US football team cancel training camp following airstrike in Iraq that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani

Gregg Berhalter’s side were due to stage a three-week training camp in Doha from Sunday but will not travel to the Middle East due to Friday’s military airstrike and Iran’s vow of ‘severe revenge’

The United States national football team has cancelled a planned training camp in Qatar following the military airstrike in Iraq and the “developing situation in the region”.

A US military airstrike killed top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, the leader of the Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), on Friday at Baghdad International Airport which has prompted Iran to vow “severe revenge” against the show of aggression, initially triggered by an attack on the US embassy in the Iraqi capital earlier this week.

A second reported airstrike overnight on Saturday is claimed to have killed six people north of Baghdad after it hit a convoy of Iraqi militia, according to the Reuters news agency, though the US has denied responsibility for the attack.

But with Americans advised by the US State Department to leave Iraq immediately due to the heightening tensions, the nation’s men’s football team has abandoned a training camp in Doha that was due to begin on Sunday and last for three weeks.

Instead, head coach Gregg Berhalter will put his side through a camp based in the US at a location yet to be decided ahead of their exhibition match against Costa Rica in California on 1 February.

A statement issued by the US Soccer Federation said: “Due to the developing situation in the region, US Soccer has decided to postpone travelling to Qatar for the Men’s National Team’s scheduled January training camp.

“In the meantime, we are working on alternative arrangements in preparation for the match against Costa Rica on February 1 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif.

“We are working with the Qatar Football Association to find an opportunity in the near future for our team to experience Qatar’s world-class facilities and hospitality.”

With the 2022 World Cup due to be staged in Qatar, football officials will be closely monitoring the situation in the Middle East given that the US are expected to qualify for the competition.