For the fourth time in four years, the United States will take on international soccer’s most decorated side.
US Soccer announced on Thursday that Jurgen Klinsmann’s team will play Brazil in a friendly at FedEx Field on May 30 in Landover, Md. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 and Univisión, and kickoff is set for at 8 pm ET.
It will be the US national team's second match of 2012 against a nation ranked in the top 10 of FIFA’s rankings, following a clash with Italy in Genoa on Feb. 29. Brazil won the last meeting between the teams 2-0 at the New Meadowlands Stadium in August 2010. They have a 15-1-0 lead in the all-time series, the most memorable moment coming when the Seleção rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the US 3-2 in the 2009 Confederations Cup final.
"When you talk about Brazil, you are speaking of one of the most gifted football playing nations in the world," Klinsmann said in a statement. "It is our goal to be able to match up against teams like Brazil on a consistent basis, so this is an amazing opportunity. FedEx Field is an awesome facility for soccer as we have seen from the games they have hosted, so we are excited to play our first game in the stadium."
Though both teams are beginning preparations for the 2014 World Cup, Brazil’s participation is already guaranteed as hosts, while the US will use the match as a measuring stick for their progress ahead of their qualifying campaign, which begins on June 8 against Antigua and Barbuda. Jamaica and Guatemala round out CONCACAF’s Group A.
The US will also play a warm up match against Canada in Toronto on June 3. The venue for a third friendly and the match against Antigua and Barbuda will be announced next week.
Since Klinsmann’s hire last August, the US are 4-4-1 but have won their past three games, including two 1-0 victories against Venezuela and Panama in January.
Tickets go on sale to the public Friday, Feb. 17, at 10 am ET through ussoccer.com, through Ticketmaster Phone Charge at 800-745-300 and at all Ticketmaster ticket centers throughout the Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia region.
