CHICAGO – The U.S. men’s national team will face Wales on March 30 in Cardiff in the second match of its European tour.

Coverage from Cardiff City Stadium begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on FS1, UniMás and TUDN. The USMNT will first face 14th-ranked Netherlands on March 26 at Philips Stadion in Eindhoven, with ESPN2, UniMás & TUDN broadcasting live at 3:30 p.m. ET.

The USA’s first visit to Wales will pit teams equal in the FIFA rankings as both teams are tied at No. 22 in the world. The Netherlands will be the fourth team ranked in the Top 20 in the world to play the United States during head coach Gregg Berhalter’s tenure and the 10th overall in the last two years.

Wales, coached by Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs and led by four-time UEFA Champions League winner Gareth Bale, are preparing for the 2020 UEFA Championship, having been drawn into Group A along with Italy, Switzerland and Turkey.

“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 important competitions in the summer and fall.”

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

The Wales encounter will be the second meeting between the nations and the first on Welsh soil. The previous match took place May 26, 2003, at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, Calif. Landon Donovan and Eddie Lewis scored and goalkeeper Nick Rimando earned a shutout in his first start for the USMNT and striker Brian Ching made his debut in the 2-0 win, ending a 10-match unbeaten run for the visitors.

The March matches are a prelude to two significant competitions in 2020, beginning with the Concacaf Nations League final four. Winners of League A’s Group A, the USMNT takes on Honduras in one semifinal, while Mexico and Costa Rica will square off in the other, with the winners competing for the inaugural Nations League title. The matches are scheduled for the FIFA window in the first week of June, with the venues and times still to be determined.

Those games serve as prelude to the start of 2022 World Cup qualifying, featuring the top-six ranked teams in Concacaf as of June this year. Once the draw for “the Hex” is completed this summer, six of the 10 matches in group play will be contested this fall with two each in the FIFA windows for September, October and November.

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.