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USMNT World Cup qualifier vs. Mexico in Columbus is sold out

ColumbusUSMNTFans (ISIPhotos.com)

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By DAN KARELL

The interest in the U.S. Men’s National Team has never been higher.

Eleven wins in a row and a place at the top of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying group has made the next home qualifier match a must-see, and U.S. Soccer announced on Friday that the game against Mexico on September 10 in Columbus is sold out.

In addition, the U.S. supporters section at Crew Stadium will be 9,000 members strong, three times larger than any other USMNT supporters section in history. With additional seats added by the Crew and U.S. Soccer, Crew Stadium’s capacity is reportedly more than 24,000 seats.

“It’s absolutely huge that the stadium is sold out for USA-Mexico,” USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann said in a statement. “The atmosphere for our game against Jamaica last year was one of the best I have ever seen, and we really need that support when we play our biggest rival. To have more than 9,000 organized supporters there is awesome. We have been working hard for two years to build a great relationship with the fans, and it’s only getting bigger.”

According to U.S. Soccer, nearly 50,000 ticket requests were submitted, more than twice the stadium’s capacity. People who applied for tickets through the lottery phase will find out on Friday whether their request was successful.

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What do you think of this development? Will you be going to Columbus? Think the USMNT can beat Mexico again?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. US Soccer and Columbus Crew are holding Fans hostages!!! Sold Out??? If I beome A Crew
    Season Ticket Holder..Guess what comes with it??? You guess right…..Ticket to NATS vs El Tri!!!
    I have been to last Three WCQ vs El Tri in Columbus and numerous Crew Games..Will be stayin
    away for a long time to come!!! Wish the Boys Well!!! GO NATS!!!

    Reply
  2. I posted this above, but want to share so that some of you would sleep at easy at night:

    “40k or 60k is irrelevant. What is relevant is that the USNT (I drop the M because the women don’t really count) has nearly qualified for the World cup. Here’s how, the magic number for USA is 6 points with Panama, 7 points with Honduras and 8 points with Mexico. Any combination with two of those teams and USNT secures 3rd place and direct qualification. Now when you consider that the USNT plays one game at home against Jamaica that’s 3 points there which brings the equation down to 3,4, and 5 points respectively with those teams. Now, those teams (PN, HN, MX) play each other in the final four games, so that’s at least 3 more point’s each one of those teams will lose at least if there is a winner in each one of those games, one team of those may lose up to 6 points in those games if it were to lose both. Even better is if they draw each other, that’s 4 points each will lose. To make it easy, if the USNT was to only win against Jamaica at home and lose all remaining three games, for it to NOT qualify directly to WC Panama would have to get 10/12 points from its remaining four games, Honduras 9/12, and Mexico 8/12 to only tie the USNT. I can only see MX doing that, again because they play each other in those four final games. It is an impossibility that the USNT would not qualify if they beat Jamaica at home. If they don’t then they do not deserve to qualify.”

    Reply
  3. Isn’t that field a little on the small side? I don’t see how that helps us. Also sounds like they missed a big payday by putting this in a small stadium.

    Finally, if you’re on the field playing, I dont believe you can tell if the crowd is yelling for you or the other team. Of course that doesn’t apply in Mexico city and if there’s any doubt, the coins and batteries flying at you from the stands should clear up any questions you might have

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  4. Tickets aren’t sold out the Crew are using the tickets they have left to try to get more season ticket holders for next year.

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  5. Dempsey to the Sounders per ESPN FC…they may sell out that entire stadium for all home games now. That’s huge for MLS.

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  6. This sucks, I got my email today saying that I wasn’t selected to receive the tickets I tried to get. Only an hour away from this game and I can’t even get in.

    Reply
  7. I got denied on the US Soccer draw but was able to get some from AO memeber page 2 HOURS AGO at less the price then my random draw tics. I hope the atmosphere is as good as Seattle or at least comprable.

    If we win Vs Coats Rica and beat Jaimaca at home will we be qualified by ths game?

    Reply
  8. in the next cycle of World Cup Qualifying this matchup should be at Seattle’s Stadium. The American Outlaws Seattle chapter really have their support group organized to the “T”

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  9. I got me two tickets with the AO and this will be my first US-Mexico game! It will be one of the coolest things I have ever done and I cannot wait!

