USMNT to play Switzerland in Nations League warmup

The United States Men’s National Team will start final preparations for the Nations League Finals with a friendly match in Europe on Memorial Day weekend. Today, U.S. Soccer announced that the USMNT will take on Switzerland on May 30th at the Kybunpark in St. Gallen. Kickoff time is not yet set, but it will be broadcast by channels on the ESPN and Univision family of networks.

The USMNT have a 1-3-4 record against the Swiss, with their last contest coming in March 2015. The USMNT drew the Swiss 1-1 in Zurich back then off a free kick goal by Brek Shea. Switzerland is currently ranked 16th in the FIFA World Rankings. They begin World Cup qualifying with matches this month away to Bulgaria and at home against Lithuania. Italy and Northern Ireland join Switzerland in Group C of UEFA World Cup qualifying. They are also participating in the Euros this summer, drawn into a group with Italy, Wales, and Turkey.

“One of our priorities is to challenge ourselves against top level competition, so we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to play a quality European opponent,” USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter said in a statement released by U.S. Soccer. “Both teams will be gearing up for big tournaments, so it will be great preparation for our group as we head into the summer.”

The USMNT will then travel back to the United States after the match in St. Gallen to play in the Nations League Finals, which are set for June 3rd and June 6th. The location of those matches have not been announced by Concacaf. Because the Switzerland match will occur just before the start of the FIFA international window, teams will not have to release their players for it. Still, most of Europe’s major leagues will have their seasons completed by then, and the hope for Gregg Berhalter is that those teams will release their players early to have a training camp in Europe before the match.

Hit the comments to discuss this matchup for the USMNT.