GLASGOW -- On Friday night under the lights at the famous Hampden Park stadium, the USMNT will be going all out for their first-ever win on Scottish soil.
This will be no friendly.
The last time these two sides meet in Jacksonville in 2012, the U.S. hammered Scotland 5-1 and Landon Donovan bagged a hat-trick. This time, away from home in front of a passionate crowd in Glasgow, facing the Tartan Army will be a much tougher proposition.
For the U.S. this game, and the trip to Vienna to face Austria next Tuesday, not only acts as a great ending to a phenomenal season -- where 15 wins from 21 games, World Cup qualification, moving up to 13th in FIFA’s World Rankings and record 12-game winning streak made for a fabulous year -- but also a valuable preparation tool for facing European sides in the World Cup next summer.
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Head coach Jurgen Klinsmann believes the USA will face a much stronger Scotland side than the team they beat 5-1 last May.
“We are expecting a completely different game this time,” Klinsmann said. “Everyone is well aware of that. Scotland did us the favor the last time to come over after their season, to Florida in 95 degrees. We knew that it was going to be very difficult for them to bring everything they have when their season was already done. For us, it was a very important preparation game for the World Cup qualifiers, so we were on a totally different page at that moment focus wise.”
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This time around the USMNT has plenty of injury concerns as Jurgen Klinsmann has already lost captain Clint Dempsey and winger Fabian Johnson through this week.
New Scotland boss Gordon Strachan has transformed the Scots fortunes sine Craig Levein left, with the Tartan Army defeating Croatia home and away in the latter stages of World Cup qualifying as a renewed sense of vigor surrounds the Scottish national team.
Scotland have Premier League regulars in Robert Snodgrass, Steven Fletcher, James Morrison, Charlie Adam and many others, whilst plenty of promising youngsters forcing their way into the side. This will be no walk in the park for the USA as the well-organized and physically commanding Scots look to bring their A-game.
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USMNT goalkeeper Tim Howard is looking forward to the challenge of playing away from home in boisterous atmospheres, something the U.S. have fared quite well with in recent years.
After drawing with Russia and beating the likes of Italy and Bosnia away from home in other friendlies on Europe, the task of taking on a team with a distinctly different style to most of the teams in CONCACAF also provides a huge plus in preparation for any potential match ups with Euro nations at the World Cup.
“That’s why we’ve taken the games on, because they’re going to be difficult opponents away from home. It is never easy and that causes its own problems,” Howard said. “It will be a good test for us. But, you know, we’ve played away from home in Europe before in the last two or three years and done quite well, so we will be expecting to win this game.”
That confidence was evident throughout the lively training sessions during the week, as a relaxed yet focused attitude reigned supreme around the U.S. squad.
However most of the players I spoke with weren’t getting too carried away, as they agreed that nations like Scotland and Austria are a step up from teams in their home region. USMNT midfielder Michael Bradley believes it will be a tougher test than World Cup qualifying.
“When you compare them to certain teams in CONCACAF, yeah, probably,” Bradley said. “Obviously Mexico have had a tough run but they’re still a very good team and we’ve had big experience playing against other top teams, Germany, Italy, Russia For sure we look forward to these types of games against good opponents in Europe. Good atmospheres, great stadiums.”
As for Stoke City right back Geoff Cameron, he’s looking forward to the games against top opposition in Europe but gave CONCACAF a pat on the back... of sorts.
“CONCACAF is a very tough thing to overcome,” Cameron said. “The teams, you go down there and the conditions and what they do to try and throw you off is very difficult to overcome. But obviously playing over here the pitches are all the same, good quality, maybe just dealing with the cold weather. But Scotland is a good side and Austria will be a tough side as well. It’s obviously two sides with good competition and building up for the World Cup that’s good for us.”
Seattle Sounders forward Eddie Johnson, who has scored five times for the USMNT in 2013, believes it’s not only important to get together and use the game as preparation, it’s all about keeping that winning mentality going too.
“I think it’s about every time we get together as a national team to play on European soil, it’s important for us to come here and try to get a result,” Johnson said. “We couldn’t schedule a better side to play against this coming Friday, who have some good players who play in the Premier League, the biggest league in the world, so it will be a good test for us in preparation for the World Cup. We know it’s going to be a fantastic crowd and two good sides to play against and prepare for the World Cup and get better as a national team.”