Tickets for U.S. women's soccer
Tickets for the U.S. Women's National Team's World Cup qualifying series against Italy on Nov. 27 at Toyota Park will go on sale beginning at 10 a.m. Friday.
Kickoff for the match that will determine the final available spot in the 2011 FIFA World Cup in Germany is set for 1 p.m. and will be shown live on ESPN3.com.
Tickets starting at $10 go on sale to the public through ussoccer.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000, at all Ticketmaster ticket centers throughout Chicagoland (including Carson Pirie Scott and Walmart stores), and at the Toyota Park ticket office (open Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.). Groups of 15 or more can obtain a discount order form at ussoccer.com or call 312-528-1290. All Visa cardholders can access advance ticket sales beginning at 10 a.m. Thursday until 8 a..m. Friday at ussoccer.com.
The final Women's World Cup berth will be determined by the total goals scored during the two games. If the aggregate total is equal after the two matches, then goals scored in the away match will be counted as double. If both games are scoreless draws, or the teams tie on goals and score the same amount of away goals, then a 30-minute overtime will be played followed by penalty kicks, if necessary.
The U.S. rebounded from a stunning loss to Mexico in the semifinals of the CONACACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament on Nov. 5. in Cancun, Mexico, to post a 3-0 victory against Costa Rica on Monday night in the third-place match, which gave the U.S. a last chance to qualify against the fifth team from Europe. Lauren Cheney opened the scoring for the U.S. in the 17th minute, and Abby Wambach followed with a pair of goals on the either side of halftime as the U.S. earned a comfortable victory.
While the U.S. path to qualification was a five-game, eight-team tournament, Italy has played 14 matches to earn fifth place in Europe and a spot in the playoff against CONCACAF's third-place team.
The U.S. is hoping to qualify for its sixth-consecutive FIFA Women's World Cup.
The U.S. holds an 8-4-1 all-time record against Italy with 26 goals for and 8 against. All four of the previous meetings on Italian soil have been losses for Americans, including the first-ever international match for the U.S. Women, a 1-0 loss on Aug. 18, 1985.
The match will be the third for the U.S. at Toyota Park in the last five years, with victories against China and Ireland coming in 2006 and 2008, respectively.
The U.S. roster for the two-game playoff against Italy will be announced in the near future.