11/21/24
May 06, 2004
Okay, can someone exlpain to me how Mexico is playing a World Cup Qualifying Match in A) um, neither of the teams' homelands, and B) indoors on turf? Has this ever been done before (on either accounts)?
posted by Ufez Jones to soccer at 10:38 PM - 5 comments
Yeah, but Andorra as a nation is isn't big enough for a proper sized pitch. They have to bleed over into France or Spain (or both) just to get a regulation sized pitch. (I kid, I kid.) The turf thing is a little curious, but I have no doubt there are many precedents for it. And I somehow doubt turnout is going to be a problem for the "Home" team in San Antonio. (Basketball season will be over by then, right?) (Also, there's no message board where exclaiming "First Post!" is inappropriate. ...Hey, the filter doesn't work for me. Damn.)
posted by chicobangs at 09:57 AM on May 07, 2004
And I somehow doubt turnout is going to be a problem for the "Home" team in San Antonio. Well, I'm not sure about Dominica imports, but yeah, in Texas, getting the Mexican crowd out is obviously not a problem. At the recent Mexico v. US friendly here in Dallas, I think there were 40,000 people and the paper said that the Mexican fans outnumberd the US fans by a ratio of 4:1. But a qualifying match indoors just seems wrong to me.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:11 AM on May 07, 2004
I didn't see anything in the article about the playing surface, but as you may recall actual World Cup championship games were played indoors at the Pontiac Silverdome in WC94 (albeit on grass).
posted by holden at 02:49 PM on May 07, 2004
Go Dominica!!!
posted by billsaysthis at 12:00 AM on May 08, 2004
Boobies! Er...wrong message board.. Since Mexico is also playing Dominica in Mexico City, the San Antonio match counts as Dominica's home match. I would guess that Dominica do not have a football stadium of sufficient standard to host the Mexicans. Andorra play their matches in Spain, so it is certainly allowed.