There will be no winter showdown between the U.S. Men’s National Team and Mexico in World Cup qualifying next year, but they will be meeting soon enough.
The U.S. will take on Mexico on March 26th Mexico, and on Sept. 10th in the United States in the Hexagonal Round of World Cup qualifying.
CONCACAF held the draw on Wednesday and revealed that the U.S. will travel to Honduras for their opening match, on Feb. 6th, and close out qualifying in October with a trip to Panama.
Here is the full USMNT World Cup Qualifying Schedule:
Feb. 6th- at Honduras
March 22nd- vs. Costa Rica
March 26th- at Mexico
June 7th- at Jamaica
June 11th- vs. Panama
June 18th- vs. Honduras
Sept. 6th- at Costa Rica
Sept. 10th- vs. Mexico
Oct. 11th- vs. Jamaica
Oct. 15th- at Panama
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Here are some thoughts on the draw:
Opening at Honduras is a tough one and could lead to the scrapping of the regular early January training camp. Having three road games out of the first four is a tough start, but getting through that with six or more points would bode well for a good finish.
The U.S. finishes with four of six home games to end things. That’s favorable, but the U.S. won’t want to have to head to Panama needing a result in the finale.
The Mexico dates aren’t bad for the U.S. The March 26th date means the U.S. will have European players in mid-season form and MLS players already into their season. The Sept. 10th home date doesn’t offer up the weather factor of past USA-Mexico home games, but it should be noted the United States beat Mexico in September of 2005 in Hexagonal qualifying.
The tricky part for that trip to Mexico will be that it comes just four days after the U.S. plays Costa Rica at home. The Americans could be tired from a tough game against the Costa Ricans.
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What do you think of the draw?
Share your thoughts below.
Anyone have a feel for the number of US fans that will be in Panama and what the environment would be like?
Hartford! Hartford! Hartford! Great stadium for soccer. Right in between Boston and New York.
Mexico will come out in first, Honduras in second and it will be a close one between U.S and Costa Rica for third.
U.S and Mexico should be played at the Rose Bowl again so that Mexico can dominate again!
This is a tough hex – no real games here where you feel like your playing a minnow.
CONCACAF is definitely improving.
I still think the US and Mexico’s home form will still carry the day and they will be able to get enough draws on the road, while the other four will be slugging it out for 3rd and 4th (keep in mind that 4th place this cycle plays against the Oceania champ which is much easier than 5th place of CONMEBOL).
This is interesting: the Jamaica-Mexico match will be on June 4, three days before the Jamaica-US match. Reggae Boyz got enough legs for that?
All I know is that we need playmakers and whether you like it or not ADU is a playmaker…read the article before you say anything!!!
http://www.worldsoccersource.com/?p=2445
Mexico plays Honduras immediately preceding both of the US-Mexico matches, including @ Honduras on 3/22 prior to Mex-US on 3/26. US plays Costa Rica in the games preceding Mexico. This works out better for the US, I think, since Honduras is generally tougher than the Ticos. Maybe Honduras will rough up El Tri for us, and/or give us some good game film to study.
Also, the US-Mexico matches are each on the second leg of the two-game set, meaning that the US won’t have a quick turnaround after the two biggest matches. And I think the team generally plays better in the second leg of two-game sets. (May be an advantage for El Tri as well, I don’t know.)
First, we will not play in the Pacific Northwest. Great support, great venues in Portland and Seattle but no way in heck Klinsmann or Gulati want our guys to play on turf or temporary grass. Just not going to happen or it would have already. That said, in terms of leveraging our advantage, here our my predictions:
3/22 – vs. Costa Rica @ PPL Park – Chester, PA
All of our matches ought to be at soccer-specific stadia in my opinion. Control the crowd, create a strong pro-US environment. Here, leverage the weather advantage (and the relative lack of Costa Ricans in Philly compared with some other potential home field sites) for us. Great venue, cold weather.
6/11 – vs. Panama @ Livestrong Sporting Park – Kansas City, KS
Looked great against Guatemala. Should be a great US crowd. Panama is, I believe, the strongest team in our group outside Mexico and we need to play them in the venue that gives us the best chance to win. Livestrong fits the bill.
6/18 – vs. Honduras @ Rio Tinto Stadium – Sandy, UT
This is one that could go several places. I think the USSF will stick to SSS so long as qualification is in question and Sandy hosted last time; it’s relatively close to Kansas so the US won’t have far to travel (I’m assuming the US will stick together and have a camp between the Panama and Honduras games with only 7 days separating them).
9/10 vs. Mexico @ Columbus Crew Stadium – Columbus, OH
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. With the US Supporters Club and a decent season ticket base now fully in place, I expect a stronger pro-US crowd than last time.
10/11 vs. Jamaica @ BBVA Stadium – Houston, TX
The only game Houston has a shot at hosting and I think the USSF is going to want to reward Houston for building such a great venue. While it would be nice to take advantage of the colder weather up north, stadiums in Hartford or the New York area would be within driving distance of HUGE Jamaican diaspora populations (and NYRB’s season ticket base would likely not do as well as Houston’s in bringing in pro-US fans).
If the US has qualification sewn up by the time we play Mexico and/or Jamaica, I would expect the game to be played at Cowboys Stadium (Mexico) and MetLife Stadium (Jamaica) for the money grab.
This schedule works out OK for us. I’d rather back-end the home games, rather than playing for points on the road. Also, away games in the summer mean high heat and humidity, which favors the locals. The winter-spring road games balance the field a bit for us.
I like where NC Jeff is going w/ the altitude prep at Rio Tinto…aside from that I don’t agree on much.
March 22nd- vs. Costa Rica – Salt Lake City (altitude training as NC Jeff said)
June 11th- vs. Panama – Philly (good fan-base would minimize opposing fans, historic, easy to get to for fans in other east coast cities)
June 18th- vs. Honduras – Kansas City (best home field aside from Crew Stadium for 2nd toughest opponent)
Sept. 10th- vs. Mexico – Columbus (no need to explain)
Oct. 11th- vs. Jamaica – Chicago (final home game, cool weather, big stadium, big crowd, home of USSF, vs. smallest immigrant population of any hex opponents)
March 22nd- vs. Costa Rica – Columbus, OH (minimizes travel from Europe) or Salt Lake City … altitude prep. for next game … @ Azteca.
June 11th- vs. Panama – Kansas City
June 18th- vs. Honduras – Boston (again, reduced travel back to clubs for Euro. players)
Sept. 10th- vs. Mexico – Nashville
Oct. 11th- vs. Jamaica – Raleigh (once again, reduced travel and yes forgive me dreaming for a min.) or Philly
i think something people are leaving out here is that our home clash with mexico is our third to last game in hex qualifying. if they continue to play as well as they have they will probably already be through to the cup. i could see us seeing somewhere between an A team and a B team for that game. however, if we do manage to get a point or 3 in azteca, we’ll probably see a revengeful mexican side for that game trying to send a message.
One should also consider flying time and time zones (jet lag/travel fatigue) on our players in addition to how cool it would be to have a game close for certain fans. Mexico plays at Azteca every time to increase their chances of winning at home. So, a pro US crowd is essential and I would argue making the travel/jet lag as painless on the players is equally important. A lot of our guys are European based and adjusting to a 5 or 6 hr time change coming from England or Germany/Holland/Italy/Etc. for shorter camps should be weighed. Our opponents, with few exceptions, have fewer players traveling from great distances in many cases. I travel internationally for my job and it is hard enough just to be awake and think some times the more drastic the time zone changes, let alone I imagine competing in a top class sporting event. It can affect your sleep cycle and your perceived fitness levels, depending on the individuals.
Way, way too many Mexicans in WA state to play the game in Seattle.
The stadium would be a 50/50 split.
A Mexico-US friendly in Seattle would be awesome though.
I agree also no pointyball venues for the fall games!
@ Honduras
vs. Costa Rica – Phoenix or Utah –>
@ Mexico
@ Jamaica
vs. Panama – KC
vs. Honduras – Seattle
@ Costa Rica –>
vs. Mexico – Columbus
vs. Jamaica – PPL Philly/RFK –>
@ Panama
Playing at altitude before azteca could be good, but AZ could hold a good game plus with baseball spring training happening there will be tons of travel deals
As for the summer dates, i love the 3 back to back games. Absolutly have to use that oppurtunity to go west. After the last game non-MLS players will either be going to the Gold Cup or vacation or early training camps. Its hard to get a home field vs Honduras anywhere in the US; this is Seattle’s time to take over
In the fall its business time and no throwball stadiums. Close to the atlantic and venues we have won in before
Ives, I know I could find it on the Concacaf site, but why hasn’t the schedule for ALL of the teams been published by you. I think it would be interesting to see who is playing who at what locations.
The game vs. Mexico should be in Seattle. That’s all there is to it.
