CHICAGO / SANDY, Utah – The U.S. Men’s National Team will play the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Honduras in front of a capacity crowd of 20,000+ at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, after tickets sold out on the second day of the public sale. Approximately 1,000 tickets went on sale Tuesday to the general public just after 10 a.m. MT, after various pre-sale opportunities were made available to Real Salt Lake season ticket holders, single-game purchasers for RSL and U.S. Men’s and Women’s games in Utah, as well as VISA card holders and USMNT supporters groups.
The U.S. takes on Honduras on June 18 at 7 p.m. MT in a game presented by the Utah Sports Commission, with the match broadcast live on ESPN, WatchESPN, and UniMas. Fans can also follow on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker and on Twitter @ussoccer.
"We are really excited that Rio Tinto Stadium is sold out for the qualifier against Honduras," said U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. "Our main priority in selecting the venues for these important games was to make sure we had great crowd support, and having the game sell out so quickly proves that the fans in Salt Lake are going to be there for us. The supporters in Denver were amazing, and we expect another fantastic atmosphere on June 18."
While the match between the U.S. and Honduras is officially sold out, a limited number of Ultimate Fan Tickets (a special VIP package that includes a premium ticket, official U.S. National Team jersey with the name and number of your choice, VIP access to the field before and after the game and other unique benefits) are available exclusively through ussoccer.com. A limited number of Pre-game Tailgate tickets which feature all-you-can-eat are also available for purchase through ussoccer.com or riotintostadium.com
For fans who are shut out of the mid-June World Cup Qualifier at Rio Tinto Stadium, an alternate opportunity exists to see the United States in Gold Cup group action on Saturday, July 13 at 1:30 p.m. MT against Cuba as part of a doubleheader. The Utah-based venue holds the unique distinction of being the ONLY stadium in North America to feature the USMNT on multiple occasions in 2013. Ticket information for the mid-July event – also featuring Costa Rica against Belize at 4:00 p.m. MT – can be found by clicking http://www.riotintostadium.com/events/gold-cup.php. The possibility exists that several Real Salt Lake players could represent their countries in their club’s home stadium on both June 18 and July 13.
U.S. Soccer will be offering complete travel packages to see the U.S. Men’s National Team play Honduras, which will include hotel accommodations at the Official Hotel, match day transportation, access to exclusive events and more, allowing fans to experience a World Cup Qualifier like never before. Details will be available in the near future.
A series of events will be organized for fans in Salt Lake City leading up to the match, including a free pep rally the night before the match, a youth coaching symposium in conjunction with the Positive Coaching Alliance and the Centennial Coaching Symposium series both presented by Kwik Goal. More information will be available on www.ussoccer.com.
The MNT has played at Rio Tinto Stadium once before, collecting a 2-1 victory against El Salvador on Sept. 5, 2009, in the final round of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The U.S. holds a perfect 2-0-0 record in the state of Utah, with the other win coming in a 3-0 win rout of Costa Rica on June 4, 2005, at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
The U.S. is part of the six-team Hexagonal along with Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico and Panama. The 10-game, round-robin format will be contested through Oct.15. The top three teams will automatically advance to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, while the fourth-place team will compete in a two-leg playoff against the champion from the Oceania Confederation. The U.S. currently sits in a three-way tie for second place in the Hexagonal with Costa Rica and Honduras at four points apiece.
