Sunil Gulati confirms “most” U.S. final round World Cup qualifiers bound for MLS venues

Clues are now falling on where those five United States final round World Cup qualifiers will be staged – and that bit of news revelation will be among the bigger stories of early 2013.

Sunil Gulati, speaking to Grant Wahl in an interview that ran Sunday on Fox Soccer Channel, talked up the likelihood that “most,” but not all, apparently, of the final stage qualifiers set for 2013 in the United States will be at MLS venues.

He began the conversation by mentioning Columbus Crew Stadium in Ohio and Livestrong Sporting Park outside Kansas City – two venues that seem like naturals.

Columbus has its history as a great spot for U.S. success, and Kansas City makes sense due to its geography (centrally located within the United States) and because it’s quite possibly the country’s best designed soccer venue.

Said Gulati:

I don’t think there will be any surprises. We’ve gone and been very successful into a number of places. We’ve done well in Columbus. Kansas City has got an extraordinary venue. We’ve played in Salt Lake and done well. Denver has been a good venue for us. We’ve played in Philadelphia. … Because of the develop of MLS venues, we are now in a situation where we can go into stadiums that are the perfect size for us, ensure that we have a  home crowd, with a perfect playing surface and all the amenities that fans would want.”

“So I think you’ll see us play at a number of MLS venues. It won’t be exclusively that, but I think you’ll see us play at a number of MLS venues.”

The entire interview, shown on the FSC show Goals on Sunday, is here.