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Mexico Open '09 U.S. Tour Against Sweden
Soccer365.com

The Federación Mexicana de Fútbol (FMF), together with Soccer United Marketing (SUM) and the San Jose Earthquakes, today announced the Mexican National Team’s 2009 U.S. Tour will kick off on Wednesday, January 28 against the Swedish National Team at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum at 7:30 pm PT (TV: Telemundo, Radio: Futbol de Primera), setting up an exciting match up between Mexico’s head coach Sven-Göran Eriksson and his native country where he enjoys superstar status.

The popular Mexican National Team will play five games on U.S. soil in 2009, which will mark the sixth edition of the annual tour. "After a successful first season for the San Jose Earthquakes we want to continue our efforts to bring international soccer matches to the Bay Area," stated David Alioto, Executive Vice President of the San Jose Earthquakes. "We are very excited to host the Mexican National team and show our efforts to serve the Hispanic community as well."

Tickets starting as low as $20 for the January 28 match at McAfee Coliseum go on sale today, December 3, 2008 in an exclusive Visa presale. Visa cardholders should visit Tickets.com to purchase tickets with their Visa cards. Tickets to the general public will go on sale on December 15 and will be available by visiting Tickets.com or calling 1-800-225-2277 and 1-877-QUAKE-01. The Federación Mexicana de Fútbol encourages its fans to use their Visa cards.

Mexico vs. Sweden – January 28

Mexico and Sweden have met on eight occasions all-time, with two wins and three ties for the “Tricolor.” The last match between the two on U.S. soil was played on January 26, 2004 in San Diego, California, ending in a 0-0 draw. The upcoming January match will mark Mexico’s return to Oakland where it has played many times, most recently in a 4-2 win over Ecuador on March 28, 2007 in front of a sold out crowd of 47,000 fans. More recently on March 2, 2008, the Under-23 teams of Mexico and Australia tied 1-1 at the then-named McAfee Coliseum once again in front of a sold-out crowd.

Following its qualification to the Final Round of World Cup Qualification in the CONCACAF region, Mexico will start its quest for a ticket to South Africa against its biggest rival the United States in a venue to be determined in the United States on February 2, 2008. The match against Sweden is the team’s only preparatory match before it starts the next round of Qualification.

Sweden, who has qualified for the last two World Cups and made the second round in both, is currently in 5th place with a 1-2-0 record in Group One of UEFA World Cup Qualifying. Prior to the match against Mexico, Sweden will face the United States on Saturday, January 24 at the Home Depot Center.

The Mexican National team’s U.S. tour not only allows its U.S.-based fans to witness team’s matches first hand, but also allows the team to play top class opponents while strengthening its player pool in preparation for major international tournaments.