SEATTLE, WASH. – The Federación Mexicana de Fútbol (FMF), Soccer United Marketing (SUM) and Seattle Sounders FC today announced that Paraguay has been selected as Mexico’s opponent for the July 1 game at Seattle’s CenturyLink Field, with kickoff slated for 5:00 p.m. PT on FS1, Univision and UDN. The match is El Tri’s final tune-up match before attempting to defend its title in the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup - the region’s official national team competition.
Tickets to the match – which is presented by Allstate Insurance Company – are now on sale via Ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000. Kickoff is at 5:00 p.m. PT. The AT&T “Futbol Fiesta” interactive fan zone opens at noon and features 120,000 square feet of games, food, music, sponsor booths and autograph sessions with legendary Mexican players.
The game is part of the landmark 15th annual Mexican National Team U.S. Tour, which kicked off on February 8 in Las Vegas with a 1-0 win against Iceland in front of a record-breaking audience for soccer in the city. Mexico will also play in Los Angeles on May 27 versus Croatia, June 1 in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area against Ireland and June 28 in Houston against Ghana.
Paraguay and Mexico have faced each other 18 times, with Mexico holding the all-time advantage at 9-4-5. The two teams last met in Atlanta as part of the 2016 Mexico U.S. Tour, with the hosts winning 1-0 in front of more than 63,000 fans.
Paraguay, ranked 38th in the world by FIFA, currently sits five points behind Chile in CONMEBOL qualifying for the fourth and final South American ticket to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, with four games still to play. A fifth-place finish would send Paraguay to a playoff against an opponent from the Oceania qualifiers.
Mexico's history at CenturyLink Field began in 2008 with a 1-0 win over China and continued in 2011 with a draw against Ecuador. Both matches were played in front of over 50,000 fans as part of Mexico's annual U.S. Tour. Mexico last played in Seattle as part of the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup, defeating Canada 2-0 in the Group Stage. El Tricolor is using this year's Seattle game as a final tune-up before its 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup opener in San Diego on July 9.
The Tour, sponsored by adidas, Advance Auto Parts, AeroMexico, Allstate Insurance Company, AT&T, Bud Light, Coca-Cola, Delta, el Jimador, Makita, Nissan, POWERADE, The Home Depot and Wells Fargo, will visit five cities across the United States in 2017, and is being broadcast nationally on the Univision and FOX family of networks as well as on the Fútbol de Primera Radio Network.
