Since 2013, MNUFC has played six international friendly matches against clubs from Canada, Mexico, England and Wales. As Minnesota United prepares to host Atlas FC of Liga MX this Saturday, let’s take a look back at the club’s international matches of years past.
FC Edmonton (Canada/NASL) | July 17, 2013
During the summer break of the NASL season, the Loons welcomed league opponent FC Edmonton to NSC Stadium in Blaine. The Eddies got off to a quick start and nearly punished the Loons for a few early mistakes. But Minnesota would come charging back with some great attacking play of its own.
The Loons got the opening goal when Brian Kallman curled a long cross to the far post, where Max Griffin was waiting to knock it home. Minnesota secured the win in the second half when Travis Wall flicked a header on to Simone Bracalello for a quick poke over the goalkeeper, making it 2-0.
Mexico U21 (Mexico/International) | July 4, 2014
The following year, the Loons welcomed the young stars of Mexico’s U21 national team. It was a packed house at NSC on Independence Day, and those who were in attendance didn’t have to wait long for fireworks. Miguel Ibarra tracked down a long ball to the endline and flung a cross to the middle of the penalty area. A missed kick by Jamie Watson inadvertently set up a Christian Ramirez shot from the top of the six that trickled past the Mexico goalkeeper to get the Loons on the board in the opening minute.
It was all Minnesota for most of the half, but a foul on the edge of the Loons’ box would give Mexico its opportunity to equalize, with current Tigres player Jorge Espericueta blasting the free kick into the net. Mexico thought it pulled ahead in the second half, but the official deemed it offside.
A few of red cards were handed out after a scuffle between the two squads, leaving Mexico with ten men and Minnesota with nine for the remainder of the match.
Still 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes, the match went straight to penalties. Goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt made a pair of stops and Minnesota netted four of its five shots, with Kevin Venegas tucking home the winner.
Swansea City AFC (Wales/Premier League) | July 19, 2014
The Loons welcomed a Premier League club to Minnesota for the first time a few weeks after its PK victory over the Mexico U21s. There was a huge crowd on hand for the first sellout match in club history. Swansea came out fighting, but once again the Loons would score in the opening minutes. After sending in a cross, defender Justin Davis pounced on a bad touch by a Swansea defender, dribbled past another and placed a perfect shot past Lukas Fabianski to get the Loons on the board. Bafetimbi Gomis nearly leveled the score with a chipped effort, only to be denied by Hildebrandt.
Minnesota doubled up before halftime with a great team goal. A long free kick was flicked on by Bracalello, and headed past a defender by Brian Kallman into the path of Greg Jordan, who blasted the ball off the bounce into the net.
The Loons held on through a second half barrage by Swansea to claim a big win in front of the hometown crowd.
Club Leon (Mexico/Liga MX) | July 18, 2015
After recently being transferred to Club Leon, Miguel Ibarra made his triumphant return to Minnesota for a sendoff match with his former club. He played the first half with the Loons, before swapping kits and joining his new teammates for the second half.
Shortly after Ibarra’s exit in the first half, Leon’s Aldo Rocha struck an incredible volley from outside of the box to get the opening goal for the visitors. La Fiera continued its dominance throughout the match, with only some defensive heroics by Minnesota keeping the match close.
With just four minutes remaining, Brent Kallman cut the ball back inside where Pablo Campos was waiting to blast it into the roof of the net. The late equalizer sent the crowd into a frenzy, with Campos graciously accepting a yellow card for whipping off his jersey in jubilation.
Club Leon (Mexico/Liga MX) | June 25, 2016
Ibarra and Leon returned the following year to face the Loons, this time at Target Field in Minneapolis with over 18,000 fans packed into the baseball venue. The Loons got a few chances early on, but a brilliant header from German Cano got Leon in front at the 25-minute mark. The visitor’s lead doubled with an own goal on the other side of halftime.
The Loons snatched one with a quick shot from Ramirez beating the goalkeeper on the near post. It took MNUFC seven minutes to find the equalizer, with J.C. Banks going top shelf with an inside-foot shot.
Leon rallied in the final minutes, with Juan Cuevas capitalizing on a free kick and a counterattack to claim a 4-2 win.
AFC Bournemouth (England/Premier League) | July 20, 2016
Following a thrilling first season in the Premier League, Bournemouth came to face the Loons as part of its summer tour. The English side controlled much of the match, but Minnesota had moments of brilliance. Ismaila Jome, getting his first bit of playing time for the club, nearly got the Loons on the board with an incredible dipping shot that rang off the upright.
Callum Wilson got the Cherries on the board just one minute after Jome’s shot with a quick hit at the near post. It all went wrong for Minnesota on the restart, with an own goal doubling the lead for Bournemouth. Wilson got his brace in the 39th, banging in a rebound after a long-range effort hit the post.
Minnesota lashed at a few chances for the remainder of the match, but nothing that really tested the Bournemouth goalkeeper. An altercation left both sides with ten men for the final ten minutes of action. The match was capped off by Lewis Grabban, who stole the ball off a defender and finished calmly to make it 4-0.
See the Loons clash with Atlas FC at TCF Bank Stadium this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Get you tickets by visiting MNUFC.COM.
