Team USA and fans get security guarantee for Mexico game after league brawl

The US Soccer Federation has received assurances from Mexican Soccer Federation officials that players and fans will be safe during a World Cup qualifying match between the teams in Mexico City this month after that violent clashes marred a Mexican league game.

A brawl between fans at a stadium in the central city of Querétaro during the Querétaro-Atlas match last Saturday sent 26 people, most of them men, to the hospital with three in critical condition.

Mobile phone videos that went viral and sparked outrage in Mexico and beyond showed people brutally beaten.

“As we prepare for our World Cup qualifier… at the Azteca Stadium on March 24, we want to pause to express our thoughts on the unbearable and horrific tragedy that occurred in a league match,” the Federation said. US Soccer in a statement.

“US Soccer has spoken with officials from the Mexican Soccer Federation, who have assured us that fans, teams and players from Mexico and the United States will safely experience one of the greatest sports rivalries in the world, as it has been the case in the Azteca Stadium in previous matches.

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“We firmly believe that the pain resulting from the harrowing violence at the Corregidora Stadium is not just for Mexico. While we are opponents on the field of play, it is important to remember that soccer is a global community and our bond transcends rivalries, competition “. and results”.

With three games to go in qualifying, Canada leads the eight-team CONCACAF group with 25 points, four ahead of the United States and Mexico.

The top three automatically qualify for Qatar 2022 and the fourth placed will go to an international playoff.