On Sunday, the United States Men’s National Team will face world No. 13 Switzerland in a friendly match in St. Gallen, Switzerland ahead of the Concacaf Nation’s League Final Four tournament to be held in Denver, Colorado. Sunday’s match will be broadcast live from kybunpark on ESPN, UniMas and TUDN beginning at 12:00 p.m. MT.
Real Salt Lake will be represented on Sunday as goalkeeper David Ochoa looks to earn his first cap with the senior national team under Gregg Berhalter. Being selected to Berhalter’s 27-man squad to face Switzerland marked the second senior call-up for the 20-year-old goalkeeper after going to January camp earlier this year.
Having previously played at the U-18, U-20 and U-23 levels, Ochoa now looks to make his mark for the senior side in 2021. In five matches for Real Salt Lake this season, the RSL Academy product is 2-1-2 with one shutout and a 1.00 goals against average, good for eighth in MLS among keepers who have started at least four matches. Before departing to Switzerland to join the U.S., Ochoa registered a career-high eight saves in a match against FC Dallas to help secure a 2-2 draw for RSL.
In his first professional season, Ochoa helped the Real Monarchs to the USL Championship title, posting 1.15 goals against average in five playoff victories. In 22 career regular season matches with the Monarchs he is 9-9-4 with four shutouts and a 1.41 goals against average.
The match against Switzerland represents the sixth time the USMNT will face a Top 20 opponent since Berhalter became head coach in 2019. Led by Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka and Liverpool midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri, the Swiss are gearing up for the European Championship where they have been drawn into Group A with four-time World Cup champion Italy, Turkey and Wales.
The Switzerland encounter, combined with the Concacaf Nations League Final Four and the USMNT’s match in Salt Lake City on June 9 against Costa Rica, presented by Allstate, will simulate a match cadence similar to what many players coming from Europe will experience during the upcoming three-match window during the World Cup Qualifying campaign which kicks off in September. As with numerous players in the pool during World Cup qualifying, the U.S. team will travel from Europe to North America for three matches, two in the Nations League in Denver and then Costa Rica in Utah.
Real Salt Lake returns to the field on Saturday, May 29 to welcome Minnesota United FC at 7:30 p.m. MT. Tickets to the match can be purchased at RSL.com or by calling 844.REAL.TIX (844-732-5849).
