US soccer to play Venezuela in June 5 exhibition in DC

CHICAGO (AP) — The U.S. soccer team will play Jamaica on June 5 in the first of two warmup matches for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, four days before meeting Venezuela in Cincinnati.

The match, announced Thursday, will be the first for the Americans at D.C. United’s Audi Field, which opened last year. The U.S. has played 24 games at Washington’s RFK Stadium, its most at any venue.

The U.S. opens the Gold Cup against Guyana on June 18 at St. Paul, Minnesota, the first competitive match for the Americans in 20 months since their loss at Trinidad and Tobago caused them to miss the 2018 World Cup. The U.S. will play T&T on June 22 at Cleveland and complete Group D against Panama on June 26 at Kansas City, Kansas.

The Gold Cup is the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean, and the U.S. is the defending champion.