CHICAGO – The U.S. men’s national team will begin a two-match European tour when its faces 14th-ranked Netherlands at Philips Stadion in Eindhoven March 26.

The match will kick off at 2:45 p.m. ET, with broadcast and ticket details still to be finalized.

Expect many of the U.S.-based European players to be involved in both matches.

These will be the first away friendlies during the tenure of U.S. head coach Gregg Berhalter. Having qualified for the 2020 European Championship out of the same group as Germany, the Netherlands will be the fourth team ranked in FIFA’s top 20 to play the United States in Berhalter’s tenure and the 10th overall against the USMNT the last two years.

“One of the important parts of continuing to develop this group is the opportunity to play against high-level opponents away from home,” Berhalter said. “The Netherlands is a soccer powerhouse featuring some of the world’s best talent. This game will be a good chance to compete as we build toward the important competitions in the summer and fall.”

The matches will serve as preparation for the rest of the year as the USMNT will compete in the Concacaf Nations League semifinal in June and the start of 2022 World Cup qualifying, which kicks off in September.

This will be the sixth meeting overall between the nations dating back to 1998, with the Netherlands holding a 4-1-0 advantage. The lone USMNT victory came in stunning fashion, when the United States erased a 3-1 deficit with three unanswered goals to win 4-3 in Amsterdam June 5, 2015. Gyasi Zardes netted his first USMNT career goal. John Brooks got on the board before Bobby Wood scored the game-winner in the 90 th minute to stun the sixth-ranked Oranje. With the previous three matches being played at the Johan Cruyff ArenA, this meeting moves to the home of Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven.

The Dutch are captained by defender Virgil van Dijk, runner up for the 2019 FIFA Best Male Player and marshal of the backline that led Liverpool to the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League title. Recent rosters have boasted players from the league championship winning teams in Italy (Juventus), Holland (Ajax), Spain (Barcelona) and Turkey (Galatasary).

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.