World Cup Qualifying Match Goes to Nashville

FIFA World Cup qualifying will go to Nashville, Tenn., for the first time as the U.S. Men’s National Team will face Trinidad & Tobago at LP Field on April 1 at 6:45 p.m. CT in the second of five home qualifiers on the road to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and Galavision.

"We are very excited to be playing such an important World Cup qualifying match in Nashville," said U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley. "We have had very good experiences there, both in 2006 before the World Cup and during qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Games. LP Field is an excellent facility, and we look forward to tremendous support from the fans.”

The U.S. has never lost to Trinidad & Tobago on home soil, the unblemished record including a 3-0 win in Bridgeview, Ill., on Sept. 10, 2008, during the semifinal round. After clinching a final round berth, the U.S. sent a less experienced team to Port of Spain the following month, where Trinidad & Tobago turned the tables, snatching a 2-1 victory. The U.S. controls the overall series, 14-2-3, and has a 9-1-2 record against the Soca Warriors in FIFA World Cup qualifying.

The match will be the third for a full U.S. National Team in Nashville. In 2004, the U.S. Women’s National Team beat Canada 1-0 in a preparation match before the 2004 Olympic Games. Two years later, the U.S. Men’s National Team faced Morocco on May 23, 2006, prior to the FIFA World Cup in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 26,141 fans.

In April of 2008, the venue hosted the knockout round of the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying tournament, where the U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team defeated Canada in the semifinals to become one of two teams from the region to qualify for Beijing.

The U.S. is looking ahead to their opening match of the final round of FIFA World Cup qualifying against archrival Mexico on Feb. 11 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, which sold out in 90 minutes. The match, the first of 10 games in the final round commonly referred to as the ‘hexagonal,’ will kickoff at 7 p.m. ET, and fans can watch the match live on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD.