The US men’s national team appears to have a reunion with Jesse Marsch in store this month, with the former USMNT assistant’s current club RB Salzburg posting a training match vs. the United States on their schedule for Jan. 18 in Doha, Qatar.
Both teams have selected the Middle East nation as the site of their respective training camps, with Salzburg staying fit during the Austrian league’s winter break and the USMNT arranging their traditional January camp in the 2022 World Cup host country.
U.S. Soccer referred to the USMNT staging “closed-door scrimmages” at the Aspire Academy in its announcement of the camp roster earlier this week, but did not share details. Gregg Berhalter’s squad will close the camp with a friendly vs. Costa Rica on Feb. 1 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
A federation spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics planned for Doha, noting that closed-door scrimmages are training exercises with multiple variables like format, length and personnel that prevent them from being public occasions.
That said, a location like Qatar at this time of year typically offers myriad options for scrimmages, with the warm-weather locale a popular choice of European sides seeking to escape the cold.
Marsch, who faced off against Berhalter in MLS action during their past stints in charge of the New York Red Bulls and Columbus Crew SC, respectively, has been breaking new ground for US coaches this season after only narrowly missing out on qualification for the Champions League knockout stages while also running first in the Austrian Bundesliga table.
