United States

USMNT friendly vs. New Zealand sets record low mark for attendance

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:35 p.m. ET

Ryan Rosenblatt

The United States' friendly against New Zealand on Tuesday night was the record 24th national team match held at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. And only 9,012 people were on hand to watch it.

The small crowd on hand for the match set a record for the smallest crowd to watch the national team at RFK Stadium, which has long been a stronghold for the U.S. It's not exactly what the team was hoping for heading into the final round of World Cup qualifying, which begins next month and usually brings with it a surge in fan interest.

It's not surprising that the crowd was underwhelming. New Zealand is hardly a sexy name and Tuesday night isn't a great time to draw fans in. RFK Stadium, for all its history, is also a complete dump at this point. This crowd can be easily explained away any number of ways. But attendance hasn't been great for the national team since the last World Cup (Copa America aside). Thousands of empty seats have become commonplace, which is obviously disappointing for a team that had seen fan interest rise for the better part of two decades.

We'll see what attendance looks like during the Hex, where the expectation is for every match to have great crowds. They've already sold out the first match of the round, against Mexico, and it would be good to see them getting back to full stadiums again after the lull of the last couple years.

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