In its final tests before the World Cup, the U.S. men’s national soccer team this fall will play two Qatar-bound teams, Japan and Saudi Arabia, at European venues, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced Tuesday.
The Americans, ranked No. 15 by FIFA, will play No. 23 Japan on Sept. 23 and No. 49 Saudi Arabia four days later. The first match is expected to take place in Germany, where the U.S. team would conduct the bulk of its time before traveling to Murcia on Spain’s southeastern coast ahead of the Sept. 27 game.
After years of games primarily against teams from the Concacaf region (North and Central America and the Caribbean), the USSF has sought World Cup teams to prepare the young U.