CINCINNATI – It’s not news that the US men’s national team picks venues and distributes tickets for their home World Cup qualifying matches with great care.
The practice dates back to 2001 when Sunil Gulati and Bruce Arena spearheaded the decision to host Mexico in Columbus in February, an occasion dubbed La Guerra Fria (“the cold war”) after the USMNT won confidently in icy conditions before a crowd carefully curated for boisterous US support. That spawned the 15-year “Dos a Cero” phenomenon and underlined to U.S. Soccer Federation officials the competitive importance of a partisan US stadium environment in a nation where El Tri draw huge numbers of supporters.
“The fan base has helped us so much. They give us sometimes that extra motivation, that extra push that we need in the toughest parts of the games,” said midfielder Tyler Adams on Thursday. “Relying on the crowd for energy sometimes is something that you need.”
Contemporary efforts to ensure maximum home-field advantage for games like Friday’s rematch at TQL Stadium (9:10 pm ET | ESPN2, Univision, TUDN) have grown more elaborate, however, as an in-depth Yahoo! Sports report detailed this week. The federation’s overt avoidance of regions with substantial Mexican-American populations, even as its teams compete for talented dual-eligible players like Ricardo Pepi, came up in coach Gregg Berhalter’s matchday-1 press conference.
“We take pride in having Latino fans, and that's something that's important to us and we hope that in the future, guys like Ricardo Pepi will help us get more Latino fans,” said Berhalter. “When you're talking about a World Cup qualifier, it's really important to have a pro-US crowd, and whether that's Latinos in the stands or not, we want a pro-US crowd. And it's not always easy to ensure that.”
During his own playing days, Berhalter was on the substitutes’ bench for the USMNT’s memorable 3-2 qualifying loss to Honduras in front of a mostly pro-Catrachos crowd at RFK Stadium in 2001. He pointed to that game as well as the 2-0 loss to Costa Rica at Red Bull Arena during the 2018 cycle in explaining the necessity of the federation’s approach.
“I think we learned from mistakes in the past,” he said. “If you look back to the last cycle, the Costa Rica game in New York, you could argue it wasn't a completely pro-US crowd. So for us, it's just about understanding what competition we're in and trying to get a crowd that's going to push us, to get behind us and really help this team be successful. It's not about what nationality you are or what demographic you are.”
He was later asked whether Mexico might be disrupted by this week’s venue offering a different vibe than the warm reception they usually get at their many friendlies and Gold Cup matches on US soil.
“I hope so. That's the idea. That's the idea of getting a pro-US crowd. And that's why there needs to be some thought about the venue,” said Berhalter, reminding a reporter of the visceral noise and hostility the Yanks encountered on their visit to El Salvador in their opening Octagonal match.
“Again, it's not about who you are, it's about who you support. And we want fans in the stands that are going to be pro-US supporters and we want the stadium to be loud ... because we know how a good crowd can boost the team.”
Adams pointed to the stadium boom rippling across MLS as a boon for the national teams’ options.
“A lot of times when we look at the last World Cup qualifying cycle compared to this one, a lot can change in four years, and to look at the amount of soccer-specific, beautiful stadiums that we have the opportunity to play in now for this qualifying cycle, a lot of them are pro-US fan crowds,” said the New York Red Bulls product. “So playing in the stadiums like Columbus, being able to play in places like Cincinnati, we're very, very fortunate.”
All that said, El Tri faithful are capable of slipping through the obstacles U.S. Soccer creates for these qualifiers. While hardly a majority, their presence could be felt at Historic Crew Stadium five years ago, and even with tickets to Friday’s game running from the $350 range to well into four figures each on the secondhand market, the green, white and red colors of Mexico can be spotted on the streets of Cincinnati this week.
The question is how many of them will make it into the TQL stands, and whether the noise of their US counterparts can drown them out. It’s a very tangible matter for the USMNT, and by extension their hopes of reaching Qatar 2022.
“When the crowd’s on your side, cheering you along,” said defender DeAndre Yedlin, “sometimes you just need that extra, extra kick in the – I don't wanna say a swear word, but extra kick in the butt, you know? – to keep pushing. And that's what the crowd helps you do. So that's what we’re hoping we'll see from the crowd on Friday.”
