US Soccer cancels men’s and women’s national team matches

CHICAGO (AP) — The U.S. Soccer Federation canceled exhibitions in March and April for its men’s and women’s national teams but says for now the under-23 men’s team will remain in Mexico for Olympic qualifying.

The men had been scheduled to play the Netherlands in Eindhoven on March 26 and Wales four days later in Cardiff, preparation for the scheduled start of World Cup qualifying in September.

The women had been slated to face Australia at Sandy, Utah, on April 10 and Brazil four days later at San Jose, California, as they get ready for the Olympics this summer.

The under-23 men’s team is in Guadalajara for the Olympic qualifying tournament of North and Central America and the Caribbean. The U.S. is to meet Haiti in an exhibition on March 13, then plays Costa Rica on March 20, the Dominican Republic three days later and Mexico on March 26. The top two teams in each group advance to the semifinals on March 30. The semifinal winners represent CONCACAF at the16-nation men’s Olympic tournament.

The next scheduled match for the men’s national team is against Honduras in Houston on June 4 in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Nations League.

Also Thursday, Major League Soccer suspended its season for 30 days and CONCACAF suspended matches in the CONCACAF Champions League, which is in the first leg of its quarterfinal stage.