Mexico to face Bolivia on Feb. 24 at Candlestick Park

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The San Jose Earthquakes and Soccer United Marketing (SUM) announced today that the Mexican National Team will face Bolivia on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, presented by Visa. The match kicks off at 8 p.m. PT and will be the first of six matches that Mexico will play in the United States in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

A Visa presale begins Jan. 28 and tickets go on sale to the general public at 11 a.m. PT on Friday, Jan. 29. Tickets for the game are available by visiting Tickets.com or calling 1-800-225-2277. For group tickets, fans should call 408-556-7700. Tickets range from $25-$80. A special two-pack that includes a ticket to the Mexico-Bolivia game and a ticket to the Earthquakes season opener against Real Salt Lake on March 27 can be purchased for $30.

Mexico last faced Bolivia in San Francisco in 2002 in one of the team's final matches before the 2002 FIFA World Cup. El Tri last played at Candlestick in 2006 in a match against Norway. Mexico has played a number of matches in recent years at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, including two matches in 2009. Mexico faced Sweden in front of 46,550 fans on Jan. 28, 2009 before taking on Nicaragua in the CONCACAF Gold Cup on July 5, 2009. The two previous trips by Mexico to the Coliseum resulted in sellout crowds of 47,416. The Mexican national team defeated Ecuador 4-2 on March 28, 2007 and on March 2, 2008, the Under-23 teams of Mexico and Australia tied 1-1.

The annual U.S. tour will serve the Mexican National Team the opportunity to finalize their preparation, culminating in the FIFA World Cup opener on June 11 in Johannesburg against host South Africa.

Following the match at Candlestick, El Tri will then head to Southern California to face World Cup-bound New Zealand on Wednesday, March 3 at the historic Rose Bowl in Pasadena (8:00 p.m. PT), in a game presented by Wrigley's Extra. The Federación Mexicana de Fútbol encourages its fans to go online early and purchase tickets using their Visa cards.

"Our goal in the first trimester of 2010 is to prepare the Mexican National Team for the FIFA World Cup," said Nestor de la Torre, director of national team programs for the Mexican Federation. "The U.S. tour allows us to test our squad while giving our fans from all parts of the country the chance to send us off to South Africa."

El Tri will showcase its World Cup hopefuls in every region of the United States. The tour includes Mexico's first appearance in Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium in late March, and the first international sporting event at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, which will be home to the NFL's New York Jets and New York Giants.

Mexican National team 2010 U.S. Tour

All other ticket information will be announced in the coming weeks.

"We have seen fervent support for the Mexican National Team in many parts of the United States, and together with FMF, SUM is committed to making the 2010 U.S. tour an unforgettable experience for the fans," said Will Wilson, executive vice president for SUM.

Returning for the Mexican National Team's 2010 U.S. Tour as sponsors are adidas, Allstate, AT&T, Bud Light, Coca-Cola, Degree for Men, Jose Cuervo, Makita, NAPA Auto Parts, The Home Depot, and Visa, while welcoming in new partners Cacique and Wrigley's Extra. Together, the tour sponsors will again make the Mexican National Team's matches an all-day event, with the ever-popular Fútbol Fiesta, an interactive zone that spans more than 100,000 square feet at every game and includes live music, games, celebrities and thousands of promotional items.