When goalie Tim Howard and the American men need to kick their soccer into high gear, they know exactly where to go: Denver.

So the next big steps toward qualifying for the 2018 World Cup will be taken in Colorado, as the U.S. men’s national team has decided to play Trinidad and Tobago at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Formal announcement of the game, scheduled for June 8, is expected Monday.

More than a reward for local soccer fans, the selection of Denver was a strategic move by USMNT coach Bruce Arena. With players returning from overseas from European clubs, as well as MLS stars such as Howard reporting to camp, the U.S. squad is scheduled to begin training May 29 in the thin air of Colorado.

Playing at altitude could offer the American side a distinct home-field advantage against Trinidad and Tobago, a dual-island Caribbean nation of 1.3 million people. Perhaps even more important, the extensive conditioning period in Denver figures to increase the U.S. squad’s fitness for a quick-turnaround road match June 11 in Mexico, whose Azteca Stadium is notorious for sitting at 7,280 feet above sea level and being filled with nasty pollution, as well as passionate supporters.

“Our goal is to win both games. And it certainly won’t be easy,” Arena told me.

Team USA has been re-energized under the direction of Arena, who replaced longtime coach Jurgen Klinsmann after the Americans stumbled to a 0-2 start in the final round of qualifying for next year’s World Cup in Russia.

The steady hand of the 65-year-old Arenas confidently removed anxious fingers from the panic button, by guiding the team to a 6-0 rout of Honduras and earning a point with a 1-1 tie at Panama during the first CONCACAF Hexagonal action of his second stint as the U.S. manager.

“It changed everything for the better,” Arena said during a telephone interview. “We found out we have good depth of talent. We have a number of players who want to lead. And they’re all highly motivated to play in the World Cup.”

The USMNT has fond (and frigid) memories of Colorado. On the third day of spring in 2013, the struggling Americans arrived at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park desperately in search of a victory against Costa Rica, and instead got hit in the teeth with a wicked blast from a nasty storm. But they also were blessed with an early goal by Clint Dempsey that stood up in a blizzard as the second half raged on. Costa Rica was not amused. But the controversial result will forever live in U.S. soccer lore as the “Snow Clasico.”

The same Rapids stadium where a U.S. team in trouble four years ago got the ball rolling for a World Cup berth in Brazil will be back at center stage in June, and Rapids standout Howard should also play a key role.

After a lengthy recovery from a groin injury, Howard returned as a starter for Team USA against both Honduras and Panama. Although the veteran goalie celebrated his 38th birthday last month, Howard proved he is not done yet.

“I don’t think he’s playing another 10 years,” Arena said. “But Tim Howard is certainly capable of being the U.S. goalkeeper at the next World Cup.”