By Rory Carroll
(Reuters) – Bone chilling conditions are forecast for the next three U.S. men’s national team World Cup qualifying matches and the players on Wednesday said they were excited to battle the elements and their opponents.
Snow, frigid wind and sub-zero temperatures will likely greet the USMNT when they host El Salvador in Columbus, Ohio on Jan. 27, take on Canada in Ontario three days later, and close out the window against Honduras in Saint Paul, Minnesota on Feb. 2.
Defender Walker Zimmerman said the prospect of cold weather brought back memories of the USMNT’s 1-0 win over Costa Rica in March 2013’s Snow Clasico in Colorado.
“I’m really excited,” Zimmerman told reporters on a call.
“I was talking to my wife over the break and I was saying, I want it to be freezing, I want it to be cold, I want it to snow. I want to be part of something so iconic, something like that game that I really remember seeing when I was growing up.
“And I think the guys are ready to embrace it.”
Forward Paul Arriola said he and his team mates have played in cold weather before and trust in their support staff to help them get ready.
“The staff on the national team do a tremendous job, and we have full confidence in them to prepare us,” he said.
“And we have our own duties as professional players and players on the national team to be ready for every possible condition.
“We’ll embrace the cold, and it will be a really good environment for the fans as well.”
The U.S. are second in the standings for the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers with 15 points, a point behind Canada and one ahead of rivals Mexico.
The top three in the eight-team group qualify automatically for Qatar 2022 with the fourth-placed finisher going into an intercontinental playoff for another spot.
The team are eager to put behind them the humiliating loss they suffered at the hands of Trinidad and Tobago in 2017, which prevented them reaching the World Cup in Russia and led to a complete rebuild.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Toby Davis)
