The U.S. men’s national soccer team is coming to San Francisco’s Candlestick Park in May to play an exhibition game as part of a send-off series before the team heads to the World Cup in Brazil this summer, team officials announced today.
The U.S. team will host Azerbaijan at Candlestick at 7 p.m. on May 27.
It will be the team’s first and last visit to the stadium, which was completed in 1960 but is being torn down later this year or in early 2015.
The San Francisco 49ers, the longtime tenants at Candlestick, are moving to their new stadium in Santa Clara for the upcoming NFL season.
The U.S. team has only played once before in San Francisco, hosting Japan in an exhibition match at AT&T Park in 2006.
The soccer match is the first in a three-game send-off series, with the other two games taking place in June against Turkey in Harrison, N.J., and against Nigeria in Jacksonville, Fla.
“We have some fantastic opponents that will help us get prepared for the teams we will meet in the World Cup, and also the opportunity to experience different climates and conditions in the venues,” U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann said in a statement.
“We know there will be awesome atmospheres in each of the stadiums,” Klinsmann said. “It’s the perfect way to start our journey.”
Following the send-off series, the U.S. team will head to Brazil, where it will face Ghana, Portugal and Germany in round-robin play to start the World Cup in mid-June.
Ticket information for the game at Candlestick Park will be released at a later date, team officials said. The game will also air on ESPN2 and UniMas.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
