An interview with New York City FC head coach Pascal Jansen conducted by Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant includes an interesting note: That the Netherlands national team will conduct some of its World Cup preparations at the NYCFC training facility in Orangeburg, New York.
Oranje being in New York is not news, as the national soccer federation of the Netherlands announced plans in early May to play a friendly against Uzbekistan at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island.
The friendly is, unfortunately, set to be played behind closed doors, and remains scheduled for Monday, June 8 at 2:45 pm ET, the last preparatory match for the Dutch before they travel to Kansas City, Missouri, the site of their World Cup base camp.
Andrew Leigh
Netherlands-Uzbekistan is the highest-profile match held at the 5,000-capacity track-and-field stadium since it got a multi-million-dollar renovation funded by NYCFC in 2024 that included installing a brand-new grass soccer pitch inside the running track.
That the New York City FC training facility in Rockland County is the base of operations for Ronald Koeman and his squad upon their first arrival in the United States was not previously known, at least not in these parts.
The Dutch national team's itinerary, according to their official website, sees the squad fly out of the Netherlands on Thursday, June 4, then hold what they call a "pre-camp" from Friday, June 5, through Monday, June 8, culminating with that Randall's Island friendly.
They didn't specify where that pre-camp was in their announcements around the Uzbekistan friendly, but it looks as though it will be at the usual home of NYCFC and Pascal Jansen. This will be the second World Cup team to do some of its pre-tournament training at the facility that officially goes by Etihad City Football Academy New York.
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Saudi Arabia held trainings at the NYCFC campus before they played Ecuador in a friendly at Sports Illustrated Stadium on the night of Saturday, May 30. While not officially a part of any of the base camps at this World Cup, the training center in Orangeburg is still getting some use from teams competing at the tournament as they pass through the illustrious New York/New Jersey region.
The Netherlands just lost their send-off friendly back at home, falling 1-0 to Algeria at De Kuip in Rotterdam, the usual home of Eredivisie club Feyenoord. Not the most positive way to walk onto your plane bound for the United States, but maybe some time spent practicing in the suburban greenery of Rockland County will brighten the moods of Virgil van Dijk and Co.