We won in 2009 at Honduras because of Conor Casey. I think we need a similar man this time around. We might just need Camp Cupcake.
As I mentioned on another thread, I think this schedule will make Klinsi earn his paycheck quickly. Tough start followed by an easier finish.
OK. I’ll say it. We don’t have any winter games when that is our clearest home field advantage, and both of our games against Mexico are on short rest. What gives?
Its a random draw and there are no winter dates. The hexagonal doesn’t start until March and the draw for Brazil is 13 months away (dang time flies). However, the Gold Cup is next summer and Mexico is going to the Confederations Cup, that’s a lot of football for their regulars once European and Mexican leagues start again in August. Could play into our hands.
The Hex starts in February but we were drawn away to Honduras for that fixture. A March game at Rio Tinto could produce cold and it’s altitude
This is how I feel it should go with sites:
3/22-Costa Rica should be in Hartford. Friday night game, people will take 1/2 days from NY, Boston, Albany, Hartford, and the rest of New England.
6/11-Panama should be in Portland. Timers Army is great and will get up for a Tuesday night game and could give the players a boost especially after finishing brutal seasons over in Europe.
6/18- Honduras should be in Seattle. I think 68,000 screaming US fans (or a huge majority) would happen. They’ve been salivating for a WCQ game and this is their shot. Also this is the US’ chance to pick up a big 6 within 8 days, make teams travel 5,000+ miles to play a road game whereas the US would only have to travel a few hundred.
9/10-Mexico should be in Columbus. Only distinct home field advantage in the US for the Yanks against el Tri.
10/11-Jamaica should be in Kansas City. Great place to watch soccer and the US played very well in their final game of the last stage. Also might be the 2nd biggest home field advantage in the US for the Yanks.
The Portland / Seattle back to back is genius..
someone tell Gulati it’s a good idea
Thank you. I’m from the Northeast and I see NFL and MLS teams go to Seattle, and in the NBA Portland, and have a difficult time, usually losing too. The only downside is that the US has to play in Kingston 4 on June 7th. The travel from Kingston to Portland is still closer for the US over the trip from Panama City to Portland for the Panama team. I think the US could have that camp in Florida, go to Jamaica, and then fly to Portland, and then treat the Portland/Seattle area like home for 10 days and come home with 9 points.
In theory it sounds great. But there is no way, and this can’t be said enough, absolutely no way the US will play a qualifier on turf. They don’t need to, they don’t have to, and they shouldn’t. They shouldn’t play on grass laid over artificial turf either.
There are plenty of other options that would have a great home field advantage aside from there.
If there was grass playing surface at both places…that would be epic.
I agree, that’s actually a good idea.
1) it minimizes travel for the USMNT, and maximizes it for the visiting one.
2) its at the end of the season, so that extra travel for the Euro-based players isn’t as grueling since they don’t have to worry about a trans-continental and trans-Atlantic flight to get back to their clubs.
3) its in the NFL offseason, so they could lay down some temp grass (if they please) to alleviate concerns of playing on turf.
4) you will get the great home field advantage that the NE has promised for a US match, and the Seattle match could go 50k+ which would generate some extra revenue.
Its a good idea – I’m sure it won’t happen LOL!
I would put one of the June games in FL and set up a camp. Easy to fly down to JAM from FL also. Maybe JAX again? 40-50k people for Panama or Honduras would look good to USSF.
Agreed
No way. Why would you make it even easier for opposing fans to travel? Florida is a non-starter.
Why would we put a qualy at RFK where 50,000 Hondurans can easily show up? We have done that before.
I am pretty confident there will be a game in FL during the Hex. USSF seemed to like Jacksonville and they filled up that NFL stadium for Scotland. The Hex is a balance of competitive and financial decisions. Not every home game in the hex is going to be played in a 20,000 seat stadium.
Couldn’t agree more. Mexico game should be in Columbus.
As for venues I think PPL or Portland would be great for Costa Rica. I could see Jeld-Wen getting behind a US team. Let’s all pray that USSF doesn’t go for the easy money and put the Mexico game in Houston or something like that. It would sell out, and 85% would be Mexican fans.
The start is difficult and the finish is soft. Worst case scenario is 1-3 points after 4 matches, then we will need a miracle. Winning at Honduras would be huge to get out of the blocks, because you can’t expect points from Azteca and Jamaica has already beaten us once. Anywhere between 6-9 points from the first 4 games is acceptable and more would be awesome.
I wouldn’t bank on Jamaica taking 3 points again. Possible, sure…but it is anything but set in stone.
