Football
ESPN staff 8y

United States to host Mexico in Columbus, Ohio, to open Hex

The United States will host Mexico in November's World Cup qualifier in Columbus, Ohio.

The Nov. 11 game at Columbus Crew SC's MAPFRE Stadium will open the fifth and final round of CONCACAF qualifying, known as the "Hex."

Columbus has been the site for every U.S. home game against Mexico in the Hex since 2001. The U.S. won the four games in 2001, 2005, 2009 and 2013 -- all by a score of 2-0.

The results have extended American fans' popular chant of "dos a cero," which began after the U.S.'s 2-0 win over El Tri in the 2002 World Cup.

The U.S. also prefers Columbus because with a capacity of about 25,000 it can try to limit sales of many tickets to Crew SC season ticket holders and USSF members, rather than Mexico fans.

Seeking its eighth straight World Cup berth, the U.S. opens at home before playing four days later at Costa Rica in its second match of the Hex.

The top three nations advance to the 2018 tournament in Russia, and the fourth-place team meets the No. 5 Asian team in a playoff for a berth in the 32-nation field.

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