The U.S. Soccer Federation announced that the United States men's national team will neither play matches nor hold a training camp during the October international window due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The USSF remains hopeful that the U.S. men will play during the November window and is in the process of scheduling matches in Europe. Wales has been rumored to be one of the November opponents. The two were scheduled to play back in March. Sources also have told ESPN that a non-European opponent is being lined up for a game in Europe.
The USSF is also looking into the possibility of holding a training camp in December for domestic players in addition to the customary January camp. The U.S. men last took the field back on Feb. 1 when they defeated Costa Rica 1-0 in a friendly in Carson, Calif.
"After extensive conversations about holding a men's national team camp in October, we ultimately determined the unique challenges created by COVID-19 as it relates to hosting international opponents and getting our players together wouldn't allow us to move forward," said U.S. men's national team GM Brian McBride. "We appreciate the incredible amount of work our staff did and the discussions we had with Major League Soccer to try and address concerns and find solutions. While we won't have the team together in this upcoming window, we are making considerable progress for November."
A number of coronavirus-related factors contributed to the decision to not bring the team together in October for what would likely have been a pair of domestic friendlies. Among them were the logistical hurdles involved with bringing a team in from outside the U.S., player travel, as well as quarantine rules for players returning to their clubs and the potential of disrupting league seasons.
"Both players and staff are disappointed not to be able to get back on the field for the national team and continue the progress we have made as a group," said U.S. men's national team head coach Gregg Berhalter. "While COVID-19 continues to create challenges for us, we are confident we can find a way forward in the near future that will provide an opportunity to play matches in preparation for the important competitions next year."
The U.S. is scheduled to participate in a number of official competitions in 2021. This includes the Nations League Final Four in March, though this could get pushed back to June. The CONCACAF Gold Cup will be held from July10 -Aug. 1, with the start of the U.S.'s participation in the final round of qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup expected to begin in September.
On the women's side, while no games are scheduled, the USSF is looking into the possibility of holding a training camp in October due to the fact that some hurdles present for the men would be absent for the women. The fact that the NWSL is out of season -- and would thus remove any quarantine requirements -- could make it easier for a camp to be held.