Coronavirus pandemic: US Soccer Federation cancels exhibition games for men's, women's teams

Chicago: The US Soccer Federation canceled exhibitions in March and April for its men’s and women’s national teams but says for now the under-23 men’s team will remain in Mexico for Olympic qualifying.

The men had been scheduled to play the Netherlands in Eindhoven on 26 March and Wales four days later in Cardiff, preparation for the scheduled start of World Cup qualifying in September.

The women had been slated to face Australia at Sandy, Utah, on 10 April and Brazil four days later at San Jose, California, as they get ready for the Olympics this summer.

The under-23 men’s team is in Guadalajara for the Olympic qualifying tournament of North and Central America and the Caribbean. The US is to meet Haiti in an exhibition on 13 March, then plays Costa Rica on 20 March, the Dominican Republic three days later and Mexico on 26 March.

The top two teams in each group advance to the semi-finals on 30 March. The semi-final winners represent CONCACAF at the 16-nation men’s Olympic tournament.

The next scheduled match for the men’s national team is against Honduras in Houston on 4 June in the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Nations League.

Also Thursday, Major League Soccer suspended its season for 30 days and CONCACAF suspended matches in the CONCACAF Champions League, which is in the first leg of its quarter-final stage.

Follow LIVE updates on coronavirus pandemic here