CHICAGO – The final piece of the U.S. men’s national team Kickoff Series puzzle has been put in place.

The Americans will host 20th-ranked Peru at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn. Oct. 16. (7:30 p.m. ET). ESPN2, UniMas and UDN will broadcast the match.

Peru will be the fifth team in the FIFA Top 20 to face the MNT in the Kickoff Series, joining Brazil (3), England (6), Colombia (14) and Mexico (16). The six-match set will provide the young U.S. side with top-level competition at the start of the four-year journey.

The United States and Peru will face off for only the third time since 2000 when they step on the field in October. The USA holds a 3-2-1 edge in the all-time series which began in 1989 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Five of six previous meetings have taken place in the United States. In 2015, Jozy Altidore’s brace paced the USMNT to a 2-1 win Sept, 4, 2015, at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. The previous encounter took place more than 15 years prior, when the U.S. defeated Peru 1-0 in Miami in the group stage of the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup, with Cobi Jones scoring the game-winner.

The Kickoff Series began with the U.S. facing five-time World Cup champion Brazil on Sept. 7 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

On Sept. 11, the 68th edition of one of the region’s greatest rivalries takes place at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. Kickoff for USA-Mexico is set for 8:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on ESPN and Univision.

Tickets for the Peru match go on sale to the public Wednesday, Sept. 12, at 10 a.m. ET through ussoccer.com, by phone at 1-877-522-8499 (8 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET only) and at the XL Center ticket office starting Thursday, Sept. 13 (open Monday-Friday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.). Tickets are not sold at Pratt & Whitney Stadium except on the day of the event. Groups of 20 or more can order at ussoccer.com.

 

Date Game Venue, Location Time (ET) TV
Sept. 7 USA vs. Brazil,
presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance
MetLife Stadium;

East Rutherford, N.J.

7:30 p.m. FS1, Univision, UDN
Sept. 11 USA vs. Mexico, presented by AT&T Nissan Stadium;

Nashville, Tenn.

8:30 p.m. ESPN, Univision
Oct. 11 USA vs. Colombia Raymond James Stadium; Tampa 7 p.m. FS1, UniMas, UDN
Oct. 16 USA vs. Peru Rentschler Field; East Hartford, Conn. 8 p.m. ESPN2, UniMas, UDN
Nov. 15 England vs. USA Wembley Stadium;
London, England
3 p.m. ESPN2, UniMas, UDN
Nov. 20 Italy vs. USA TBD 3 p.m. FS1, UniMas, UDN

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.