England to play pre-World Cup friendlies in Miami but not against USA

Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and England will play a pair of pre-World Cup friendlies in Miami but not against the USA. (Cal Sport Images/AP) The English

Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and England will play a pair of pre-World Cup friendlies in Miami but not against the USA. (Cal Sport Images/AP)

The English national team will play friendlies against Honduras and Ecuador in Miami as part of its pre-World Cup training camp there, but England will not meet the U.S. national team, a U.S.-based source with knowledge of the plans told SI.com on Thursday.

U.S. Soccer and England’s FA had discussed arranging a friendly, the source said, but talks broke down in part because of logistics: England wanted the game to take place in Florida or on the East Coast, while the U.S. wanted it to happen on the West Coast (closer to where the U.S.’s pre-World Cup camp is likely to take place).