It hopefully won’t happen again, but any road game in this region is a worrying game. They don’t mean to be hospitable.
What do you think?
March 22 USA v CRC – Rio Tinto
June 11 USA v Pam – Crew
June 18 USA v Hon – LiveStrong
Sept 10 USA v Mex – Soldier
Oct 11 USA v Jam – RFK
I like it , but we won’t have the homefield advantage in Soldier field, the whole stadium would look like laid GRASS if you know what I mean, we will be playing in Chicano,Illinois.
Despite the monetary potential, I just don’t see USSF risking putting Mexico in a big stadium in a large population center
Mexico in Chicago??? Yeah….no.
I’d love to see the US in Chicago, living there and all. But no chance. It would be 85% Mexican and 15% US and that’s being generous.
I live in Chicago myself, and I think even the 85/15 split is generous. I was at the ’07 Gold Cup final, and in the stadium it felt like a 95/5 split.
I think during WCQs we need to focus on venueus that will minimize travel for our USMNT and maximize a home field advantage. Not on revenue, use friendlies to generate dollars (playing in big stadiums).
I like the idea of playing in Seattle or Portland, but only in the summer when they can do something about the turf (temp grass) and the Euro-based players don’t have the extra travel during the season.
mexico/usa in chicago!?! come on man, use your head.
Costa Rica in Philly in March at PPL. still cold enough. small, rabid, pro USA crowd.
Love it
I’m from Columbus…It wont be cold. Could have a summer like day that early in Sept.
There are indications that the home game against Mexico won’t be in Columbus.
Never until the streak ends.
Not an friendly schedule. Could put us in a hole early on. I like the suggestion of playing Mexico in Seattle. They would hate playing on turf. Is that legal?
I THINK FIFA requires that natural grass be placed on top of any artificial turf for qualifiers
I know you are wrong. FIFA requires matches to be played on approved surfaces. It’s not a huge list, but it does include Seattle and Portland.
“not a huge list” of artificial surfaces
http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/marketing/qualityprogramme/footballturf/pitchesproducts/search.html?cf=23914&st=2
The list. Not saying grass isn’t better, but the USMNT can use Portland and Seattle as venues. Given the crowds both those teams draw, it will be a shame if one of them doesn’t get to host a qualifier.
All I know is we don’t want to be caught NAKED defending in the back or in our overall play with any of the teams, because all of them can beat us on a good day at home and a slightly good chance in our home stadiums.
Russia just played portugal on artificial turf
I agree with everyone on needing 7 points from the 1st 3 matches, so I’ll focus more on where I think we should be playing.
I think the Northwest’s best chance of getting a game is Costa Rica in March, simply because they’re in the same time zone already as Mexico, so slap some grass over the turf at the Link and let Seattle show ’em whats up!
I would love to see Panama in Hartford in June. Easily accessible to no fewer than 7 supporters group chapters, but just annoying enough to get to from the population centers that it could keep the opposition support down. Rentschler Field holds 40,000 and drew a near sellout for the Send-Off Series in 2010.
My gut is telling me the final 3 games will play out as Hondouras (6/18) at Rio Tinto due to the games stand-alone nature and a chance to neutralize the opposition support, Mexico (9/10) in Columbus because why fix what isn’t broken, and Jamaica (10/11) at Livestrong. It gives proven home advantages for the final 3 home matches so hopefully they can wrap it up before the last game on the road.
Sounds good to me
Looks like a hard schedule, if we don’t win convincingly then we are group stage in a World Cup.
bout time the USMNT comes back to Chicago.
agreed, though it can’t be Honduras or Mexico-both had 95% of the fans last time they played in chicago… maybe Jamaica or Panama will be OK
Jamaica would be a good idea, not that many here in Chi-town. There’s a decent Central American continegent here, including Panamanians, so I’m not sure if that’s a great idea either.
I’d love to see it though, but if its a weekday game at Toyota Park (which isn’t ideally located) I don’t think you’ll get much of a crowd period.
Why is it that the early February tilt in Honduras could scrap Jan Camp? Considering the Jan Campers are made up primarily of MLS’ers, Scandinavian leaguers, and Jermaine Jones if he’s on a long term suspension (couldn’t resist) it seems like there would be heavy turnover from one camp to the next. How is it that 7-10 days of training followed by maybe a single game around January 19 is a problem. It would also give the offseason MLS’ers like Zusi and E.J. a chance to get a little fitness before Feb. 6.
im not sure honduras on the road is a must win, but four points from the first two would be good and six would be great. my guess is costa rica gets a game in new england in late march, panama in RFK, honduras in kc, mexico in seattle, and jam rock at rio tinto
anyone wanna sponsor me so that I can head to the Mexico match? I’m set to move to L.A. in May so all my cash is tied up in that
Start a Kickstarter for it. I’ve seen much, much stranger goals funded and getting more fans to a major WC qualifier should be a more worthy Kickstarter than say a woman’s fake breast.
