Columnist Nick Green has written 100 Percent Soccer
since 2005. A
native of England, he began writing about soccer in
the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat
in the stands for one in
the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home
Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas
USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer.
Married to a long-suffering soccer widow, he has a cat
named Pele.Argentina Final U.S. Opponents Before World Cup Qualifying Soccer Begins in Carson
U.S. Soccer announced the game this afternoon.
From the press release:
The U.S. Men’s National Team will face Argentina at Giants Stadium June 8 to cap off a blockbuster trio of friendlies before kicking off 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying. The match against the world’s No. 1 ranked team follows a two-game tour in Europe where the U.S. will take on England May 28 in London and Spain June 4 in Santander.The match against Argentina will kickoff at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN Classic and Galavision.
"Argentina is clearly one of the best teams in the world and playing against an opponent of that caliber is a great opportunity for our team," said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley. "Combined with the matches against England and Spain, we have put together a very good schedule to help us prepare for World Cup qualifying. We expect it will be a fantastic crowd at Giants Stadium, and we are looking forward to an exciting atmosphere."
The U.S. begins the quest to qualify for their sixth-consecutive World Cup finals when they take on Barbados on June 15 at Home Depot Center. The second leg of the home-and-away series will be played either June 21 or 22 in Barbados. Prior to the USA’s first World Cup qualifier, the U.S. will have faced six teams that have been ranked in the top 15 in the world since 2007 – Argentina, Brazil, England, Mexico, Sweden and Spain.
The U.S. has played top-ranked Argentina eight times in their history, holding a lifetime record of 2-6-0 against the South American juggernaut. Of those eight matches, only three have been played in the United States, with the other five taking place in neutral sites. The two U.S. victories include a 3-0 upset of the defending champions in the group phase of the 1995 Copa America, and a 1-0 win in 1999 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., when a Joe-Max Moore goal was the difference.
The teams last met during the 2007 Copa America, with the Argentines outclassing a young and inexperienced U.S. team in their 4-1 win in Venezuela.