USMNT announce three fall friendlies against lackluster opponents

The United States men’s national team announced three friendly matches and opponents for the Fall 2024 international window and fans weren’t thrilled. The upcoming USMNT fall friendlies will see the Americans host Canada, New Zealand and Panama.

USMNT fall friendlies

The September/October slate:

USA vs Canada
Sept. 7
Kansas City
Fan Appreciation Match

USA vs New Zealand
Sept. 10
Cincinnati

USA vs Panama
Oct. 12
Austin
Hispanic Heritage Match, presented by @ATT

More Info » https://t.co/LOqWMX8Jv5 pic.twitter.com/DbdRQSI5qc

— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) June 25, 2024

USMNT fans reacted negatively to the news asking why the U.S. doesn’t go out of the continent to face bigger and better teams.

would it kill yall to go play a game in europe?

— USMNT burner (@burnerusmnt) June 25, 2024

Two @Concacaf teams? WTF Really? ‍♂️

— Pablo Gomez (@PabGomez) June 25, 2024

Come on … how are we going to improve playing those teams?

Please gain the courage to turn down the short-term (payday) for the longer-term investment.

The camp where we faced Germany and Ghana was fantastic… more of that!

— Timothy James (@LKNBoneDoc) June 25, 2024

A look at schedules reveals that the USMNT have little to no options on who to play this fall.

September schedules by federation

• UEFA (Europe): Busy playing Nations League
• CONMEBOL (South America): Busy playing World Cup qualifiers
• CAF (Africa): Busy playing AFCON qualifiers
• AFC (Asia): Busy playing World Cup qualifiers

There are literally no top opponents available to play during the international break. World Cup host countries face this issue frequently where they struggle to schedule friendlies while the rest of the world is busy playing World Cup qualifiers.

While the disappointment in the opponents for this fall is understandable, it’s also important to recognize that the options are incredibly limited.