The United States Men’s National Soccer Team announced Thurday the team will travel to Ukraine to face the host country in an international friendly on March 5. It’ll be Team U.S.A.’s first ever visit to the eastern European country for a match.
“Ukraine is a very talented team and was very unfortunate not to qualify for the World Cup,” said U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann in U.S. Soccer’s statement. “We want to continue to make statements that we can get results in games like these. Since this is our only chance to bring in all the players before the pre-World Cup training camp, this is a huge opportunity for them to make their case to be included on the 23-man roster for Brazil.”
Ukraine is the 18th ranked team in the world – the highest ranked team not to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
The meeting will be the fourth between the United States and Ukraine, and the Americans are still searching for their first win. The previous three matches all took place within a span of 16 months. The first, on June 27, 1992, was a 0-0 draw in Piscataway, NJ. The Ukrainians won 2-1 in Oct. 1993 in High Point, NC, and 1-0 the next week in Bethlehem, PA.
The U.S. Men’s National Team was drawn into Group G along with Ghana, Portugal and Germany for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
