CHILE VS. USA
Wednesday, January 28, 6 p.m. ET
Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua, Chile
TV: Fox Sports 1, UniMas, Univision Deportes
The US national team's demanding 2015 schedule kicks off against stout opposition in a craggy corner of South America on Wednesday, as Jurgen Klinsmann's side meets Chile in a stadium named after a nearby copper mine which ranks among the largest on earth.
Klinsmann has flown south with a squad composed almost entirely of MLS standouts, with German-based striker Bobby Wood and Seattle Sounders product DeAndre Yedlin, now at Tottenham Hotspur, the only foreign-based players to make the trip.
Mindful of this summer's Copa America on home turf, Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli has called an entirely domestic-based roster shorn of his European-based talent. But the USMNT should nonetheless have their hands full as they face up to La Roja's pace and intensity in hostile territory far from home.
PREMATCH CONTENT
- Change is in the air as the US – maybe – switch to 3-5-2 | Armchair Analyst
- WATCH:Wil Trapp, Lee Nguyen talk about the USMNT's upcoming game vs. Chile
- Veteran USMNT GK Nick Rimando embracing role as No. 1 candidate, mentor to youngsters
- Seven things you need to know abou the USMNT's first 2015 opponents, Chile
- What the MLSsoccer.com editors want to see from the USMNT's trip to Chile
- WATCH:Klinsmann, Dempsey preview Chile vs. USMNT
HISTORY
The US hosted Chile at StubHub Center at this time four years ago, substitute Teal Bunbury coming off the bench to score a 75th-minute equalizer for a 1-1 final score in what turned out to be Marcelo Bielsa's final game in charge of La Roja. Change awaited the hosts, too: That would prove to be USMNT coach Bob Bradley's last January camp, as U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati replaced him with Klinsmann after that summer's 4-2 loss to Mexico in the Gold Cup final.
Chile hold a 4-3-2 all-time advantage vs. the USMNT, though the US have not lost in their last four meetings with the South Americans. The Yanks' last visit to Chile – and their last friendly anywhere on South American soil – took place on January 29, 2000, when Eddie Lewis and Cobi Jones found the net to earn the US a 2-1 win in Coquimbo.
USA OUTLOOK
This month Klinsmann has put his own spin on the program's traditional January camp, blending new faces into his player pool while also working his MLS contingent through the tail end of an offseason he's made clear he believes is too long.
He's wooed dual-eligible talent like reigning MLS Rookie of the Year Tesho Akindele, and welcomed Jozy Altidore back to North America with a late-breaking call-in after his transfer to Toronto FC. And a new tactical wrinkle has been introduced in the form of a three-man back line experiment, with converted midfielder Jermaine Jones at its heart.
But the grinding labor of the training ground is being interrupted by a rare journey to South America, the team's first such trip in a decade and a half, to experience a new challenge. In recent years Chile have achieved a renaissance of fluid, proactive play much like the one Klinsmann has promised for the US, and with a fraction of the Yanks' size and resources (Chile's total population is just 17.8 million, less than half of California's). Their distinct style should pose tough questions both physically and mentally – the first hurdle in a year which also includes visits to Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany.
CHILE OUTLOOK
La Roja offer some useful lessons for a US program desperate to climb into the world elite after years of steady, but slow, progress. Eccentric Argentine coaching genius Marcelo Bielsa orchestrated a sea change in the program's tactics and mentality when he took over in 2007, installing his signature brand of energetic pressing and high-tempo attack. That approach turned Chile into one of the most attractive sides at the 2010 World Cup after a 12-year qualification drought.
Fiercely uncompromising, Bielsa stormed out of his post not long after that 1-1 draw with the USMNT in 2011. But his legacy, mindset and hard-charging 3-3-1-3 formation were rekindled when Sampaoli took the job in 2012. With the help of all-action standouts Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal, Sampaoli navigated Chile out of a rugged Group B assignment and into the knockout stages in Brazil last summer – at the expense of defending champions Spain, no less.
The host nation edged La Roja via a penalty-kick shootout in the Round of 16. But Chile can now point to a clear identity and outlook that has helped them vault up the FIFA World Rankings from an all-time low of 84th in 2002 to their present perch at 14th. With hosting rights to this year's Copa America, they will hope it also serves them well in the days to come.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
USA – Lee Nguyen: After a brief cameo in last fall's loss to Colombia in London, the creative force that paced the New England Revolution to MLS Cup has now gotten a longer stint in the USMNT setup. His skill set is rare in the current US player pool, but has he impressed Klinsmann's staff enough to get a runout in Rancagua?
Chile – Mark Gonzalez: Once a showcase signing by Liverpool FC in the Rafa Benitez era, the flying left winger didn't quite catch on in the English Premier League and bounced from Spain to Russia and back home, returning to Universidad Catolica last year. Now 30, he's off to a roaring start in the Chilean Clausura and will try to show Sampaoli that he deserves a spot on the Copa America squad.
ROSTERS
USA
GOALKEEPERS: Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Jon Kempin (Sporting Kansas City), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS: Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), Matt Hedges (FC Dallas), Jermaine Jones (New England Revolution), Perry Kitchen (D.C. United), Shane O'Neill (Colorado Rapids), DeAndre Yedlin (Tottenham Hotspur)
MIDFIELDERS: Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Mix Diskerud (New York City FC), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake), Miguel Ibarra (Minnesota United FC), Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids), Brek Shea (Orlando City), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC)
FORWARDS: Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes), Bobby Wood (1860 Munich), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy).
Chile
GOALKEEPERS: Johnny Herrera (Universidad Chile), Paulo Garces (Colo Colo)
DEFENDERS: Jose Rojas (Universidad Chile), Osvaldo Gonzalez (Universidad de Chile), Cristian Suarez (Universidad Chile), Gonzalo Fierro (Colo Colo), Erick Pulgar (Catolica), Diego Valdes (Audax Italiano), Juan Cornejo (Audax Italiano), Paulo Díaz (Palestino)
MIDFIELDERS: Gonzalo Espinoza (Universidad Chile), Marco Medel (Santiago Wanderers), Jaime Valdes (Colo Colo), Bryan Carrasco (Audax Italiano), Cesar Valenzuela (Palestino)
FORWARDS: Roberto Gutierrez (Universidad Catolica), Mark Gonzalez (Catolica), Andres Vílches (Huachipato), Angelo Sagal (Huachipato), Juan Delgado (Colo Colo).
