LEIRIA, Portugal -- The U.S. Soccer Federation and Soccer United Marketing are looking into the possibility of hosting pre-World Cup matches involving the United States, Italy, Netherlands, Ghana and Chile, sources have confirmed to ESPN FC.
Sources indicated that talks are in the exploratory stage, so it is unclear at the moment if an actual tournament will be held involving the above-mentioned teams or just a series of friendlies.
Each of the teams mentioned failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Italy's failure to get past Sweden in a two-legged playoff saw them miss out on the World Cup for the first time since 1958.