USMNT to host Ecuador in October friendly, per Ecuador FA

The United States will play Ecuador in an October friendly, according to the Ecuador FA. They did not specify a date or location for the match, except to say that it would be played in the U.S.

The match would fall on one of the October FIFA international dates, likely either Friday the 10th or Tuesday the 14th. Normally, the U.S. tries to schedule friendlies in the middle of the European season on the east coast to minimize travel, but that isn't always the case.

Ecuador would be a solid team for the U.S. to play. They weren't great in the World Cup, beating only Honduras, but they qualified out of South America, which is always tough. They have a good striker in Enner Valencia and their defense was one of the best in all of CONMEBOL qualifying.

The U.S. and Ecuador last met in October of 2011, two months after Jurgen Klinsmann took over as manager, and Ecuador won, 1-0, at Red Bull Arena.

Klinsmann's side is scheduled to play the Czech Republic in Prague as part of the September FIFA dates and are reported to have Ireland on the docket for November. With both matches set for Europe, the U.S. figured to use the October dates for home matches and it appears that they are doing just that. Odds are that they will play a second friendly in that week, giving Americans two chances to see their team on home soil.

While the 2015 Gold Cup seems like ages away, Klinsmann doesn't have many opportunities to get his team ready. After the September, October and November friendlies, he will only have January camp and two March friendlies with his team before they gather for pre-Gold Cup training camp.