U.S. Men: USA to Face Bolivia in First Match of 1999

The U.S. men’s national team will travel to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, in January to play an international friendly against the Bolivian national team on Sunday, January 24, 1999. The international match, organized after the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup was re-scheduled for July, will be the USA’s first of 1999. Prior to the match, new U.S. National Team head coach Bruce Arena will gather the U.S. squad for a training camp at a yet to be determined site in Florida. The United States will train at this location from January 9-19 before traveling to Santa Cruz for the match. The U.S. roster for the January training camp will be announced by U.S. Soccer later this week. The match poses an interesting reunion for Arena, who will likely face a pair of his former D.C. United players: Bolivians Marco Etcheverry and Jaime Moreno. Also probable for Bolivian team duty is the Tampa Bay Mutiny’s Mauricio Ramos. The USA has never defeated Bolivia (0-2-3 record) in five attempts dating back to 1993. The teams last met during U.S. Cup ’96 in Washington, D.C., when the South Americans topped the U.S., 2-0, at RFK Stadium. Following is a look at the confirmed matches for the U.S. National Team in 1999. Originally scheduled for January, the FIFA Confederations Cup has been re-scheduled for July 25 – Aug. 8.