USMNT: US Men to Face Colombia in London
CHICAGO (Oct. 22, 2014) – The U.S. Men’s National Team will play Colombia in an international friendly on Friday, Nov. 14, at Craven Cottage in London. Kickoff at the home of Fulham FC is set for 7:45 p.m. GMT (2:45 p.m. ET), and the match will be broadcast live on UniMas. Fans can also follow along on Twitter @ussoccer.
“Colombia showed in the World Cup that they are one of the top teams in the world,” said U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. “They have some tremendous attacking talent like Radamel Falcao at Manchester United, James Rodriguez who won the Golden Boot at the World Cup and now plays at Real Madrid, Arian Ramos from Dortmund who was one of the top scorers in the Bundesliga, and Carlos Bacca who won the Europa League with Sevilla. So overall, it’s a squad with a lot of experience playing at the highest level, and this will be another great benchmark for us. We are thrilled to be playing at Craven Cottage, which holds so many good memories for U.S. players. It will be a unique experience.”
Craven Cottage has served as the proverbial “home away from home” for many U.S. internationals over the years. U.S. MNT captain Clint Dempsey spent six seasons at Fulham, and during his Premier League tenure, broke the record for most goals by an American in the EPL with 37, surpassing the mark set by another Fulham icon, Brian McBride.
World Cup veterans Carlos Bocanegra, Marcus Hahnemann, Eddie Lewis, Kasey Keller and Eddie Johnson also spent part of their careers at Fulham. Bocanegra served as team captain, while McBride became such a fan favorite, the bar in the stadium is named after him. The Cottagers’ most recent American addition to the squad is Emerson Hyndman, who debuted for the MNT last month in the 1-0 win against Czech Republic in Prague.
Colombia is No. 3 in the world in FIFA’s latest rankings. Colombia competed in its fourth FIFA World Cup this past summer and had its best showing at the event. Los Cafeteros won Group G ahead of Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Real Madrid midfielder James Rodriguez and Colombia captain and Manchester United forward Radamel Falcao are anticipated to be with the team.
The announcement of the match against Colombia completes the 2014 MNT schedule. Four days after the game in London, the U.S. will close out the campaign with a friendly against Ireland on Nov. 18 in Dublin. Kickoff at Aviva Stadium is set for 8:45 p.m. local time (2:45 p.m. ET).
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