The match between the United States and Egypt scheduled to be played in Cairo on February 9th was canceled due to unrest in the country during a volatile week in which the people have been protesting against the 30-year reign of President Hosni Mubarak. February 9th was a FIFA international date, which would have allowed both the U.S. and Egypt to call in their best players, but now the match is off and the U.S. has announced that they will not play another match on the date.
USA Vs. Egypt Match Scheduled To Be Played In Cairo Canceled
The protests in Egypt have turned violent and last week it was rumored that a cancellation was possible. At that time, the United States Soccer Federation said that the match was supposed to go forward as scheduled, but that they were monitoring the situation. With the U.S. State Department having moved to charter flights to get American citizens in the country out over the weekend, it became more and more likely that the match would either be moved to a different country or canceled and today word came from the USSF that the match would be called off.
“We were excited about the opportunity to play against Egypt, but due to the current situation all parties agreed it was best to cancel the match,” said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati. “We appreciate the efforts of the Egyptian Football Association and the U.S. State Department as we worked through this situation.”
With the Egypt match off of the slate, the U.S. will next take to the field on March 26th when they play Argentina at the New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey. That match will be followed by another one three days later against Paraguay at LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee. After the two dates in March, there are no other FIFA international dates before the CONCACAF Gold Cup begins in June.
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