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UPDATE: It’s officially official. The USMNT will play Brazil in New Jersey on Friday, September 7 and Mexico in Nashville on Tuesday, September 11.
The #USMNT will officially begin a new cycle this fall with a six-game Kickoff Series vs. top-level competition.
— U.S. Soccer MNT (@ussoccer_mnt) June 25, 2018
Details » https://t.co/lSSgTdUOmk pic.twitter.com/8VTXeCtHun
According to David Ammenheuser of USA Today Network - Tennessee, the United States Men’s National Team will host Mexico in a friendly on September 11th.
The USMNT will have a busy couple of days as they take on Brazil in East Rutherford, New Jersey, just four days before the clash against Mexico.
Before playing in the rivalry match versus Mexico, the USMNT will play in a very tough game against Brazil. The USMNT has only played Brazil 18 times, losing 17 of those matches. Their only victory came after a 1998 upset victory in the Gold Cup. The last time these two met was in 2015. Brazil was victorious on that day, winning 4-1.
After playing Brazil, the USMNT will play Mexico who they have also not beaten since 2015, The last outing between these two saw them draw 1-1 at Estadio Azteca during World Cup qualifying last summer.
Being so early, right after the World Cup as club campaigns begin, there’s no telling what the teams will look like for both clubs. But we know one thing for sure, this fierce rivalry will get the best out of both teams and this game is sure to have a big crowd.
In 2017, over 47,000 people were in attendance at Nissan Stadium in Nashville to watch the CONCACAF Gold Cup match between the USA and Panama. And, although you might think that fact that game was a tournament had a significant role in the attendance. That attendance record was broken three weeks later when Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur played a friendly there, drawing an attendance of over 56,000. To host Mexico, the U.S. could not have picked a better venue.
Playing both Brazil and Mexico early in the year will be an early indicator of how this team will fair out. It is likely by then the USMNT will have a new coach to start the next World Cup cycle. Although the tenure will start off against two tough teams, it will be a way for him to address the future of the program early on. Make no mistake about it, even though these matches are friendlies, they will be more important than you think.