2021 International Friendly
United States vs. Trinidad & Tobago
Exploria Stadium – Orlando
January 31 – 7:00 PM ET
TV: FS1, UniMás, TUDN
The US men's national team open a busy, and critical, 2021 by taking on Trinidad & Tobago in an international friendly to close out January camp Sunday at Exploria Stadium in Orlando.
The match kicks off a busy 2021 for the USMNT, with the Nations Cup, the Gold Cup and World Cup qualifying on the schedule. There will also be overlap with the U-23 team, who have the 2021 Concacaf Olympic Qualifying Championship to be played from March 18-30 in Guadalajara, Mexico on the horizon.
Of the all-MLS 25 players called up, 16 are age-eligible for the Olympic qualifiers, including Colorado Rapids left back Sam Vines, LA Galaxy right back Julian Araujo and FC Dallas midfielder Tanner Tessmann. The average age of the roster, as of Jan. 31, will be 23 years, 302 days with an average of 10 caps. Vines and Araujo were among 10 players on the roster to compete in the 6-0 win over El Salvador to close out 2020.
LA Galaxy midfielder Sebastian Lletget is the only USMNT player to appear in all four international friendlies in 2020.
Toronto FC forward Jozy Altidore (115 caps) is the most senior player on a roster that spans 15 MLS teams with Orlando City SC leading the way with four selections in Daryl Dike, Benji Michel, Chris Mueller and Andrés Perea, who became eligible after FIFA granted his one-time request to switch allegiance from Colombia to the United States earlier this month.
New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner is poised to make his USMNT debut after a breakout 2020 that started with January camp.
“Matt certainly has improved. I think it's night and day compared to him last January camp,” USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter said in a conference call. “He had the reflexes last January, but now his whole game is improved and you can see he's gained confidence and that whole season behind him has really improved him, and he's looking sharp.”
On Terry Fenwick's 24-man roster for the Soca Warriors include defender Michael DeShields, who was selected by D.C. United with the fifth overall pick in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft, Real Salt Lake defender Noah Powder and Atlanta United academy midfielder Ajani Fortune.
The USMNT have dominated the all-time series, boasting a 19-3-4 record since 1982. The last time the two teams faced off was in the 2019 Gold Cup group stage, with the US claiming a 6-0 victory. Sunday’s match is the USMNT’s first friendly match vs. Trinidad since 1994 and just its fifth all-time. The US have never lost on home soil to the Soca Warriors.
Series Matchup vs. Trinidad & Tobago
- United States: 19 wins, 46 goals
- Trinidad & Tobago: 3 wins, 13 goals
- 4 draws
