USA vs. Venezuela: Gamethread and 3 things to know

Three Big Storylines:

1. The USMNT kicks off a busy summer with this friendly in Utah. After this game, there is a must win World Cup Qualifier against Trinidad & Tobago on Thursday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Colorado, followed by the once every four years showcase that is the USMNT against Mexico in Azteca Stadium on Sunday. Next up is a friendly against Ghana on July 1st followed by the Gold Cup where the USMNT kicks off on July 8th against Panama.
2. Clint Dempsey has 56 goals for the USMNT and is one goal away from tying Landon Donovan as the nation’s all time leading goal scorer. In the last set of World Cup Qualifiers in March, Dempey had a hattrick in the 6-0 win over Honduras and the lone goal in a 1-1 draw at Panama. One of the Honduras goals was a free kick and the other three were all assisted by 18 year old Christian Pulisic. Pulisic is coming off a successful season with Borussia Dortmund in Germany that was capped off with the DFB-Pokal (German Cup Competition) win last Saturday. Look for Dempsey and Pulisic to extend what looks to be a budding partnership today heading into this round of qualifiers.
3. Later in the same night the USA is going to play Venezuela again. This time in Jeonju, South Korea as the U20 World Cup reaches the Quarterfinal stage. The USA beat New Zealand 6-0 on Thursday night (local time) in their Round of 16 match, while Venezuela beat Japan 1-0 on Tuesday night. Despite the short rest, the USA will be getting a boost in their quest to advance to the Semi-Finals as they get back Cameron Carter-Vickers, Aaron Herrera and Derrick Jones, who were all suspended for the New Zealand match. Venezuela is the only team yet to concede a goal in the competition and topped their group that included Germany, Vanuatu and Mexico. The USA’s 17 year old Josh Sargent has been a breakout star of the tournament and currently is tied atop the Golden Boot race with four goals. The last American to win the U20 Golden Boot was Eddie Johnson in 2003.

From a Sounders Point of View:

Dear Bruce Arena, can you please return our Clint Dempsey and Jordan Morris healthy? Also if Morris can be effective in the late substitute attacking option off the bench role that he plays for the national team, it might be just the confidence boost he needs to kickstart his MLS campaign.

National TV Listings:

USMNT v Venezuela

Date/Time: Saturday, 7:00 PM

Location: Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah

TV: Fox Sports 1, Univision & Univision Deportes

Streaming: Fox Sports Go & Univision Deportes

JP Dellacamera and Stu Holden on the call with Jenny Taft reporting from the sidelines.

Clint Dempsey earns the start.

USMNT U20 v Venezuela U20 U20 World Cup Quarter Final

Date/Time: Saturday, 10:50 PM

Location: Jeonju World Cup Stadium, Jeonju, South Korea

TV: Fox Sports 2 & Telemundo En Vivo

Streaming: Fox Sports Go

This is your Sounder at Heart USMNT v Venezuela double gamethread. Watch with us.