The USMNT moved into its temporary home in Irvine on Monday, where the players “found thousands of new Southern California neighbors waiting in line to watch them kick a ball.” The City of Irvine held a raffle for passes to see the team train in its only public workout. About 32,000 people applied and 5,500 received access on a warm Monday morning to watch the team “rush through a light 45-minute practice.” The practice was notable because it was the “first at Championship Soccer Stadium,” about 50 miles southeast of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, where the USMNT will open its World Cup on Friday against Paraguay (L.A. TIMES, 6/8). Players took the field at Orange County’s Championship Soccer Stadium on Monday to the “cheers of several thousand fans who had turned out just to watch a mere practice,” and were given “yet another reminder of just how special this opportunity will be if they seize it.” The fans “stood in lengthy security lines at this sprawling athletic complex for an up-close morning look at a team that isn’t among the favorites” (AP, 6/8).
USMNT greeted by thousands of fans for training session in Irvine
