The U.S. Men’s National Team returns to action on Sunday (1 p.m. PT, ESPN, UniMàs, univisiondeportes.com) with its second international friendly of the year. The squad, led by Sounders FC forward and USMNT captain Clint Dempsey, is looking for its first win of 2015 after falling 3-2 to Chile on January 28.
Head Coach Jurgen Klinsmann faced a bit of skepticism after the team’s loss, which featured a new 3-5-2 formation in the first half.
“We just want to have this card in our pocket,” Klinsmann told media this week when addressing the formations he’s testing with the squad. “For them, it’s important that they learn how to play different systems without changing our general approach. We want to take the game to the opponents.”
In the squad’s last friendly at Estadio El Teniente in Rancagua, Dempsey found himself playing as a central attacking midfielder in the first half and moved to forward in the second. Dempsey, heading into his second full season with the Sounders, took one shot before subbing out in the 68th minute.
Sunday’s match at the StubHub Center in Carson, California concludes over a month of training for the team, which featured many MLS players in addition to Dempsey, including Brek Shea and Jozy Altidore, who recently returned to the league following stints abroad. Former Sounder DeAndre Yedlin also joined the team after being called in prior to the match in Chile.
“Overall, they worked very hard – every one of them, no matter what the base that they came into the camp – they gave everything in training,” said Klinsmann. “You wish for them that they get the result and you walk out with a smile on your face.”
Following the match against Panama, which is currently No. 55 in the FIFA World Rankings, Dempsey will rejoin the Rave Green for preseason training camp at Starfire Sports and the 2015 Desert Diamond Cup in Tucson, Arizona.
