Switzerland vs United States International Friendly LIVE Football Score 30 May 2021
Event details:
NAME: Switzerland – United States
DATE: 30 May 2021
TIME: 18:15 UTC
LEAGUE: International Friendly Match 2021
Switzerland are set to play host to the United States of America at the Kybunpark on Sunday for an international friendly fixture. Switzerland come into this game on the back of a 3-2 win over Markku Kanerva’s Finland in April in a friendly game. Goals from Dinamo Zagreb attacker Mario Gavranovic, Augsburg winger Ruben Vargas and Benfica striker Haris Seferovic ensured victory for Vladimir Petkovic’s Switzerland. A brace from Union Berlin striker Joel Pohjanpalo proved to be a mere
consolation for Finland. The United States of America, on the other hand, beat Ian Baraclough’s Northern Ireland 2-1 in March in a friendly game. Goals from young Borussia Dortmund midfielder Giovanni Reyna and Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic sealed the deal for their country. Aberdeen forward Niall McGinn scored the sole goal for Northern Ireland.
As part of their preparations for Euro 2020 next month, one of the continent’s top-ranked sides, Switzerland, will host the USA on Sunday. The international friendly fixture at St Gallen’s Kybunpark will also serve as a warm-up for the visitors’ upcoming CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cup campaigns.
Before they tackle a European Championship group also featuring Italy, Turkey and Wales this summer, first Switzerland are set to play two home friendlies – against the United States and then versus neighbouring Liechtenstein.
Currently world-ranked 13th, the Swiss come into this first game of the summer on the back of a 3-2 friendly win over Finland in March – effectively the fourth successive victory for Vladimir Petkovic’s side. Having concluded their Nations League campaign with a default win over Ukraine last November, the Nati have since opened the World Cup qualifying process with six points from six, as they beat both Bulgaria and Lithuania in their opening fixtures this spring.
Petkovic has held his current position since July 2014 – winning 35 of his 68 games to date, while leading Switzerland to the last-16 of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Russia – and will be keen to go at least one step further in the Euros. In preparation, the Sarajevo-born coach has called up a 29-player preliminary squad for the pre-tournament friendlies, which will be whittled down to 26 shortly after Sunday’s game.
With a total of 12 players included from the ever-competitive German Bundesliga – including those such as Borussia Monchengladbach trio Breel Embolo, Denis Zakaria and goalkeeper Yann Sommer – he has a strong squad at his command, but is likely to give fringe players a last chance to impress this weekend.
Seeking to prepare for a busy summer ahead, the USA first encounter a national team against which they have won only once in their eight historic meetings – the most famous being their opening match of the 1994 World Cup on home soil: a 1-1 draw earning the US their first point at a World Cup for some 44 years. Like the Swiss, several players in the squad named by head coach Gregg Berhalter earn their living in the Bundesliga, with Giovanni Reyna, John Brooks and Tyler Adams among those currently featuring in Germany’s top flight.
In fact, a largely Europe-based selection are preparing for the altitude of Denver, Colorado, where the US will join Honduras, Costa Rica and Mexico next week for the Nations League semi-finals – then the final or a 3rd-place decider. So, expected to fly halfway around the world by next Thursday’s match with Honduras – amid an intense period of three games in eight days – squad rotation is set to be a feature of Sunday’s friendly fixture.
Certainly, this match will present a significant challenge for a recently untested American side, which has primarily met only Central American and mid-tier European opponents over the past couple of years. Most recently, they defeated Northern Ireland 2-1 in March, through goals from Borussia Dortmund starlet Reyna and Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic.
Without doubt, though, Berhalter’s men will be more fully tested against a talented and experienced team in Switzerland – one which is heading into its own continental championship with ambitions to make the final eight.
