U.S. Soccer has confirmed Tuesday, that the United States and Ukraine friendly will be played as scheduled Wednesday, with kickoff slated for 2p.m. EST (ESPN2, UniMas).
“The Football Federation of Ukraine confirmed that their team will travel to Cyprus and the match will proceed as scheduled. The U.S. team is departing from Frankfurt in four hours for Cyprus,” U.S. Soccer said in a release.
The match has endured a plethora of logistic issues due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The match was moved from Kharkiv, Ukraine to Lamaca, Cyprus after it was deemed to be too much of a risk to play the match in the country on the brink of war.
Reports then surfaced Monday that the Ukraine team were not willing to travel to Cyprus. Said Ukraine Football Federation President Anatoliy Konkov ““We cannot hold the national championship so what kind of football can we talk of at all? If we do not have an opportunity to play on home soil, why shall we go to Cyprus in those troubled times for your country? We play for our people and country. Our team do not fly to Cyprus and stay at home.”
The US will field a European based squad for the friendly as head coach Juergen Klinsmann looks to finalize his selections for this summer’s World Cup. The team has been training in Frankfurt, Germany to prepare for the match since this weekend.
USMNT friendly vs. Ukraine has reportedly been cancelled. Seemed inevitable. Any chance Klinsmann can get Canada on speed dial?
— Ives Galarcep (@SoccerByIves) March 3, 2014
Tweet by Ives Galarcep (@SoccerByIves)
can’t sleep here in Frankfurt tonight and seeing reports of #USAvUKR being cancelled…can’t say I would be surprised but not confirmed yet
— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) March 4, 2014
Tweet by ESPN commentator Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman)
On #USAvUKR: “The Football Federation of Ukraine confirmed that their team will travel to Cyprus and the match will proceed as scheduled.”
— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) March 4, 2014