The United States will play El Salvador in a friendly on Dec. 9 at Inter Miami CF‘s stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced on Sunday.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, capacity for the event will be limited to 2,500 fans (watch live at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN)..
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The 2021 schedule is set to be packed, with the U.S. involved in qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics, the finals of the CONCACAF Nations League, the Gold Cup and the start of World Cup qualifying.
“Playing against El Salvador gives us an opportunity to face a CONCACAF opponent that we haven’t seen yet and will be a valuable experience,” said U.S. manager Gregg Berhalter. “We want to build on this year’s work while continuing to evaluate the player pool as we head into a busy 2021.”
The game will mark the first time the two sides have faced one another since a quarterfinal matchup at the 2017 Gold Cup that the U.S. won 2-0. Overall the Americans have a record of 17-1-5 against the Cuscatlecos.
Earlier in November, the U.S. men returned to the field for the first time in 10 months, tying Wales 0-0, and then defeating Panama 6-2. Both of those matches were held in Europe, and the roster for those two matches consisted almost entirely of European-based players.
Because the El Salvador match falls outside of an international window, and thus doesn’t require clubs to release players, the squad for the friendly is expected to be comprised mostly of domestic players.
Berhalter will announce his roster, which will include core national team players based in MLS as well as giving some younger players an opportunity, on Tuesday.