USMNT to play Morocco in June friendly in Cincinnati

The United States Men’s National Team is headed back to Cincinnati. Today, U.S. Soccer announced that the USMNT will play Morocco in a friendly on June 1st at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati. Kickoff time and TV listings were not yet known at the time of announcement.

It will serve as the first warmup match for the USMNT as they prepare to defend their title in the group stage of the Concacaf Nations League, which begins June 10th with a home match against Grenada and will be followed by a June 14th match on the road against El Salvador. The USMNT will also play a June 5th friendly, and while reports are that it will be a friendly match against Uruguay, venue and opponent have yet to be confirmed.

It will be the 4th time the USMNT have faced off against Morocco, the 24th ranked team in the FIFA World Rankings. They are the first African team to face the USMNT since head coach Gregg Berhalter took over in December 2018. The USMNT are 0-3-0 all time against Morocco, with their most recent encounter coming in 2006 in a send-off match in Nashville. They also had losses in March 1992 in Rabat and November 1999 in Marrakech, a match that Gregg Berhalter started as a player for the USMNT. Morocco went unbeaten in World Cup qualifying in Africa, and was drawn into Group F at the 2022 World Cup alongside Belgium, Canada, and Croatia.

The USMNT return to TQL Stadium for the second time. The first was the 2-0 victory over Mexico during World Cup qualifying back on November 12th. With there being just the June double international window and the September window left before the start of the World Cup, it is expected that Berhalter will bring his first choice lineup, barring any injuries, to get the team he expects to take to the World Cup time to gel as a unit.

“We’re excited to face a fellow World Cup finalist and provide our team with a different challenge,” Berhalter said in a statement released by U.S. Soccer. “With only six international games before the World Cup, this is a critical period for our team preparation. Combining the magnificent training facilities, the world-class stadium and the amazing atmosphere, Cincinnati ticked all the boxes to give us a great start to these summer matches.”

Hit the comments to discuss the USMNT playing Morocco in Cincinnati.