WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2012 - Want a good test to prepare for World Cup qualifying? Why not go up against the very best? That's what the U.S. national team will do. The boys in the red, white and blue will battle against the famous yellow shirts of five-time World Cup champions Brazil on Wednesday, May 30 in Landover, Md., at 8 p.m. It will be the U.S. team's first ever game at FedEx Field and is sure to be a sellout.
The game will be the second of the year for the Americans against teams ranked in the FIFA top 10. The U.S. team travels to play three-time world champion Italy on Feb. 29 in Genoa.
"When you talk about Brazil, you are speaking of one of the most gifted football playing nations in the world," said U.S. team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. "It is our goal to be able to match up against teams like Brazil on a consistent basis, so this is an amazing opportunity. FedEx Field is an awesome facility for soccer as we have seen from the games they have hosted, so we are excited to play our first game in the stadium."
The Americans are playing a series of friendlies in advance of the start of their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, including a June 3 match against Canada in Toronto. The U.S. team play in Group A of CONCACAF Semifinal Round qualifying against Antigua and Barbuda, Guatemala and Jamaica.
This will be the fourth meeting in as many years between the U.S. team and World Cup hosts Brazil, the most recent a 2-0 win for Brazil on Aug. 10, 2010, in front of more than 77,000 fans at the New Meadowlands Stadium. The teams have played 16 times in their history, with the U.S. going 1-15-0 in a series that dates to 1930.
The biggest game between the team's was at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup final. After defeating No.1-ranked Spain in the semifinal, the U.S. took a 2-0 lead on goals by Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan before mighty Brazil came back to win 3-2.
So far the U.S. team has played nine games under Klinsmann since last August, riding a three-match winning streak to a 4-4-1 record.
It will be the first time the U.S. team has played in Maryland since 1997 when the Americans fell 1-0 to Ecuador on Aug. 7 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.
FedEx Field hosted the highest-attended soccer game ever in the D.C. area when 81,807 fans watched Manchester United claim a 2-1 win over Barcelona on July 31, 2011, in the World Football Challenge.
This article is the copyrighted property of the writer and Communities @ WashingtonTimes.com. Written permission must be obtained before reprint in online or print media. REPRINTING TWTC CONTENT WITHOUT PERMISSION AND/OR PAYMENT IS THEFT AND PUNISHABLE BY LAW.
