The U.S. soccer team will hang out with the smart set ahead of the World Cup.
The U.S. Soccer Federation says the Americans will train at Princeton in New Jersey next month rather than Cary, N.C., where they practiced ahead of the 2002 and 2006 tournaments,
U.S. coach Bob Bradley, who replaced Bruce Arena after the 2006 World Cup, is a 1980 graduate of Princeton, leading the Tigers soccer team in scoring as a senior in 1979.
He led Princeton to a pair of Ivy League titles as coach from 1984-95, helping the Tigers reach the 1993 NCAA Final Four, before resigning to become an assistant to Arena in D.C. United's first season and with the 1996 U.S. Olympic team.
Practices at Princeton will be closed to the public.
U.S. players will start reporting May 15, take physicals the following day and begin workouts May 17. Preparing for their sixth straight World Cup appearance, the Americans have exhibitions against the Czech Republic on May 25 at East Hartford, Conn., and Turkey four days later at Philadelphia, then leave for South Africa the following day.
The U.S. plays Australia in an exhibition at Roodepoort on June 5, then opens the World Cup on June 12 in its first official match against England since the Americans' 1-0 upset victory in the first round of the 1950 World Cup. The U.S. closes the first round against Slovenia on June 18 and Algeria on June 23.
If the Americans advance for the first time since 2002, they would play Germany, Serbia, Ghana or Australia in the second round.
