All you need to know ahead of the first friendly in the USA

Bring it on, D.C.! Two days after arriving in Washington for the Audi Summer Tour 2022, FC Bayern will play their first pre-season friendly. In the early hours of Thursday, at 01:30 CEST, Julian Nagelsmann's team will play MLS club D.C. United at Audi Field. Find out all you need to know about the match in our preview:

Check out the images from FC Bayern's first day of training in Washington.

The situation for FC Bayern

"I'm happy to be here and I'm looking forward to playing in front of the American fans," announced Alphonso Davies at the press conference ahead of the friendly against United and Paul Wanner is "really looking forward to the friendly against D.C. in a cool stadium". Their anticipation is symptomatic of the mood in the German record champions' team. Following the transfers of Noussair Mazraoui, Ryan Gravenberch, Sadio Mané and most recently Matthijs de Ligt - all of whom could make their debut in Washington - there's a mood of optimism. Head coach Nagelsmann, meanwhile, confirmed that it is still being decided whether defender de Ligt "can get a few minutes in" against D.C.". Either way, the US fans will be delighted and will support the men from Munich enthusiastically - as they demonstrated during the final training session at Audi Field. Every goal - not just Benjamin Pavard's sensational bicycle kick - was cheered on by the packed crowd, and chants of "Super Bayern" echoed around the arena.

In the morning, local time, the men from Munich took to the pitch in Washington for the first time:

The opponents: D.C. United

In Washington, the men from Munich will come up against opponents who should be on top of their game and will therefore demand everything of the Reds. The MLS season runs from March to December, so coach Wayne Rooney's team are right in the middle of their campaign. The former Manchester United and D.C. United player took over the helm at Washington earlier this month, but is not yet allowed to take a seat on the dugout due to a lack of a work visa. With 19 of 34 games played, the Capitals are currently bottom of the Eastern Conference with 18 points.

Find out all you need to know about D.C. United here:

Team news for D.C. United vs. FC Bayern

Nagelsmann will be without Leon Goretzka, who has undergone successful surgery on his left knee. The boss hasn't yet decided whether new signing de Ligt will play. The squad for the Audi Summer Tour in the USA also includes the three youth players Jakob Mayer, David Herold and Lucas Copado from the FC Bayern reserves.

Team news, tactics and more - watch Julian Nagelsmann's press conference again:

Julian Nagelsmann on:

D.C. United: "We don't have that many games in pre-season. That's why it's an important game for us. The first game against Leipzig is fast approaching. We're trying to incorporate a few things we've been doing in training."

The Audi Summer Tour: "With so few sessions, it's important that we manage the workload well. If the basic formation changes a little, then even as Bayern Munich it takes a few training sessions together to get used to it. Basically, of course, I would have preferred to stay at home, but I understand why we're here. Nevertheless, I think that other clubs do a lot more travelling than we do, so the club does do a good job of respecting the coach's wishes. We've essentially found a good way to combine business and sport."