USMNT close to deal to play at FedEx Field, will face Colombia in Copa América tuneup

The U.S. Soccer Federation has been working on two heavyweight friendlies during the three-week training camp, which will open June 3. Brazil is reportedly the other opponent, June 12 at a venue to be determined.

The USSF had initially targeted Uruguay and Brazil as opponents but pivoted when the United States and Uruguay were drawn into the same Copa América group.

Top U.S. players, such as Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie, are scheduled to report to camp following the end of their European league seasons in May.

The United States and Colombia have met 21 times, with the Colombians boasting a seven-game unbeaten streak. The most recent game was in January 2023, a 0-0 draw in Carson, Calif.

The most famous clash came at the 1994 World Cup, a 2-1 U.S. upset at the Rose Bowl. Since then, the Americans have a 1-7-4 record against Colombia.

The U.S. men have not played at FedEx Field since a 2012 friendly against Brazil that drew more than 67,000. Their most recent match in the D.C. area was October 2019 against Cuba in the Concacaf Nations League at Audi Field.

FedEx Field — which has a seating capacity 3½ times larger than Audi Field’s — has hosted many soccer games over 25 years, including two Premier League preseason friendlies last summer: Chelsea vs. Fulham and Aston Villa vs. Brentford.

World Cup champion Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, is also reportedly considering a pre-Copa América tuneup in Landover.

Featuring several global powers, Copa América promises the stiffest test for the U.S. squad before the 2026 World Cup is held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Six teams from Concacaf, which encompasses North and Central America and the Caribbean, will join all 10 nations that compete in Conmebol, the South American confederation, in Copa América’s 48th edition since 1916.

Coach Gregg Berhalter’s U.S. team should get through the group stage as a top-two finisher — the opponents are Bolivia on June 23 in Arlington, Tex., Panama on June 27 in Atlanta and Uruguay on July 1 in Kansas City, Mo. — and would probably face Brazil or Colombia in the quarterfinals.

Determined to rebound from a 2022 World Cup absence, Colombia is carrying a 19-game unbeaten streak into next month’s friendlies against Spain and Romania. In South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, the Colombians are 3-0-3 and in third place in a 10-nation scramble for six automatic berths.

Their Copa América group opponents are Brazil, Paraguay, and Costa Rica or Honduras.