The USA vs Austria friendly match will take place this Tuesday, November 19, 2013 (11:45 AM Pacific) at the Ernst Happen Stadium in Vienna, Austria. The USMNT is looking to finish off the year on a win, while Austria will take advantage of the friendly to prepare for the still faraway Euro 2016 qualifiers.
The USMNT is coming off a lackluster 0-0 draw against Scotland in Glasgow, where the only distinguishing factor was good defense and great goalkeeping from Tim Howard. This broke the three-win streak the USA had. However, the USA is 15-1-1 over its last 17 matches, quite an impressive streak.
Klinsmann is taking advantage of this friendly to see which players he can add to his World Cup roster. Against Scotland, Klinsmann tried out some players like Sacha Kljestan, Mix Diskerud and Eddie Johnson to see how they would work out playing in positions they are not accustomed to.
Players like Kljestan and Shea need to use the match against Austria to prove that they deserve to be in the World Cup. They will most certainly need to have a good performance in Vienna, as they played a modest game against Scotland.
Austria did not qualify to the World Cup, thus, this match has little value, as their next official matches don’t take place until after the World Cup (Euro 2016 qualifiers). However, Austria is still coming in with its best side, which includes Weiman (Aston Villa), Arnautovic (Stoke), and David Alaba (Bayern Munich), et al. The Austrians want to give a good show to the home crowd.
USA vs Austria Prediction
The USA should be the slight favorite going into this match, even though they will be playing in Vienna. Tim Howard and the rest of the US defense has been outstanding; Austria is also known for its defense, allowing an average of 1 goal per game in the World Cup qualifying campaign. Look for a close match where defense and ball control will be key factors. I predict the USMNT will come out with a slim 1-0 victory.
USA vs Austria TV Schedule
The USA vs Austria match will be televised this Tuesday, November 19, 2013 on NBC Sports and Unimas at 11:45 AM Pacific.
