Looking forward to taking my first trip to El Azteca next summer. I imagine there are organized groups heading out there. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks!
It's a long way out, you could have a baby before this game happens. Plus there's the issue of the game date conflicting with the Confederation's cup, so ..... I'd say check back in like March after that round of games.
It does seem that the game will be on the 11th a Sunday. And the Trinidad home game will be on the 7th. But like Columbus hosting Mexico, while seemingly a given, it is not 100% confirmed.
Joined US supporters club for tickets but they posted link publicly anyway so I wouldn't worry about doing that. Don't think tickets were any more than $30 each. We met up at the AO pre game party with other people that weren't taking the AO bus and took the metro. Highly recommended. Interacting with Mexican fans pre game outside Azteca was awesome, we were like celebrities. Post game, they rounded us up and put us in riot fans and drove us to nearest metro station. We stayed in a hostel beside Zocalo for maybe $15/night. Really nice spot. Def visit Teotihuacan if you go too. Can't find any of my pics for some reason. Heres video my bro took of the game:
El Tri May Leave Estadio Azteca Because of Altitude Problems Ahead of 2018 World Cup http://remezcla.com/sports/el-tri-leave-estadio-azteca-2018-world-cup/
Tickets are not yet on sale, correct? And when the time comes, can they be purchased from AO, or USSF?
In 2013, USSF sent out a link via the Supporter's Club email list. I would think signing up for that (free) email list would grant you that info when the time comes. They were $15. I don't recall if AO sold game tickets separately from their travel package. For most games since then, that hasn't been the case. As for advice, we stayed at a $10/night hostel in Reforma / Zona Rosa. It was quite nice. I recommend walking up to the Chapultepec fort, and the Anthropology Museum in the park below is one of the best in the world, if you're into that sort of thing. The Xochimilco canals were cool, where you ride around in little boats and listen to mariachi bands, eat, drink, etc as you get paddled around. Since we were in the city on a Sunday, we actually went to a Lucha Libre match/show near Zocalo, which was awesome. Outside the city, Teotihuacan is mandatory. There's a public bus that goes there from one of the stations in the city, which was easy enough to figure out. I think it's about a 1 to 1.5 hour ride. If you're pressed for time, go straight for the Sun / Moon temples after you enter the park. As to to the game itself, we took the subway / train from the Reforma area to Azteca, which I definitely recommend. We arrived early enough to mingle among the dozens of vendors and fans outside the stadium, which was a lot of fun. I remember the train ride being about 45 minutes to an hour with one transfer, but the station is right next to the stadium. The AO group took private buses from their hotel in Reforma and (because of traffic) didn't arrive in the section until just before the anthems began playing. The visitor's section had a chain link fence on one side and the bottom, while the open side had two rows of riot police side-by-side from top to bottom. I think the section was about half to two-thirds full. There wasn't much trouble with the Mexico fans, other than some idiots on both sides antagonizing each other. I do remember the teenagers towards the top tossing an occasional beer cup into the section, but nothing major. I'm sure the 0-0 score contributed to that, as the Mexico fans were booing their own team by the end. As the US fans were celebrating our "victory" towards the end, I remember some Mexico fans trying to force their way in. But they were pushed back by the police. As the game ended, the police closed off the ramps leading down from the section and escorted the US fans out. Outside, they formed a box around everyone and moved slowly through the crowd towards the AO buses. Somebody threw a full Gatorade bottle into the US crowd, which I miraculously caught out of the air with one hand haha. When we got to the AO buses, the small group that had taken the train were loaded into riot police vans (as mentioned above) and driven to a stop farther up the line towards the city (where we had to transfer anyway). I actually think it would make for a calmer/safer exit if they just let the visiting fans disperse into the crowd on their own. But it's quite the experience in any case. I highly recommend the trip. Mexico City is possibly my favorite city in the world, and a trip to Azteca has to be on any serious US soccer fan's list. I'm planning to do it again with an even bigger group of friends.
Tickets will not go on sale until late spring most likely. Based on past experience, AO will sell a package/ticket combo of some kind. My suspicion is that they will have a full hotel/bus/thing probably in the several hundred dollar range. Back in early 2013 they were still just getting into their package deals. They'd only done one in Jamaica before Mexico. Now they have several years of history to guesstimate their plans. The Mexico fed will give US soccer a ticket allocation, which will most likely be the same number of tickets that US soccer gives the Mexico fed for the game in November. It will be very small for obvious reason. US soccer always gives AO first crack to sell these tickets with their package. The leftovers will be sold to US soccer fan membership or whatever it's called now. That said, tickets are usually easily available in Mexico and it doesn't matter where you buy them. If you are wearing US kit, you'll be shuffled into the pen.
Chiapas would be intense. Almost like the Mexican version of Columbus. Monterrey would be an odd choice being the most Americanized city in Mexico. I'm guessing the US game stays in DF.
That would be a big bummer. I'm really hoping to attend a qualifier at the Azteca. Are there any other stadiums in Mexico City?