More than 50,000 tickets have been sold for the U.S. Men's National Team's Feb. 6 clash with rival Mexico at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. With one week remaining before the match and both teams expected to announce their game rosters by Friday, the approximately 18,000 remaining tickets are expected to sell quickly.
The last USA vs. Mexico match at Reliant Stadium drew a passionate sellout crowd of 69,582 fans on May 8, 2003 and remains the largest home crowd for the U.S. Men's National Team this decade. Next Wednesday's match kicks off at 8 p.m. CT and will be televised live on ESPN2 and Univision.
In an arrangement unique for this game, U.S. Soccer has divided the seating into U.S.A., Mexico, and mixed/neutral fan sections at each price level. Tickets as low as $35 are on sale now at ussoccer.com, by phone at 713-629-3700, at all Houston area Ticketmaster ticket centers (including Fiesta stores, Macy's, Wherehouse Music, FYE, and select HEB stores), and at the Reliant Stadium south ticket office (open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.).
VIP ticket packages that include a premium pregame party starting at 6 p.m. inside the Houston Texans' training bubble (located across from Reliant Stadium) are also on sale through ussoccer.com and Ticketmaster. Packages priced at $250 each include a lower midfield game ticket, an all-you-can-eat buffet with beer and wine, and pregame entertainment.
Four out of the last five USA-Mexico meetings on U.S. soil have been sellouts, including two matches in 2007. Tickets are again in high demand for the 2008 edition of the biggest soccer rivalry on this continent.
"Mexico is always a challenging opponent, and we all know this is a game that motivates everyone involved," said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley. "The first half of 2008 is very important to our team as we prepare for the beginning of World Cup qualifying in June, and the match against Mexico will be an important part of that process. The atmosphere at Reliant Stadium in 2003 was tremendous, and we look forward to another enthusiastic crowd in Houston in February."
Both the U.S. and Mexico will begin qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in June, and the game in Houston will likely be the last meeting of the two CONCACAF powers prior to Final Round Qualifying for the World Cup, should both teams advance out of the preliminary rounds.
The U.S. has dominated the series of late, collecting an 8-0-1 home record against Mexico since 2000. During that span, the USA has netted 15 goals, while Mexico has scored just one. In six friendly matches this decade, Mexico has yet to score a goal on U.S. soil.
The last meeting between the teams saw Benny Feilhaber's highlight-reel goal in the 73rd minute give the U.S. a second-straight CONCACAF title with a 2-1 win at the Gold Cup Final at Soldier Field in Chicago on June 24, 2007.
