After securing their trip to November’s World Cup in Qatar, the United States men’s national team is back in action return to action in friendly against Morocco Wednesday night. It’s part of a bid to get competitive tune up games as they haven’t faced much competition outside of Concacaf for the past few years as Nations League play increasingly takes up time during international breaks.
It will be a good time for the core members of the team to get experience against a top level opponent while new members of the fold like Malik Tillman and Haji Wright can look to impress Gregg Berhalter in their first appearances.
Here’s our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday, Jun. 1 | Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Location: TQL Stadium — Cincinnati, Ohio
- TV: ESPN2, TUDN | Live stream: fuboTV (get access now)
- Odds: USA +110; Draw +220; MOR +265 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Storylines
United States: Berhalter has named a few members of his starting lineup already as Matt Turner will be in goal with Aaron Long and Walker Zimmerman in front of him. Brenden Aaronson will also start but he’ll play central instead of on the wing which could give the team a new look since Weston McKennie isn’t fit to play more than 20 minutes in this one. Expect Berhalter to name a strong XI ahead of Nations League matches next week where he will be able to get some of the fringe players action.
Morocco: The Atlas Lions enter in fine form after an undefeated run during World Cup qualification. Youssef En-Nesyri will offer quite the test for the US defense while Achraf Hakimi may be the most dangerous wide player that the team has come up against recently. Morocco has a talented squad that will be organized defensively thanks to Romain Saiss so they’ve been able to succeed even without Hakim Ziyech who is “retired” until the team has a new coach.
Prediction
While it’s a friendly, expect both teams to try for the win but there won’t be much to separate them in a draw. I’m expecting a Haji Wright goal from the bench to force the issue for his inclusion on the World Cup squad. Pick: United States 2, Morocco 2
