Camp ends, Send-Off series begins for U.S.
Cary, NC (Sports Network) - With the June 9th start to the 2006 FIFA World Cup quickly approaching, the U.S. Men's National Team is leaving the training field for the final three friendly matches before the tournament.
The U.S. National Team kicks-off the World Cup June 12 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany against Group E opponent the Czech Republic. Until then, manager Bruce Arena has three final "Send-Off" matches to tweak his World Cup roster.
Training camp officially comes to an end on Tuesday, when Arena's 23-man World Cup squad travels to Nashville, Tennessee to face Morocco for the first of three friendly matches. The team returns to the field May 26 for a match with Venezuela and then finishes the three-match stint against Latvia on May 28.
"I'm pleased that we were able to arrange these three friendlies as part of our preparation for the World Cup," Arena said.
The three matches will be the first time the U.S. National Team will take the field with its World Cup squad.
"With the World Cup taking place in Europe, scheduling matches has been extremely difficult this time around; however, I think the opposition we will be facing will give us the right type of competition we need as we move forward with our preparations for Germany," Arena said.
Tuesday's meeting will be the team's first appearance in Nashville, with the match taking place at The Coliseum.
Morocco poses the U.S. National Team's toughest opponent of the three matches. Ranked 36 in FIFA's latest edition of its world rankings, Morocco narrowly missed qualifying for the 2006 World Cup after finishing in a draw with Tunisia. The draw was just enough to knock Morocco out of the running for a World Cup spot.
Losing to Morocco in 1992 and 1999, the U.S. has never beaten Morocco.
For the team's next match at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, the U.S. hosts Venezuela after beating the opponent, 2-0, March 29, 2003. Overall, the two teams have met twice, with the U.S. taking one win and one draw.
The team finishes the "Send-Off" series with the final match against Latvia at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. The match will be the U.S. National Team's first meeting with Latvia.
"We look forward to the support of the American fans and some fantastic atmospheres in these venues as we undertake the challenge of getting our team ready to compete in the World Cup," Arena said.
