Sources: Seattle in the mix to host US World Cup qualifier

The city that has set the standard for large, loud crowds in MLS may be closer than ever to hosting the US national team for a massive World Cup qualifier.

Seattles CenturyLink Field is most definitely in the reckoning to become one of the USMNTs five home venues for the upcoming Hexagonal round of CONCACAF qualifying, but at least one major hurdle remains as the US Soccer Federation navigates what has become a highly competitive selection process for its biggest matches on US soil.

US Soccer officials have confirmed to MLSsoccer.com that recent statements made by Seattle Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer at the clubs year-end meeting that Seattle areactively in conversations with the federation about this matter are accurate, although they noted that the same can be said for a range of other possible sites around the country.

Another source even stated that US head coach Jurgen Klinsmann himself has made holding a match in Seattle a high priority, with the German-American boss apparently eager to put the numbers, noise and passion of the Emerald City faithful to use on behalf of his team in one of five must-win games on what looks like a tricky road to Brazil 2014. The Sounders have set new MLS attendance records in every season since their arrival in the league in 2009 and many in Rave Green believe they can offer a dramatic home-field advantage for the US.

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Speaking off the record due to the sensitivity of ongoing venue negotiations, others with knowledge of the process emphasize the hard realities standing in the way, however. Despite Seattles unassailable quality as a soccer market, its been about a decade since US Soccer selected the region to host a mens national team game, a drought with many factors but one major, unavoidable one: the playing surface.

CenturyLinks slick, firm FieldTurf does not enthuse federation officials and while the installation of temporary grass sod has become something of a summer ritual when foreign clubs visit for exhibition matches, the US have not been impressed by their recent experiences on similar pitches in Detroit, Foxborough, Mass., and the New Jersey Meadowlands. Such temporary surfaces tend to be heavy, choppy and susceptible to poor drainage, a nagging concern in the Pacific Northwest even during the relatively dry summer months.

The US struggled in two semifinal-round qualifiers on subpar fields in Jamaica and Antigua earlier this year and would have little time to acclimate to an unfamiliar surface in Seattle, whether natural or synthetic.

Yanks fans may not be able to take it for granted that CenturyLink would present a strongly pro-US crowd: A Mexico-Ecuador friendly drew more than 50,000 to the stadium in 2011 and US Soccers efforts to direct domestic ticket sales to their own supporters has historically been more difficult at larger-sized venues.

READ: Full CONCACAF Hexagonal schedule

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Sources: Seattle in the mix to host US World Cup qualifier