The U.S. national team’s road through the Copa America Centenario is coming right through Seattle.
The USMNT learned Saturday night that they will play their quarterfinal matchup at CenturyLink Field on Thursday, June 16 (6:30 p.m. PT), the result an unlikely and dramatic sequence of events on the final day of action in Group A.
Seattle Sounders forward Clint Dempsey scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Paraguay to clinch the USMNT’s berth in quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon, but they didn’t learn they would play in the Emerald City until Costa Rica stunned world power Colombia 3-2 in the last game of the night, giving the U.S. the top seed in Group A based on goal differential.
Now the Americans will host Ecuador, who finished runner-up in Group B. The two teams played in a tune-up last month before the tournament began, with the US posting a 1-0 win on the back of a late goal from Darlington Nagbe.
The U.S. last played in Seattle in June 2013, when they topped Panama 2-0 in CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying.
CenturyLink Field will also play host to the final game of the group stage in Group D, as Argentina take on Bolivia on Tuesday (7 p.m. PT).
