are you saying these USMNT veterans will suddenly be stunned and appalled to be facing a team that plays ten men behind the ball for 90 minutes? As if this were some fresh new tactic they have never seen before and will have no idea of how to deal with?
If that is true then why are these guys even internationals?
First of all outside of CONCACAF, what teams fit that description? The Faroe Islands? Vietnam? Cambodia?
And if you get our Gold Cup opponents to meet us in friendlies before the Gold Cup, like Panama and Mexico will, do expect that they will give us their best shot , show us all their new wrinkles, their hot new players, to help us better prepare to beat them in the Gold Cup?
Are they that stupid?
It seems to me you try to play as many games against the best teams that fit your logistics and schedule as you can. If that includes some CONCACAF teams , as it does with Panama and Mexico then great.
Does anyone have an idea on where the Netherlands game will? Thinking of hitting that + Cologne + CL final in between.
My guess is either where Ajax, Feyernord or PSV play. If you can swing it, sounds like lots of fun. I’m very jealous.
That’s logical, but one of the articles made me unsure that the game will be in Netherlands (as in they might play in London or another neutral venue). Not sure why that would be needed, but it happens
I hope Klinsmann and US Soccer plan a few games at home before the Gold Cup. After all the GC is in the US and will be played in 10 different stadiums, yet unnamed, and most likely bigger venues than most MLS stadiums, so why not let the US team get the feel for these stadiums. As it is the current US schedule, it will likely produce a 1-1-5 for the US and if all the dates are not on the FIFA calender, you wont see many new MLS players in the mix, as only 2 of the seven dates are outside the MLS season.and if they are, we will not see the US team at home, at full strength. as most of the Euro teams will not allow players to leave on a non-fifa date. All-in-all not. well though out for the fans or players
I just read an article with the guy who schedules all these friendlies for the US. They are very complicated to set up, and many factors go into it. I’m sure they could use your expertise though to help them think them out more thoroughly, you should contact them.
where’s the article I would love to read it.
http://www.si.com/soccer/planet-futbol/2014/11/17/us-soccer-tom-king-ussf-usmnt-friendlies-klinsmann
I’m not worried about the US Team “getting the feel for these stadiums” as part of the Prep for the 2015 Gold Cup. The challenge for the US Team before the GC will be to find and integrate players and a style/formation that will give the US the best chance to win the tournament.
We’ll be playing 2 of the top 4 CONCACAF Teams on home soil (Panama & Mexico) while also testing the player pool against quality teams in what will likely be as close to hostile environments as friendlies are likely to be.
According to the FIFA Calendar Match dates are as follows: 3/23 – 3/31 & 6/8 – 6/18; and the GC 6/14 – 7/5. Meaning that at least 3 of the 7 matches on the calendar above will fall on FIFA Dates, requiring teams to release the players. MLS will almost always release players so JK and his staff will have a number of opportunities to Mix young fringe players with Core players before the GC starts.
The January Camp should be a good chance to see young MLS Talent with a respectful mix of Vets (Bradley, Jones, Besler, Gonzo, Dempsey, etc…). March will be the European guys (Cameron, Brooks, Fabian, Jozy, Mix, etc…). April will be MLS/Mex league players, and then the final down selection for the Gold Cup, bringing the best 25-30 performers (hopefully) together in June friendlies. Then the GC starts w/ 3 warm-up games before they face the teams that can/will be contenders (MX, CR, Pan, Hon).
I think there will be an extended camp and people will have time to acclimate. My concern is more that people may have to travel and it would just be less wear and tear to hold more games here.
I’m surprised we didn’t throw our weight and attractiveness around and get home games that are easier for our personnel.
I think the schedule is pretty ambitious and doesn’t leave JK a lot of room to easily escape the current run of results. It might be good prep but it also looks like wins will be hard to come by and people may start getting upset.