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Adams, Sargent given complicated World Cup qualifying travel

By The Associated PressJuly 7, 2021 GMT

United States Tyler Adams, left, battles against Costa Rica's Bernald Alfaro, right, in the first half during an international friendly soccer match Wednesday, June 9, 2021, in Sandy, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

The compacted World Cup qualifying schedule got even more complicated for the United States with the release Wednesday of the television schedule for the early weeks of the German soccer season.

RB Leipzig’s Bundesliga match at Wolfsburg was pushed back a day to Sunday, Aug. 29 and assigned a 5:30 p.m. kickoff.

Werder Bremen’s home game against Hansa Rostock in the second tier will be Aug. 29 with a 1:30 p.m. start.

That will delay travel of Leipzig midfielder Tyler Adams and Werder Bremen forward Josh Sargent, both regular starters on the U.S. national team.

The Americans are to train in Nashville, Tennessee, in Aug. 30 and 31 before flying to El Salvador for their opening World Cup qualifier on Sept. 2. They return to Nashville to play Canada on Sept. 5, then play at Honduras on Sept. 8.

Europe-based players will then return to their clubs for league matches on Sept. 11.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, three World Cup qualifiers are being crammed into several FIFA international fixture windows designed for two.

There will be three more qualifiers from Oct. 7-13, two from Nov. 12-16, three from Jan. 27-Feb. 2 and three from March 24-30.

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