by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Oct 12, 2016

The USA-New Zealand match drew only 9,012 fans, the lowest ever for a men's national team match at Washington's RFK Stadium. It was also the sixth straight U.S. home friendly game to draw fewer than 10,000 fans.

The previous record in the modern era for the longest string of friendly crowds under 10,000 was five in 1993 when the USA barnstormed under Bora Milutinovic and played everyone (Cayman Islands) and everywhere (Bethlehem, Pa., and High Point, N.C.) in preparation for the 1994 World Cup at home.

The drop in support follows a strong run of big crowds. The previous 13 home friendlies in 2014 and 2015 averaged 33,918 fans.



U.S. Men's Friendly Crowds:

ATT. MATCH LOCATION (DATE)

9,012 USA-New Zealand in Washington, D.C. (Oct. 11, 2016)

8,894 USA-Bolivia Kansas City, Kansas (May 28, 2016)

9,893 USA-Ecuador in Frisco, Texas (May 25, 2016)

9,274 USA-Canada in Carson, Calif. (February 5, 2016)

8,803 USA-Iceland in Carson, Calif. (January 31, 2016)

9,214 USA-Costa Rica in Harrison, N.J. (October 13, 2015)