The United States national team will play against five teams ranked in the top 20 in the world and will travel to both Europe and South America in the next six months, a busy and ambitious way to begin a big year for Jurgen Klinsmann and his group.
U.S. Soccer released the team’s schedule on Wednesday, which includes matches on the road against defending World Cup champions Germany as well as the Netherlands, currently ranked No. 5 in the world after reaching the semifinals in Brazil last summer.
"We want to consistently benchmark ourselves against the top teams in the world, and to give new and different challenges to our players,” US head coach Jurgen Klinsmann said in a statement. “Competition gives your team an opportunity to grow, and this schedule allows us to do that.”
Ranked No. 28 in the world according to FIFA’s November rankings, the US will open their 2015 slate on the road against No. 14 Chile on Jan. 28, although the site and venue are still to determined. The Americans will play their first home game of the year against CONCACAF foe Panama on Feb. 8 at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.
The team will then travel to Europe for their March FIFA date, where matchups against Denmark (March 25) and Switzerland (March 31) await before a clash against CONCACAF rival Mexico on US soil on April 15. The location and venue of the Mexico game has not yet been determined.
The June schedule is the toughest stretch, with a match against the Netherlands at a site to be determined in Europe on June 5, followed by Germany in Cologne on June 10.
The CONCACAF Gold Cup will run July 7-26 in the US, although the 10 sites for the tournament have not yet been made public.
“Our most important goal for the senior team in 2015 is to win the Gold Cup and qualify for the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2017,” Klinsmann said, “and these games will be excellent preparation."
The US won just three times in nine matchups all-time against Germany, the most recent coming in June 2013. The last time the US played against the reigning World Cup champions was against Spain in June 2011, when the US lost 4-0 at Gillette Stadium in a warm-up for the Gold Cup.
The Americans have never beaten the Netherlands (0-4), a stretch dating back to 1998 that includes losses in 2004 and 2010 in Amsterdam.
The matchup against Denmark is the nations’ seventh meeting overall and first since 2009, when the Danes won 3-1 in Aarhus. The US have just one win in the six games between the teams all-time (1-2-3).
The US are 1-3-3 all-time against Switzerland, including a 1-1 draw between the two teams in the group stage of the 1994 World Cup. The last meeting was a 1-0 win for the US in 2007, in Basel.
The US are 3-4-2 all-time against Chile, but have not played there since 2000.
USMNT Schedule Through July 2015
Jan. 28 - Chile (Away, venue TBD)
Feb. 8 - Panama (StubHub Center, Carson, Calif.)
March 25 - Denmark (Away, venue TBD)
March 31 - Switzerland (Stadion Letzigrund; Zurich, Switzerland)
April 15 - Mexico (Home, venue TBD)
June 5 - Netherlands (Away, venue TBD)
June 10 - Germany (Rhein Energie Stadion; Cologne, Germany)
July 7-26 - CONCACAF Gold Cup (Home, venues TBD)
