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CHICAGO (AP) — The United States will prepare for the World Cup with home exhibition games against Azerbaijan, Turkey and Nigeria.
The U.S. Soccer Federation says the 13th-ranked Americans will host No. 93 Azerbaijan at San Francisco's Candlestick Park on May 27, then play No. 42 Turkey at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., on June 1. The U.S. faces No. 47 Nigeria at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Fla., on June 7 before heading to Brazil and the American base camp in Sao Paulo.
Of the three opponents, only Nigeria is headed to the World Cup. The U.S. played Turkey four years ago in its final home game before going to South Africa.
The Americans have the longest first-round travel schedule of the 32 nations. They open against Ghana on June 16 at Recife, face Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal six days later in the Amazon rain forest city of Manaus and close the group stage against Germany on June 26 at Recife. They will return to Sao Paulo between games.
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