3 pts at Honduras is an absolute must.
Why do you think so? It seems to me like 1 point would be grudgingly acceptable.
I get it now. That first four could leave us in a real hole.
Because Costa Rica and Mexico will be getting 3 points there…
Not a sure thing, they gang raped the Canadians in San Pedro Sula it was just nasty. However, don’t expect the same for the “Tics”
The name you gave with his comment is too much at 9am. LOL
Send Costa Rica up to Columbus in March.
Is that mexico game in september for sure going to be in columbus?
No…but yes, it will be.
Not according to an indication given to Mexican media by Copean after the draw in Miami. He stated the US may not play Mexico in Columbus depending on where they stood after the first rounds of the Hex.
My picks…
3/22 Costa Rica in Boston (well, Foxborough)
6/11 Panama in Chicago
6/18 Honduras in Kansas City
9/10 Mexico in Columbus
10/11 Jamaica in DC
I can’t wait for the announcement for venues.
We p=layed Jamaica in DC in 1997…tied 1-1 with a crazy Jamaican crowd….look elsewhere.
We also beat Jamaica 2-0 @ RFK in the Gold Cup in 2011. That crowd was appropriately xenophobic. While not the sexiest stadium, RFK draws good American support as long as we’re not playing El Salvador (or to a lesser extent other Central American teams).
we played them in 2011 in DC and the crowd was very pro-American. was a fun game to be at.
It was a Salvadoran crowd rooting for the US.
Is @ Mexico game March 22 or 26? Was previously tweeted as the 22th!?
Feb. 6th- at Honduras
March 22nd- vs. Costa Rica– Seattle?
March 26th- at Mexico
June 7th- at Jamaica
June 11th- vs. Panama— Kansas City?
June 18th- vs. Honduras— RFK?
Sept. 6th- at Costa Rica
Sept. 10th- vs. Mexico— Columbus?
Oct. 11th- vs. Jamaica— Home Depot Center?
Oct. 15th- at Panama
RFK vs. Honduras in a qualifier was a nightmare in 2001…
yes it was. I was there. Maybe Panama at RFK, but that’s the only one I’d play there, if any.
They’re never going to do WCQ games in Seattle (artificial turf). And as much as I’d love to see a game locally in DC, there are so many better soccer-specific stadiums in this country, not to mention the large Honduran population in the DC area.
RFK against Honduras?!?!? are you INSANE?!
Is it cold in columbus in September? (for the mexico game)
No, the weather in Columbus will be in the 70s with a 30% chance of rain.
Correction high of 69 low of 57
They should play that game in Alaska
How about Guam for MX?
Ha! That was the first thing that I thought too!!! Is there a stadium in Anchorage? Seriously, may as well take every advantage we have.
Nothing more than our rec fields. Got a couple hockey arenas though!
Oh man, the Nats could easily be at only 1point after the first 3 qualifiers.
With our away form, having the first 3 matches on the road could be problematic. We need results in Honduras and our return match at The Office in Jamaica.
Sorry, meant first 3 of 4 matches.
Ya this is about as bad as the draw could have been.
with the way things are shakey in our defensive and issues scoring up front, I really don’t care where we play but more concern with how many wins are we going to come away with, especially since Panama, Jamaica and Honduras have the ability to surprise us at any given time. (I’m gonna leave Mexico alone)
The only positives of this draw are playing Mexico at home in the second tie, and not playing them in a must-win game in October. It will be a pleasant surprise if we have four points (1-1-2) after Game 4 at Jam. Two points (0-2-0) seems more likely given our history of slow starts and lack of presence on the road. I join FIFA in hoping we can scrape through.
My wallet/liver/lungs are ready.
Yeah baby!!!
fixed before i posted…thanks
When will venues be decided?
Yes please…I’m also curious in venues….any in Chicago or Houston?
No way they’ll have ANY of these games in Houston or Chicago, they need to just stick to Columbus and KC. A game in Houston wouldn’t be a home game for the Stars & Stripes, unfortunately.
Against Jamaica it would be – but the other sides would outdraw the US in Houston.