United States to meet Ecuador in friendly

CHICAGO, Jan 20 (Reuters) The United States will meet Ecuador in a friendly as part of their preparations for the Copa America, the US Soccer Federation announced.

The game is scheduled to be played on March 25 in Tampa, Florida during a FIFA match window, and will give interim U.S.

head coach Bob Bradley the opportunity to field a squad that includes European based players.

''Ecuador will provide an excellent opportunity to prepare for the upcoming tournaments this summer,'' said Bradley in a statement yesterday. ''As we all saw in the 2006 World Cup, Ecuador is a great team, and getting matches against quality opponents will only help to strengthen our group.'' Ecuador advanced to the last 16 of the World Cup in Germany before losing to England and have lost only once in nine meetings with the U.S.

The Americans play their first match since last year's World Cup in Los Angeles on Saturday when they take on Denmark.

The US has also scheduled friendlies against CONCACAF rivals Mexico on Feb. 7 in Phoenix and Guatemala on March 28 in Dallas.

REUTERS PM KP1003