Despite political unrest, today's international friendly between Ukraine and the U.S. men's national team will go on as scheduled. The World Cup tune-up that was relocated to Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium in Cyprus can be live streamed free here at 2 p.m. ET. Additional TV coverage can be found on ESPN2.
Even with the change of venue, a black cloud of doubt continued to surround the friendly. A car bomb targeting a top Cyprus official detonated last Friday, forcing all first-division matches in the Cypriot First Division to be postponed. Ukrainian internationals refusing to travel to the East Mediterranean island didn't help matters, either.
U.S. Soccer's official Twitter account put all doubts to rest the following Monday.
With football to be played now, U.S. head coach Jürgen Klinsmann is aware of the opportunity that awaits some of the players in his talent pool. "It's a huge opportunity for all those guys to prove to us that they are eager and hungry to jump on the train to the World Cup," Klinsmann said. "You want to give them a chance to show where they are and what's going on in their specific situation. It's a huge opportunity for all those guys to prove to us that they are eager and hungry to jump on the train to the World Cup," he added.
"We will get a good picture of them over those couple of days."
A roster filled with players looking to prove their worth will be provided with a quality opponent. Though Ukraine failed to qualify for the World Cup, they still managed to push France to the limits. The European power barely turned a 2-0 deficit, moving past Ukraine 3-2 on aggregate in the UEFA playoffs.
With so much civil unrest surrounding the team, however, will Ukraine be able to provide a quality test? Tell us @SportsWN
Tactical Preview
Player to Watch: Jozy Altidore is in desperate need of a confidence boost. He set the record for the highest transfer fee ever for an American-born player, but is yet to produce at the club level for Sunderland. With just one goal in 17 league appearances, Altidore must perform in order to secure his starting role for the World Cup.
United States Potential Lineup: Howard; Cameron, Brooks, Onyewu, Johnson; Kljestan, Jones, Johannsson, Dempsey, Bedoya; Altidore
Ukraine Potential Lineup: Pyatov; Shevchuk, Rakitskiy, Khachierdi, Fedetsky; Tymoshuk, Rotan, Konoplyanka, Bezus, Yarmolenko; Zozulya
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