Minnesota United FC vs. AFC Bournemouth
International Friendly
Wednesday, July 20 — 7 p.m. CT
National Sports Center | Blaine, MN
We have partnered with Minnesota United to offer two free tickets to the Bournemouth match. Enter the contest here to win!
Stuck right in between two home league matches, a mid-week friendly in hot conditions will pose a bit of a challenge for the Loons. However, with the Schwan’s USA Cup bringing in hordes of bodies to the National Sports Center, United will be excited to fill the stadium to face a top-level international opponent. Wednesday will see Minnesota United hosting a English Premiership side for the second time, having previously beaten Swansea City 2-0 in 2014.
Minnesota’s Form
Perhaps the Loons’ form is not extremely relevant, but they are coming off of a pretty leisurely 2-0 victory over Indy Eleven and will (or should) have their eyes on Saturday’s match-up against Fort Lauderdale. The question about this match is what kind of team Carl Craig might field.
The team would likely have some sort of intra-squad scrimmage midweek anyway and this match will offer Craig a chance to test his first eleven against the high-level of talent of the Cherries. But the hot weather will also mean he will be loathe to fatigue his starters, so we should expect to see fringe players get a bit of a look.
Haitian goalkeeper Steward Ceus has yet to make an appearance for the club and he would be a likely shout for a second half sub. Likewise Ish Jome could get a few minutes as a leftback (where he played briefly during the Sporting Open Cup match). And of course Jamie Watson will likely bring an ICEE on the pitch with him as he gets a run out, perhaps for Danny Cruz.
Bournemouth’s Form
None. The Cherries have just begun their preseason and we are their first opponents. Excuse me if I say… ripe for the picking? Seriously though, we should emphasize just as there was literally nothing to be learned from United going to Portland early in preseason to play MLS teams about to start their season (remember how bad an idea that was? Yeah, it was bad), this match won’t tell us anything about either team.
Sure, if Minnesota wins, fans can pretend to have bragging rights. (Last time against Swansea a “Relegate them to the EPL” chant rose up amongst the Dark Clouds). And if the Loons lose, fans can always say “We need to be focusing on the league anyway.”
But there will be plenty for fans to be looking for. If you’re amongst the hip USMNT-watching crowd (I suppose I am), you’ll be interested to see new signing Emerson Hyndman if he gets a run out with the team. The young midfielder signed this summer on a free from Fulham.
Liverpool fans (of whom there are certainly a couple more in Minnesota than Cherries fans) will recognize Jordan Ibe, who recently signed for Bournemouth. Likewise, Everton fans will see Dan Gosling on the pitch and give a wistful sigh. Remember when he was the bright hope of the future?
Personally, I am absolutely over the moon with the idea of heckling goalkeeper Artur Boruc. The former Celtic man has a penchant for howlers and a tattoo behind his ear that looks weirdly like he is wearing a bodyguard’s earpiece.
We also spoke with Peter Bell of the Cherry Chimes website to get his take on who Bournemouth fans are excited about. He, too, pointed to Ibe as an exciting prospect. But he also said, “Nathan Aké and Emerson Hyndman and Lys Mousset are the other new players but Tyrone Mings we have not seen much of as he had an injury last season that kept him out.”
Forecast
It will be hotter than hell, parking will be terrible, and there will be one or four people with Bournemouth jerseys on that still have the tags hanging off. But it will be fun and that’s all that matters.
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