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  10. As a USA fan who lives in Columbus and has been at every USA game in Columbus since 2000, as well as many outside of Ohio, I am totally bummed that my lottery requests for tickets (and my friends’ requests) came up empty on all accounts. Registered through US Soccer for presale right when the window opened, so I would say they’re probably not inflating the number of requests. I’m supposed to be psyced at the growing interest in USMNT right? haha. Anyone have extra tickets they’re looking to sell for less than $200 a piece to a Non-Mexican fan? We’ll provide a pub tour of our fair city day of if you like….

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  11. love that pic, my new desktop

    Frankie played great in Columbus last WC quali vs. Mexico in 2009, in the middle of some wild storm and howling winds, conditions Frankie personified in his gritty performance that evening

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  12. Imagine if the game is a must win for Mexico or they are out of the World Cup. It would be pretty awesome to bump them out! Hope the US plays well.

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    • will depend on if they beat Honduras in Mexico. honestly, i hope they do because otherwise they will be fighting for the WC lives. but like you said, it would be pretty cool…

      Reply
      • It very well may come down to it. WOW. Knocking Mexico out would really upset “a lot” of Mexicans. It took them several years to recover after we knocked Mexico out of the World CUP in 2002.

        And if we win the next WCQ, the US is in, but don’t think one minute, that JK would let the USMNT take their foot off the accelerator. Every person on the US team will be fighting for a spot in the final 23. We will be fighting as hard as the Mexicans

      • It took them several years to recover? I don’t believe that, it’s not like the USA won the World Cup either, which if they did then I can understand why it would sting.

      • I think the US would be equally jacked up by the possibility to almost eliminate their biggest rival from the WC, especially after all the smack Mexican fans have been talking for the past 2 years.

        If mexico loses to Honduras it will be full on hysteria south of the border and I think they would be lucky to qualify at that point.

  13. New crew owner is saying wtf, whats going on in my stadium or happening? This new owner better make a downtown sss in less than 4 years, to have it ready for world cup qualifiers of 2018. I would go for a sporting park stadium downtown and it would provoke a portland in a beat. Another thing, us soccer fedederation should do this all the time for home games,.in order to avoid fans from the other team. Imagine seattle would do this agaisnt mexico, since people say there is a large population of mexicans in seattle n portland. Cant wait for crew, dc, revolution, to make their new sss because they will create a pro american crowd in their digs. Only if seattle would partner up with that crazy head, who wants to make a 300$million arena around clink.

    Reply
    • If Seattle builds a new stadium it would have to cost more than $300 million

      I can see them getting a 50,000 seat stadium and it needs to have a retractible roof for the weather… That would probably be around $700 million

      If they want to be cheap, mls will become a top 3 sport here.

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    • I’m puzzled here. Could you try again and explain what you mean about the Crew owner and what “provoke a Portland” means? Also, the final sentence, what do you mean?

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  14. 50,000 ticket requests!? I think that’s the most impressive part. Half way to filling up Ohio Stadium. Although I would like the USMNT team to have nothing to do with that program, it would be quite a site one day.

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    • I really hope USSF is someday smart enough to hold US-Mex games at Ohio Stadium. There is no reason to limit revenue, and atmosphere by playing in a 24K max stadium, with 50K ticket requests.

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      • there is if most of those requests, or even half, are Mexican fans. i agree that it seems the US is on the verge of being able to graduate to bigger stadiums and still have pro-American crowds, but there is certainly a reason USSF has been hesitant.

      • I love Ohio Stadium. Have spent many saturdays there.. but holding a qualifier there is a terrible idea. The atmosphere with 24k inside crew stadium will be better than 50k inside Ohio stadium…you wouldnt even fill up the lower level. I am sure you could pull in more than 50k but no way does it remain pro-american crowd. The stadium has also been renovated since the crew initially played there back in 96-98 and the concrete walls, in some spots, would be extremely close to a soccer field (great for fans, terrible for players)…and OSU replaced the grass playing surface with turf about 6 years ago so US soccer would have to lay down temporary grass which is always a big gamble/headache.

        Besides why change what has been working for over 12 years?

