 |
U.S. captain and midfielder Claudio Reyna holds off a defender from Team Poland during the 2002 World Cup match in Daejeon, South Korea (June 14, 2002). Courtesy: USSoccer.com, © John Todd/Int'l Sports Images/DSA
|
The U.S. Men’s National Team will travel to Poland for a 2002 World Cup rematch in Plock, about 60 miles northwest of Warsaw, on March 31. Soccer fans can see the game live at 8:30 p.m. local time on ESPN2. U.S. Soccer has also scheduled a return domestic match for the U.S. Men against Poland on July 11 at a site yet to be determined. The home-and-away set of matches against Poland will mark the 13th and 14th meetings between the two teams and will be the first since the Poles handed the U.S. a 3-1 loss at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Daejeon, South Korea. That loss almost kept the U.S. from advancing out of their group and eventually into the quarterfinals. The U.S. holds a 4-7-1 record overall against Poland, but the two sides have only met four times in the past 15 years, each coming away with two victories. After failing to qualify for the final round of Euro 2004 by coming in third in their qualifying group behind Sweden and Latvia, Poland has bounced back of late with four straight victories. Poland began their winning streak on Nov. 12, 2003, with a 3-1 victory over Italy, their first in 18 years against the soccer powerhouse, and they followed up that historic win with victories against Serbia and Montenegro, Malta and Lithuania over the past two months.
Text courtesy: USSoccer.com
|
