2018 World Cup Qualifiers: Rewarding The City Of St. Louis Is "Doing The Right Thing"

The USMNT are heading back to St. Louis, Missouri for the first time in 18 years to start the 2018 World Cup qualification. It will be a great moment for the Gateway City to have the Men’s national team back in town. 

The Yanks last game in St. Louis was on June 4th in 1997, which was a friendly against Paraguay. The last World Cup Qualification match in St. Louis was in 1989 against El Salvador. To say that the people of the Gateway City have been long overdue for the USMNT to return is an understatement. U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann is excited for the Yanks to return to St. Louis.

“We are absolutely thrilled to be playing our first World Cup qualifier towards Russia 2018 in St. Louis,” Klinsmann told U.S. Soccer. “There is no more appropriate place to start this campaign than a city that has contributed so much to the history and tradition of soccer in the United States. Some of the best players we have ever produced have ties there, and now we look forward to bringing the National Team back home to St. Louis where we know the support will be incredible.”

When the Yanks arrive to the Gateway City to face either St. Vincent & the Grenadines or Aruba on Nov. 11th at the Busch Stadium it will be a great moment for both the people of the city and for U.S. soccer.

The name “Gateway City” was bestowed to the city of St. Louis because it was the last city before entering the great vast open plains of the West. In the history of soccer in America, St. Louis was one of the “Gateways” for soccer and a corner stone for the young sport to grow. Now it is time to bring back the highest level of soccer to St. Louis. By doing this no other cities suffer, instead the sport of soccer comes back to one of its original origins in the United States. Paying homage to the pioneers of the game that helped this sport flourish to what it is today.   

If someone is worried that Busch Stadium might be empty when the Yanks come to St. Louis in Nov. they do not have to. When the USWNT came and faced New Zealand for a World Cup tune up match on April 4th. The people of the Gateway City responded by packing Busch Stadium with 35, 817 American fans.

The U.S. ended up winning the match 4-0. However, history was made that day with the attendance. The 35, 817 fans in the stands proved to be the largest crowd to ever attend a USWNT match.

Now with the USMNT coming to St. Louis it easy to imagine that Busch Stadium will be sold out. Who knows maybe this game might give the Gateway City enough momentum to finally create a Major League Soccer club.