In conjunction with U.S. Soccer, MAPFRE Stadium today announced that it is set to welcome the United States Men's National Team to America's first soccer-specific stadium as the Stars & Stripes host Mexico to open CONCACAF Fifth Round qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The match takes place on Friday, November 11 at MAPFRE Stadium, the home of Columbus Crew SC, with the kickoff time to be announced. The contest will be broadcast on FS1 and Univision.
2017 Crew SC Full Season Ticket Members will have the opportunity to participate in a preferred purchasing process for tickets to this highly anticipated match. Specific instructions regarding the preferred Crew SC Membership process will be made available to 2017 Full Season Ticket Members via email as soon as possible.
This match begins what is commonly known as the Hexagonal for the USMNT, the final stage of qualification ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, set to be held in Russia. The six remaining CONCACAF teams (United States, Mexico, Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica, Trinidad & Tobago) are set to play a double round robin, with the top three teams automatically qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the fourth-placed team advancing to an inter-confederation playoff against an Asian Football Confederation team for an additional spot in Russia.
MAPFRE Stadium is set to host the Stars & Stripes' home clash against Mexico in the Hexagonal for the fifth consecutive cycle. Dating back to 2001, the USMNT is undefeated against Mexico in Hexagonal play at MAPFRE Stadium, winning each of the prior four clashes by a 2-0 scoreline.
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All-time, the USMNT is an undefeated 8-0-3 at MAPFRE Stadium, with nine of those 11 matches having been qualification contests for the FIFA World Cup. The Stars & Stripes last played at America's first soccer-specific stadium earlier this year on March 29, defeating Guatemala by a 4-0 score in Fourth Round CONCACAF qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