    • agreed. the games after Seattle seemed to be very disorganized chant-wise. so it was hard to even hear the atmosphere on TV. i was at the San Diego game and it was loud, but in the supporter’s section there was always 2-3 different chants going on at the same time. it was really frustrating and really takes away from the atmosphere. i noticed the same thing in SLC and Hartford too.

      my guess is 9,000 will mean they’ll ensure they have their S together this time around.

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  15. Would be fun to be there but I will be catching it at the local pizzeria here in town. They only have one TV at the bar but the good news is that showing important soccer matches take precedence over any other sport regardless of what is on at the time. That’s unheard of around here considering the Giant, A’s, Raiders, 49ers, Sharks, and Warriors, etc rule the sporting roost.

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      • I’ve been to the Mayflower a few times Milkshake. It’s a great place to catch a match but I will most likely be catching the game in Petaluma that day.

    • I get the game on where ever i go in the bay area. Im a big dude and get loud about it. Baseball gets under my skin more than anything.

      Always watch games out in San Ramon CA

      Reply
  16. I dunno. I’m glad the game in Columbus always sells out. But this game could be epic if they held it at a larger venue.

    If we could get 40k for the Panama game here in Seattle, I would think you could easily get 60k for the Mexico game and still have a pro-American crowd.

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      • There is a very big Mexican and Mexican American population in Chicago. Soldier Field would have US hostile had Mexico made the final. As it is a lot of Mexican fans who bought tickets to the Mexico-US match that never materialized, came to the match anyway to root for the US against the Panamanians , who, of course, knocked Mexico out of the final.

        There are huge Central American immigrant populations in many US cities. There are lots of Salvadorans in LA, but also in D.C. too.

        If there was ever to be a WCQ in LA it would have to be against a Caribbean nation as a Mexican or Central American team supporters would outdraw US supporters every time.

      • That is a racist assumption. Besides, folks who truly love soccer will pay to see their team no matter the ‘realistic’ cost

      • I have come across many ignorant comments in the internet, and none has made my fingers inch towards my keyboard like yours has to show my anger. My God are there stupid people out there! But you’re not stupid, no. You’re F*ing stupid! An insult to F*ing stupid people, my apologies to you all. My God!

      • Even overlooking your awful generalization, I have Mexican friends who would literally sell their TV to go see the national team in person.

    • As much as I would LOVE for the Mexico match to be here in Seattle (oh man would I die to get those tickets!) I have to say that we must always play Mexico in Columbus. All I care about is a victory against them. And I will take any advantage we can get. Playing in Columbus is a huge advantage for us. I can go to George & Dragon to watch the game.

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    • Selling out a bigger stadium would for sure happen. But it would be pro Mexico crowd. By playing in a smaller stadium, one that USA has never lost to Mexico in (History), US soccer can have a better control of Mexican tickets. The lottery was a great idea. And selling ovoer a third of the tickets to US supporter groups is great. I will be there with the American Outlaws. Colombus is gonna be rocking!!

      Reply
    • 40k or 60k is irrelevant. What is relevant is that the USNT (I drop the M because the women don’t really count) has nearly qualified for the World cup. Here’s how, the magic number for USA is 6 points with Panama, 7 points with Honduras and 8 points with Mexico. Any combination with two of those teams and USNT secures 3rd place and direct qualification. Now when you consider that the USNT plays one game at home against Jamaica that’s 3 points there which brings the equation down to 3,4, and 5 points respectively with those teams. Now, those teams (PN, HN, MX) play each other in the final four games, so that’s at least 3 more point’s each one of those teams will lose at least if there is a winner in each one of those games, one team of those may lose up to 6 points in those games if it were to lose both. Even better is if they draw each other, that’s 4 points each will lose. To make it easy, if the USNT was to only win against Jamaica at home and lose all remaining three games, for it to qualify directly to WC Panama would have to get 10/12 points from its remaining four games, Honduras 9/12, and Mexico 8/12 to only tie the USNT. I can only see MX doing that, again because they play each other in those four final games. It is an impossibility that the USNT would not qualify if they beat Jamaica at home. If they don’t then they do not deserve to qualify.

      Reply
      • Correction: “if the USNT was to only win against Jamaica at home and lose all remaining three games, for it to *NOT* qualify directly to WC Panama…”

      • adam, relax, add the women back into the mix, and go find yourself a new seattle sounders #2 jersey. USA is going to throttle costa rica in san jose and then leave the Columbus game to double down on mexico.

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