US Men's Soccer Set to Face France in European Friendly
Jurgen Klinsmann will lead the U.S. men's national soccer team to Europe for the second time to face France on Nov. 11. Another friendly in Europe is to be scheduled for Nov. 15, according to USSoccer.com.
In his short tenure with the team, Klinsmann is 1-2-1 and is yet to finish to record a tie. The U.S. lost its previous game in Europe under the German coach, a 1-0 decision against Belgium.
This will be the third meeting between the two nations, and the first since 1979 when they played each other twice in a home-and-home series.
France won the first meeting 6-0 in New Jersey and followed it up with a 2-0 victory months later in Paris. It will also be the fourth time the U.S. will be journeying to France. Besides the 1979 game in Paris, they participated in the 1998 World Cup, failing to gain a point with losses to Germany, Iran and the former Yugoslavia.
In 2003, the U.S. participated in the FIFA Confederations Cup, losing to Brazil and Turkey before getting a point with a scoreless draw against Cameroon.
Despite a 0-2 record against the French and a 1-6 record on French soil, Klinsmann seems upbeat about the challenge.
"France is traditionally one of the best teams in the world," Klinsmann said. "When you look at their history, the players that have come through their team and what they have accomplished, you have to be impressed.
"This is an awesome opportunity for our players to play in a stadium that has hosted a World Cup final, and a great experience for their careers."
Unlike the United States, which is coming off a 1-0 loss to Ecuador at home and is 1-3 in the past four games, the French have not lost a game since September 3, 2010, a 1-0 loss at home to Belarus to open up its Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.
Since then, they have 15-game unbeaten streak, 10 of those being victories.
The French also won their qualification group, which featured Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Belarus, Luxembourg and Albania, and will be competing in the Euro 2012 competition hosted by Poland and Ukraine.
Kick-Off Time And Where To Watch
Kickoff is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. Paris time, which will be 3:00 p.m. in the East Coast and noon in the West Coast. ESPN2, ESPN3 Univision and Univision.com will be broadcasting live and there will be a match tracker on USSoccer.com and U.S. Soccer's Twitter will be providing updates.
Prediction (2-1 France)
The Klinsmann experiments should continue and the French are going to want to be in top shape heading into the European Cup. For the United States, I hope Shea continues to get his well deserved call-ups and Omar Gonzales to get a shot to get back on the national side. Hercules Gomez is another name I want to see brought up and hope that Jose Francisco Torres is healthy for the match.
