We now know when we will get our first look at Bruce Arena's USMNT and who it will be against. On Wednesday, U.S. Soccer announced a friendly in January against Serbia set for San Diego, California on Jan. 29 at 4 p.m. ET.
NEWS: The #USMNT will kick off 2017 with a friendly vs. Serbia on Jan. 29 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego: https://t.co/MTT4ANfq2tpic.twitter.com/ZIhpyvltqp
— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) December 14, 2016
This will be the first test for Arena, who was hired as the replacement for Jurgen Klinsmann on Nov. 22, looking to get the team in good form ahead of World Cup qualifying continuing in March. The U.S. is in last place in the hexagonal stage with zero points in two matches after losing to Mexico (2-1) and Costa Rica (4-0) in November. The team will likely be just MLS-based due to European leagues playing in January. So the usual names like Tim Howard, Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley are expected to be on the roster, while Arena will also likely give a shot to some young up-and-comers, with Seattle's Cristian Roldan being a possibility.
The meeting against Serbia will be the first for the U.S. The Americans did play the former Yugoslavia national team, losing 9-1 in the 1956 Summer Olympics, and more recently a 1-0 win for Yugoslavia over the United States at the 1998 World Cup.
The U.S. will play another friendly before the March qualifiers, but that opponent has not yet been announced.
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