USMNT to begin 2018 against Bosnia and Herzegovina

The United States Men’s National Team will begin 2018 with a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina on January 28th at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. The match will have a 4:30pm PT coverage start on FS1.

The first match of 2018 will mark the end of the USMNT’s annual January Camp, where traditionally a MLS-heavy roster of players meet to train for three weeks. This does not fall during a FIFA international fixture window, so clubs are not required to release their players for this match. In the past, players who are on the fringe of the USMNT roster use the camp to boost their profile and earn more opportunities with the national team. Players like Jimmy Conrad, Graham Zusi, and more recently Jorge Villafana have become mainstays on the national team through their performances in January Camp. That will be all the more possible this time around as the program begins to rebuild and start the road to the 2022 World Cup.

Currently ranked 40th in the world according to the FIFA World Rankings, Bosnia and Herzegovina have grown in stature over the years. The Dragons qualified for the 2014 World Cup, coming in 3rd in Group F, which included Argentina, Iran and Nigeria. Bosnia did not qualify out of UEFA for next summer’s World Cup in Russia. Even though they will not have many of their main stars that compete in European leagues, Bosnia will still bring a roster that can compete with anyone.

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