CHICAGO (May 8, 2008) — Tickets for the USA's first qualifying match for the 2010 FIFA World Cup will go on sale Sunday, May 11, beginning at 12 p.m. PT.  The U.S. will host Barbados on Sunday, June 15 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.  Kickoff for the first leg of the Second Round series is set for 2 p.m. PT, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and Galavision.  The second leg will be played on June 22, with details still to be finalized.

Tickets ranging in price levels from $19 to $66 go on sale to the public Sunday, May 11, at 12 p.m. PT through ussoccer.com, by phone (213-480-3232 in L.A.; 714-740-2000 in Orange County; 619-220-8497 in San Diego), and at all Ticketmaster ticket centers throughout Southern California (including Macy’s, Wherehouse Music, FYE and Ritmo Latino). Fans can also buy tickets at The Home Depot Center Box Office on Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Groups of 20 or more can obtain a group order form at ussoccer.com or call 312-528-1290.

Ultimate Fan Tickets (a special VIP package which includes a premium ticket, a custom made official U.S. national team jersey with your name and number, VIP access to the field before and after the game, and other unique benefits), are also available exclusively through ussoccer.com.

As a sponsor of U.S. Soccer, Visa® is pleased to offer all Visa cardholders access to an advance ticket sale for this match before they go on sale to the general public. This advance sale will take place from Saturday, May 10, at 12 p.m. PT until Sunday, May 11, at 10 a.m. at ussoccer.com. Visa will be the only payment method accepted through the Visa presale and is the preferred card of U.S. Soccer. Terms and conditions apply.

U.S. Soccer has launched a new video campaign that peeks into the Men's National Team's preparation for qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Click here to view the initial segments and return weekly for the latest updates.

The U.S. and Barbados have only met twice before in their history, the matches taking place in the Semifinal Round of 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying in a group that also included Guatemala and Costa Rica. The U.S. dominated both matches, winning 7-0 on Aug. 16, 2000, in Foxborough, Mass., before cruising to a 4-0 victory in the final group match on Nov. 15, a win that booked the USA’s passage to the final stage.  

Should the U.S. advance, the Semifinal Round will take place from August to November in 2008, with the teams divided into three groups of four teams each. Playing a six-game round robin format, the top two finishers from each group will advance to the final six-team group that will be played in 2009. Once again played in a round robin format of 10 games, the top three teams from the six-team group will automatically advance to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The fourth-place finisher will meet the fifth-place team from South America in a home-and-away playoff for the final berth in the finals.     

The U.S. is gearing up for a trio of blockbuster friendlies in advance of the Barbados match, beginning with a trip to famed Wembley Stadium for a May 28 clash with England.  More than 1,300 tickets were sold in the U.S. Supporters Section for the USA’s second-ever trip to London.  The U.S. will then face fourth-ranked Spain on June 4 at the Estadio El Sardinero in Santander, before heading back across the Atlantic to face No. 1-ranked Argentina on June 8 in New Jersey.  More than 42,000 tickets (buy tickets) have been sold for the USA’s final match at Giants Stadium, which will be Presented by Visa®.