The United States men’s national team will head to Chattanooga, Tenn., for the first time ever on Feb. 3 when the U.S. take on Jamaica in an international friendly (4 p.m. PT; FS1, UniMas).
The match will be held at Finley Stadium, the 20,000-seat venue that NPSL side Chattanooga FC and college football team the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga call home. Tickets will go on sale to the public Friday, Jan. 6, at 7 a.m. PT through ussoccer.com and by phone at 1-800-745-3000.
The U.S. are 13-2-8 against Jamaica since the series began in 1988. This will be the first friendly between the two countries on United States soil since April, 2006, when they played to a 1-1 draw at SAS Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
The last time the two nations met, Jamaica upset the United States, 2-1, in the semifinals of the 2015 Gold Cup.
New United States boss Bruce Arena said last month he expects to call in Seattle Sounders forwards Jordan Morris and Clint Dempsey to January camp. Arena hopes Dempsey, who is the U.S.’ second all-time leading goalscorer but has been sidelined since late August while recovering from an irregular heartbeat, will be healthy enough to participate.
“I’ve spoken to Clint recently and I’ve been in touch with the people in Seattle and we’re going to move along slowly,” Arena said in mid-December. “Our goal is to bring Clint to the camp in January in a limited capacity and slowly build him into the preseason in Seattle and hope that he can be a consideration for our [CONCACAF 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying] games in March.”
Arena also mentioned that Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan would potentially earn a call-up to January camp, one which tends to be MLS-heavy because the league is in its offseason.
Sounders defender Oniel Fisher could feature in the match as well for Jamaica. He joined his senior national team as recently last November for a 2017 Caribbean Cup Qualifying match against Suriname.
The match against the Reggae Boyz is the United States’ second of two friendlies following the conclusion of January camp. The USMNT will host Serbia at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, Calif., on Jan. 29 (1 p.m. PT; ESPN2, Univision).
The United States resume the Hexagonal round of CONCACAF 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying on March 24 at home against Honduras before visiting Panama on March 28. The U.S. currently sit in last place with zero points after two matches, prompting U.S. Soccer to dismiss former head coach Jurgen Klinsmann and appoint Arena last November.
