Dome plays host to top international soccer teams

It was a historic day for the Georgia Dome as it hosted its first international soccer game since opening in 1992. The contest between the Mexican national team and the Venezuelan national team ended with a 4-0 win for the Mexicans in the friendly contest. The first half consisted of lots of opportunities for both teams, as each squad had a number of shots on goal in the first 10 minutes. As the game continued, Mexico dominated time of possession and shots on goal but Venezuelan goalkeeper Rafael Romo held his own, as the game remained scoreless going into the last minute of the first half.

But it was the last minute when Mexico made its move, as Giovani Dos Santos had the ball deep in Venezuelan territory and was able to find Carlos Vela for the first goal of the night. After that, it was all Mexico as Dos Santos scored in the 47th minute and got his second goal of the night three minutes later. Mexico scored again 20 minutes later thanks to Omar Bravo finding a streaking Omar Arellano to ice the game.

It was the third game for Team Mexico on its United States tour, and this stop was a huge success with 51,000 fans swarming the Dome. It was as loud as any Falcons game or any college football game the Dome has hosted over the years.

This was also a success for Atlanta because the U.S. is in the running to host the World Cup in 2018 and 2022, and the turnout for the game on Wednesday is just a glimpse of what the World Cup would bring if Atlanta is one of the cities chosen to host. Additionally, there have been talks about an MLS team coming to Atlanta, which could become a reality because of the success of the Mexico-Venezuela contest.

Mexico will play against Guatemala on Sunday in San Diego and will play against archrival the U.S. on August 12 in a World Cup qualifying match. That contest should be an intense one because the U.S. is playing its best soccer as of late and Mexico needs to win in order to remain in the hunt for the 2010 World Cup, which will be held in South Afirca.    

Jones can be reached at bjones@scoreatl.com.