US men to face South Africa in Johannesburg
The US men will get a sneak peak at the 2010 World Cup on Saturday, November 17th, when they travel to Johannesburg to take on South Africa in the Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup.This will mark the US men's third trip to Africa with the last game coming eight years to the day before this one. In that 1999 game, they lost 2-1 against Morocco. This will also be only the second time the US men play South Africa. Their last meeting was in June of 2000 when the US won 4-0.
A journey to South Africa will mean the men will play at least six matches outside the US this year.
South Africa might not be a powerhouse team but playing them in a match that is important to them in their home stadium is a good get. The one downside, the next day is MLS Cup so there are bound to be at least a few players that are not available for such a trip.
Hopefully the few days that the US men get to spend in South Africa will give them a taste for country ahead of the 2009 Confederations Cup and the 2010 World Cup.
The game will start at 10am Eastern Time but no television broadcast has been announced.
On a different note, I noticed when I was looking at the schedule of games for the team that they still list the 14 Oct match against Catalonia. Seeing as the Spanish Federation voted that game down, I'm wondering why it is still on the schedule. Did someone just fail to take it down or do they still hope to change the Spanish FA's mind?
Labels: 2009 Confederations Cup, 2010 World Cup, FIFA, Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup, South Africa, US MNT, US Soccer
posted by Mike H at 1:34 PM
4 Comments:
I think I read that the USSF was still talking to the Spanish Federation.
mlaurenzano, thanks for the information. I hope the game does happen because it would be a shame to not play on the date.
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Your this post and this http://www.soccerfairy.com/us-to-visit-south-africa-ahead-of-2010-world-cup-draw.html, in my opinion, go hand in hand.
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