Tickets are sold out for the highly anticipated World Cup qualifier showdown between Jamaica and the United States (US) on Thursday (October 7) in Austin, Texas.

The United States men’s national soccer team opened up their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign with a visit to El Salvador, while the Jamaica Reggae Boyz were hosted by Mexico in their first match.

In the September 3 face-off between Mexico and Jamaica, Mexico pulled off a 1-0 victory.

Following the win, Mexico remains in first place with three points in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers standings, the US is at third place with five points and Jamaica is at eighth place with one point. 

The United States’ first qualifier in the state of Texas will start at 6:30 pm and will be broadcast live on ESPN2, Univision and TUDN (pregame coverage on Univision and TUDN will start at 6 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. ET).

COME OUT EARLY

Football supporters are encouraged to come out early for the event.

For the last three decades, the US and Jamaica encounters have produced some fierce battles, and the upcoming matchup in Texas will mark the teams’ 15th meeting in World Cup qualifying games.

The United States to date holds a 7-1-6 record in those meets and a 17-3-8 advantage overall.

This matchup means a ‘triple date’ for the countries, after a friendly match on March 25 in Austria where the United States earned a 4-1 win against the Reggae Boyz.

And just four months later the teams met again at the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal on July 25 in Arlington, Texas, where the US edged out the Reggae Boyz with a 1-0 victory

The US will be tasked with back-to-back matches as they will play three matches in seven days.

EIGHT TEAMS FOR FINAL ROUND

Following the game in Austin, the United States will go up against Panama on October 10 in Panama City and three days later, they will be hosting Costa Rica at Lower.com field in Columbus.

In accordance with the new qualifying format, a total of eight teams will be eligible to compete in the final round.

This is an increase from the previous format which had six teams in past cycles.

The top three teams will advance to Qatar ’22, and the fourth-place team will participate in an Intercontinental playoff for the last spot.