CHICAGO (Oct. 18, 2012) – The U.S. Men’s National Team, fresh off its Group A victory in the Semifinal Round of 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying, will travel to Russia for an international friendly on Wednesday, Nov. 14, in Krasnodar for the final match of the 2012 campaign.
Kickoff at Kuban Stadium is set for 7 p.m. local (10 a.m. ET), with a live broadcast on ESPN2, ESPN3 and Univision Deportes. Fans can follow the match live on ussoccer.com‘s MatchTracker and on Twitter @ussoccer.
The United States heads into the game with the best winning percentage in the modern era. The U.S. is 9-2-2 this year with a winning percentage (.769) that currently ranks as the top performance in recent years. The next best performance came in 2008 when the team earned a 9-3-2 record (.750).
The U.S. is looking for its first victory against Russia, which holds a 2-0-2 advantage in the series that dates back to a 1-0 Russia win on Feb. 13, 1993, in Orlando, Fla. The United States garnered a scoreless draw on Feb. 21, 1993, in Palo Alto, Calif., and a 1-1 draw on Jan. 29, 1994, in Seattle. The most recent meeting was the USA’s first trip to Russia, which resulted in a 2-0 loss on April 26, 2000, in Moscow.
Russia, currently ranked No. 12 in the world, is in first place of Group F of UEFA qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The Russians are a perfect 4-0-0, with all four victories coming by shutout. The Zenit Saint Petersburg trio of Aleksandr Kerzhakov, Victor Faizulin and Roman Shirokov have accounted for seven of Russia’s eight goals in the current cycle. Kerzhakov has increased his career international total to 22 goals in 67 appearances.
The U.S. advanced to the Final Round of qualifying with a 3-1 victory against Guatemala on Oct. 16 at a sold-out LIVESTRONG Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan. The win gave the United States first place in Group A and advancement to the hexagonal, which will feature Group A runner-up Jamaica, Mexico and Costa Rica from Group B and Honduras and Panama from Group C.
The Final Round qualifying stage will be played from Feb. 6 through Oct. 15, 2013. The U.S. has a combined 58-49-31 all-time record against the other five teams in the hexagonal.
