In conjunction with U.S. Soccer, MAPFRE Stadium today announced that it is set to welcome the United States Men's National Team back to its spiritual home in Columbus in order to host the Stars & Stripes' 2018 FIFA World Cup home qualification match against Guatemala. The match is scheduled for March 29, 2016 as part of CONCACAF Semifinal qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The match will be televised live on ESPN2 and UniMas. Ticket information will be announced at a later date.
Drawn in Group C, the contest against Guatemala will be the United States' fourth of six matches in the four-team, double round-robin Semifinal Round. The U.S. opened its qualification campaign on Friday, November 13 in St. Louis, Missouri with a 6-1 win over Saint Vincent and the Grenadines before a 0-0 draw against Trinidad and Tobago on November 17. The U.S. resumes qualification at Guatemala on March 25, 2016. Guatemala then comes to Central Ohio for this clash, on March 29, 2016.
The United States Men's National Team has never lost in Columbus, holding a record of 7-0-3 at MAPFRE Stadium all-time, dating back to October 11, 2000 against Costa Rica. Eight of those 10 contests have been FIFA World Cup qualification matches, famously including four consecutive matches against Mexico in the Hexagonal Round, with the U.S. winning each of the four by a 2-0 “Dos a Cero” scoreline. This match against Guatemala is set to be the first United States Men's National Team contest at MAPFRE Stadium since the most recent United States-Mexico FIFA World Cup qualifier, held on September 10, 2013.
The contest in Columbus in March is a key match-up in the Fourth Round. After the completion of group play next September, the top two teams from each of the three groups advance to the Fifth Round of CONCACAF qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which is commonly known as the Hexagonal. The six advancing teams then play another double round-robin against one another, with the top three qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the fourth advancing to an inter-confederation playoff against an Asian Football Confederation side for an additional spot in the tournament.
MAPFRE Stadium, the country’s first soccer specific stadium, has also played host to key United States Women's National Team clashes as the side has played six matches all-time at MAPFRE Stadium, holding a record of 4-1-1, including a 3-0 victory by the USWNT over North Korea in the Group Stage of the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup. Winners of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, the USWNT last played at MAPFRE Stadium on October 30, 2013 in a friendly against New Zealand.
Columbus Crew SC is set to travel to Red Bull Arena this weekend for the Second Leg of the Eastern Conference Championship on Sunday, November 29 (7:30 p.m. ET / FS1, CD 102.5, 103.1 FM La Mega). The Black & Gold took a 2-0 lead on aggregate in front of a sold-out crowd at MAPFRE Stadium last evening, Sunday, November 22. The attendance at the First Leg match (21,617) was the largest home postseason attendance in Crew SC history. Tickets for a potential 2015 MLS Cup at MAPFRE Stadium on Sunday, December 6 are on-sale to the general public at http://bit.ly/MLSCup2015. In the event MAPFRE Stadium does not host the 2015 MLS Cup, members and single-match buyers would be fully refunded for any tickets purchased for that match. Should Crew SC advance past the Red Bulls, it would host the 2015 MLS Cup at MAPFRE Stadium if it faces-off against Portland Timbers FC in the championship, as the Black & Gold finished ahead of Portland in the final League standings. Should Crew SC advance to play the other Western Conference Championship participant, FC Dallas, the Black & Gold would play the 2015 MLS Cup on the road at Toyota Stadium (Frisco, Texas).
