Despite continued political unrest in Ukraine, the international soccer friendly between the Ukraine national side and Team USA scheduled for Wednesday, March 5 will go on as planned. With the 2014 World Cup in Brazil just 100 days away, multiple soccer teams across the globe will enter a series of friendlies in order to prepare for soccer’s biggest event and the match between the USMNT and Ukraine will be one of many intriguing matches. Hoping to instill an added level of confidence leading up to their opening WC match on June 16 against Ghana, United States head coach Jurgen Klinsmann said recently that matches such as the upcoming Ukraine contest will only help his team grow on the world’s biggest stage.
“We've tried to figure out based on our team -- teamwork, spirit, and all that stuff,” he said. “But also to go into other countries and say 'we'll give you a real game.' So we went into Italy, into Russia, into Bosnia, and we got results because we believed in what we were doing. We turned games around last second like in Panama, when people thought, 'OK, the game is over,' but I said, 'The game is not over until the referee blows the final whistle.' This is a very important approach, a mental approach that we have to develop over years.
“It's not happening overnight,” Klinsmann continued. “I think we're working on that. It's a process, and we're in the middle of that process. So, we still have to work a lot on that approach. Going into a game and take that game to your opponent or at least be eye-to-eye with them. To European nations to South American nations. Because, obviously, they look at the name, they look at the players on the other side and say 'umph ... can we deal with them?' And we've got to tell them ... 'they only cook with water as well.' It's going to be every time the same challenge.”
While the United States looks to build consistency three months ahead of the World Cup, Ukraine will look to play competitive football despite not owning a place at the upcoming tournament. Star attacker Yevhen Konoplyanka will surely be a major part of what the Yellow-Blue want to do offensively while United States goal-scorer Jozy Altidore hopes to put forth a strong individual performance as well, creating a must-see match-up between two highly legitimate international talents.
United States vs. Ukraine: DATE, TIME & VIEWING INFO
DATE: Wednesday, March 5
TIME: 2:45 p.m., ET
TV COVERAGE: ESPN2 / UniMás / Univision Deportes
LIVE STREAM: CLICK HERE
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