The US men’s national team have added a May 30 friendly against Switzerland to their calendar, acting as preparation for a Concacaf Nations League semifinal match against Honduras on June 3.
The Switzerland game will be played in St. Gallen before the inaugural continental tournament continues at a to-be-announced site on American soil. The USMNT reached this stage after topping Group A, with the COVID-19 pandemic pushing back the knockout phase after round-robin matches concluded in November 2019.
Conversely, Switzerland will be preparing for Group A competition against Italy, Turkey and Wales in this summer’s European Championship. That tournament, with games scheduled in various countries across Europe, was delayed a year after originally being scheduled for 2020.
As it stands, the USMNT is preparing for upcoming international friendlies against Jamaica (March 25) and Northern Ireland (March 28). Both games will be played in Europe and draw from a European-heavy team, though a few MLS-based players are sprinkled in as well.
With the European club season concluding before the Switzerland match, head coach Gregg Berhalter could call on a full-strength side. At that stage, the 2021 MLS season will be about six weeks old.
Currently ranked No. 16 in the FIFA rankings, Switzerland represents the USMNT’s toughest test on paper since facing Uruguay in a September 2019 friendly. At peak form, Switzerland’s XI includes those like midfielders Xherdan Shaqiri (Liverpool) and Granit Xhaka (Arsenal), as well as left back Ricardo Rodríguez (Torino) and goalkeeper Yann Sommer (Borussia Monchengladbach).
The USMNT hold a 1W-3L-4D all-time record against Switzerland. The countries last played to a 1-1 draw on March 31, 2015 in Zurich, a game in which now-Inter Miami CF defender Brek Shea scored.
