Brazil already announced weeks ago that they would play the United States in a friendly on May 30 and now it looks like the U.S. will also play Scotland in a late-May friendly as part of their preparations for World Cup qualifying, which begins in June. The U.S. begins qualifying on June 8 when they host Antigua and Barbuda and continues four days later in Guatemala.
United States Close To Finalizing Brazil, Scotland Friendlies
The U.S. could play both Scotland and Brazil in advance of World Cup qualifying, which begins in June
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The Brazil friendly has not yet been officially announced by the USSF, but the Brazilian federation announced it earlier in the month. They announced that it would be played in either Massachusetts or Washington D.C., meaning Gillette Stadium or FedEx Field, but Gillette is no longer an option, meaning it will almost certainly be in the D.C. suburbs at FedEx Field.
It’s no surprise that the U.S. wants to play another friendly. They will begin training camp as soon as the European season ends in mid-May and just one friendly between then and the start of qualifying isn’t enough. Scotland did not qualify for Euro 2012 so a trip to the U.S. would be no problem for them and a May 27 or 29 date fits the schedule for both the U.S. and Scotland.
“We’ve been in discussions with a number of federations about a game in late May, including Scotland,” a US Soccer Federation (USSF) spokesman told MLSsoccer.com on Monday. “Nothing is finalized and we’ll continue to have those discussions.”
Reports out of Scotland cite New York, Chicago and Jacksonville as the cities in consideration to host the match. Considering that no location has been announced for the training camp yet, it is difficult to say which city would make the most sense, although New York’s proximity to D.C. makes it attractive. All three do offer 60,000+ seat stadiums that the USSF would love to fill, although there is some uncertainty with Jacksonville considering the U.S. hasn’t played at Everbank Field since 1999.
The U.S. and Scotland last played in 2005 with the two sides playing to a 1-1 draw in Glasgow.
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