First-Goal Ball from Thursday’s U.S. Soccer USMNT World Cup Qualifier Up for Grabs

June 08, 2017

U.S. Soccer Ball Auction

As Christian Pulisic and the U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team enter tonight’s crucial Wold Cup qualifier against Trinidad and Tobago in Denver, you can bet that a nation full of rapt soccer fans will be closely monitoring every pass, penalty, goal and assist. But the memorabilia-minded fans in attendance or watching at home should pay special attention to the U.S. Men’s National Team’s first goal tonight.

The very ball used to score that goal will be acquired by U.S. Soccer and Panini Authentic officials shortly after it touches the back of the net. From there, the historic ball will make its way to a lucky fan or collector through a unique eBay auction that’s already underway.

The item description succinctly sums up the details:

“This official United States Men’s Soccer National Team game ball was the first goal scored by a United States player during a match against Trinidad & Tobago on June 8th, 2017. This item was collected and authenticated by an official representative of Panini Authentic in partnership with the USMNT.”

The auction started as a pre-sale item just minutes ago and will be open for bidding until Saturday morning. Of course, the final value will have so much to do with who scores tonight’s first USMNT goal — and perhaps how they score it. Regardless, this unique auction should give fans one more reason to watch a World Cup qualifier that was already must-see stuff before.

You can visit the auction now.