U.S. men

First friendly abroad is scheduled for Sweden in August.

CHICAGO (Monday. April 23, 2007) -- The United States men will travel to play Sweden August 22 for their first 2007 match in Europe. The game at Ullevi Stadium in Goteborg will be at 2:30 p.m. (ET) and will be broadcast by Fox Soccer Channel, while Spanish-language Galavision will air the game live in some areas and on a delayed basis in others.

"It is one of our continuing goals to play as many challenging matches as possible and the chance to face a team of Sweden's caliber and to do it in Europe is extremely beneficial for the program," U.S. interim coach Bob Bradley said of Sweden. "With the match falling on an international fixture date, we look forward to bringing an extremely competitive side to Goteborg."

Sweden, currently is No. 24 in world governing body FIFA's rankings, has competed in 11 World Cups with its best finished third in World Cup USA '94 and second in 1958. In 2006, the Swedes advanced to the Round of 16 where they lost to host Germany.

The U.S. is 29th in the rankings.

Sweden is in second place of Group F of the 2008 European Championship qualifying tournament, one point behind Northern Ireland and three ahead of Spain. The Swedes are led by captain and Arsenal midfielder Fredrik Ljungberg and striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has 18 goals in 43 international appearances and helped Inter Milan clinch the Italian Serie A championship this past weekend. In league play, Ibrahimovic scored 15 goals in 26 outings.

The U.S. and Sweden have each won twice in the series between the nations, including the last meeting when the Americans prevailed 1-0 when Roy Wegerle found net on January 24, 1998, in Orlando, Fla. Besides a 3-2 win by the U.S. in Stockholm on August 20, 1916, the only other meeting on Swedish soil saw the host capture a 1-0 decision August 16, 1995, in Norrkoping.

The U.S. men next play June 2 with a match against China at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, Calif. Five days later, the Americans start defense of their CONCACAF Gold Cup championship with a game against Guatemala at The Home Depot in Carson Calif.

On June 9, the U.S. faces Trinidad & Tobago at The Home Depot Center and completes Gold Cup group play June 12 against El Salvador at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The Gold Cup quarterfinals, semifinals and title match will take place between June 16 and 24 in Foxborough, Houston or Chicago, which will host the final June 24 at Soldier Field.

The Gold Cup will air live on Fox Soccer Channel and in Spanish on Univision, Galavision and Telefutura.

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