By Tom Sunderland
Chile will play host to the United States on Wednesday evening at Calama's Estadio El Teniente, and although the stakes may be low, both outfits will fiercely contend for a bright start to 2015.
The 2014 World Cup combatants have named experimental lineups for the fixture, with Chile manager Jorge Sampaoli poised to hand a raft of newcomers their debuts ahead of this summer's Copa America, which they'll host.
USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann has also selected a wealth of untested assets for the fixture, with stars both seasoned and otherwise fighting for their places ahead of a packed 2015 calendar.
Read on for full viewing information and match preview ahead of the Wednesday encounter.
Date: Wednesday, January 28
Time: 11 p.m. GMT/6 p.m. ET
Live Stream: Fox Soccer2GO (US), beIN Sports Play (US)
TV Info: Fox Sports 1 (US), beIN Sports 14 (US)
Form Guide
Both Chile and the United States have kept themselves busy since returning from their World Cup campaigns, but in the friendly fixtures since, it's La Roja who are in far stronger form.
Sampaoli's side lost 2-1 to Uruguay's in its most recent outing back in November, but a five-match unbeaten streak prior to that defeat saw it concede just two goals in 450 minutes of play.
Given that 10 of the 20 players named in the Chile squad are yet to feature for the national team, a lot will depend on how the Chile-based talents adapt to Sampaoli's style of play.
The Stars and Stripes, meanwhile, haven't won a fixture since September, when they beat the Czech Republic 1-0 in a friendly, their first match back after returning from the World Cup.
Per the official USMNT Twitter account and South American football expert Juan Arango, the long journey to South America and the conditions at hand may be a weakening factor for the visitors:
Since then, they have gone four games without a win. Perhaps more worryingly, they haven't scored more than one goal in a game since their 2-2 draw against Portugal during the World Cup group-stage campaign.
Their most recent fixture, a friendly 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Republic of Ireland, illustrate that both attack and defence are very much concerns for the team.
The long trip to Chile will be an obstacle to overcome in itself, but recapturing some sense of offensive promise will be a priority in Klinsmann's eyes.
One to Watch: DeAndre Yedlin
Still fairly fresh from completing his move to Tottenham Hotspur, DeAndre Yedlin was something of a surprise call-up for the United States, but the former Seattle Sounder has a great chance to impress.
Still some distance from dethroning Kyle Walker in the right-back role, the youngster is aware of his need to graft and improve, speaking to the official United States Soccer website:
I think at the time with Spurs I’m obviously just training and not getting a ton of games because I still need to get my fitness up. But I think it allowed me to get time with the National Team, which is always good, and hopefully get some games in.
Game fitness is obviously the most important thing, so I think they saw a positive in it, I saw positive in it, and this will work out for everyone.
Klinsmann will still only utilise the 21-year-old if he sees it as helpful to the team's cause; he's under no pressure from Spurs to simply throw the right-back minutes because of his current profile.
Tom Collomosse of the London Evening Standard agrees the Premier League level is still some way out of his grasp:
That being said, Yedlin is a player of huge potential, and one who can clearly go far beyond his previous Major League Soccer standards if that potential is fulfilled.
Should he feature against Chile, his renowned pace will be one thing to watch, but fans are now beginning to expect more nuanced technique from the defender too.
