SIDELINES : U.S. World Cup Soccer Team to Play for First Time in East Berlin

The United States will play its first-ever soccer match against East Germany on March 28 in East Berlin’s Jahn Stadium, the U.S. Soccer Federation said today.

The U.S. team, in the World Cup for the first time since 1950, has scheduled eight international matches during February and March as preparation for the 24-team tournament, which begins in June. Poland also wanted to play the United States on March 28.

“Although we had other possibilities for opponents, the opportunity to play in East Berlin was one we could not pass up, given the recent developments in Eastern Europe,” said Sunil Gulati, chairman of the USSF’s international games committee.

The U.S. team, which has not played since its 1-0 victory at Trinidad and Tobago on Nov. 19 that put it in the World Cup, opens its 1990 schedule on Friday in the Marlboro Cup of Miami. The United States plays Costa Rica on Friday and either Uruguay or Colombia on Sunday.

The U.S. team opens its World Cup schedule on June 10 against Czechoslovakia at Florence, Italy.