The United States men’s national team has scheduled a juicy, enticing friendly game against Uruguay on June 5. This will be one of four games the USMNT plays in June. Uruguay — ranked 13th in the world — will be the highest ranked non-Concacaf opponent the U.S. has faced in over a year.
The prep for #Qatar2022 continues in Kansas City!
Presented by @allstate
— USMNT: Qualified. (@USMNT) April 27, 2022
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— USMNT: Qualified. (@USMNT) April 27, 2022
The location of the game is what has rubbed some American soccer fans the wrong way. I wrote a story about how Ohio has hosted far too many national team games, but the bigger picture is that the east and west coasts are not getting any USMNT love.
Here are how many games each state has hosted in the last year.
Number Of USMNT Games Each State Has Hosted Since 2021 (including upcoming games)
Ohio: 4
Texas: 4
Kansas: 4
Colorado: 2
Florida: 2
Utah: 1
Nevada: 1
Minnesota: 1
Tennessee: 1
California: 1 (U.S. C-team vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s C-team)
Perhaps the person who picks the locations for USMNT games is deathly afraid of the ocean and refuses to go anywhere near the coasts if possible.
I had the privilege of watching the two USMNT Concacaf Nations League games in Denver and it was an incredible experience. Every U.S. soccer fan should see the national team at some point in their life, but this obsession with scheduling games in the middle of the country makes things incredibly difficult for people on the coasts.
The east coast — not including Florida — saw plenty of love in the 2010s hosting 12 games in seven different states and Washington D.C. That love hasn’t extended into the 2020s as the east coast’s last game was a friendly vs. Mexico in 2019 in New Jersey.
The west coast has been a story of California getting almost all the games but even then, it hasn’t been that many. With the June friendly vs. Uruguay being in Kansas City, that means that KC will have hosted as many USMNT games in the span of 11 months as California has in five years (4).
Washington hasn’t hosted the national team in six years. Oregon has been waiting nine years now.
Here’s how the USMNT crowd reacted to the Kansas City hosting news.
Would be sick if we played a game on the west coast just one time
— Zach Price (@zach_price24) April 27, 2022
yea cause kansas city hasnt had enough games the past year right
— Stressedd (@Ianwighttt) April 27, 2022
Guys, I think you misspelled Philadelphia. It's not K-A-N-S-A-S C-I-T-Y. It's...
— Shanda Dudley (@ShandaDudley22) April 27, 2022
Another game in the Midwest.. *sigh*
— Gustavo Preza (@GIP_10) April 27, 2022
0 cares since you refuse to play on the coasts
— WORLD CUP SZN (@USMNTRAWTAKES) April 27, 2022
Ya’ll have a fear of oceans or something?
— This is the Weah (@berhalterinho) April 27, 2022
— Evila (@nms0956) April 27, 2022
