South Florida soccer fans unable to swing a trip to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup can enjoy an appetizer much closer to home. The grueling two-year journey to the quadrennial tournament will begin in Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium for the U.S. national team with a qualifier June 8 against Antigua and Barbuda.

It is the first World Cup qualifier in Florida since November 1980, when the United States beat Mexico 2-1 in Fort Lauderdale. The Americans are vying for a seventh consecutive trip to the World Cup.

“Our focus since last summer has been to prepare this team for World Cup qualifying, and we are thrilled that we can start the process in Tampa,” U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said. “It’s critical that we start qualifying off on the right foot, so to be in a place where the team has had such great support is a huge positive for us. The players always talk about how great the surface is at Raymond James Stadium, so overall we think it is the ideal venue.”

The United States is 3-2-1 in Tampa, including a 3-1 victory over Ecuador in 2007 in which Landon Donovan scored a hat trick. The game drew a crowd of 31,000-plus. Tampa also hosted U.S. Under-23 qualifiers for the 2008 Olympics against Cuba, Honduras and Panama.

World Cup qualifying continues for the U.S. team at Guatemala on June 12, the team then plays Sept. 7 at Jamaica and then at home against Jamaica four days later. The team’s last two matches in this round of qualifying are Oct. 12 at Antigua and at home Oct. 16 against Guatemala.

The top two teams from each of three groups advance to the regional finals in 2013. The top three teams qualify for the World Cup, and the fourth-place team goes to a home-and-home playoff against the Oceania champion — likely New Zealand — for another berth.

To prepare for the qualifiers, the Americans will face Scotland in a friendly May 26 in Jacksonville, Brazil on May 30 in Landover, Md., and are at Canada on June 3.

elsewhere

•  Egyptian soccer resumes: The Egyptian domestic league, which has been suspended since a stadium riot Feb. 1 left 74 people dead and more than 1,000 injured, will return to action behind closed doors.

Anwar Saleh, the new president of the Egyptian Football Association, said games will resume once the investigation of the Port Said stadium disaster ends. But no fans will be allowed in the stadiums.

“The league will be resumed behind closed doors, but it all depends on the investigation’s results. Security is the priority of all Egyptians and if it was achieved the fans will return to the stands gradually,” Saleh said in an interview with Ahram Sports weekly magazine.

Egypt’s national team, coached by former U.S. coach Bob Bradley, will play all its scheduled matches, Saleh said.

•  Olympic hopefuls: The U.S. Under-23 roster for Olympic qualifying matches was announced Thursday by coach Caleb Porter. FC Dallas midfielder Brek Shea and New York Red Bulls forward Juan Agudelo — regulars on the senior national team — are on the list of 23.

Freddy Adu (Philadelphia), Teal Bunbury (Kansas City), and Bill Hamid (DC United) are among the other Major League Soccer players on the roster.

The United States opens Olympic qualifying March 22 against Cuba, then plays Canada (March 24) and El Salvador (March 26). All three games are in Nashville.

•  Staying put: Houston Dynamo all-time leading scorer Brian Ching, 33, threatened to retire when he was taken by Montreal in November’s expansion draft and did not show up for training camp. On Thursday, he got his wish and was traded back to Houston by the Impact for a conditional first-round pick in the 2013 draft.

“We have made this decision based on reasons that we felt were beneficial for both the desires and needs of our club and the wishes of Brian Ching,” Impact coach Jesse Marsch said.

•  Chicharito is coming: Mexican national team coach Jose Manuel “Chepo” de la Torre announced the list of European and U.S.-based players on Mexico’s roster for the friendly against Colombia at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Sun Life Stadium.

El Tri’s roster includes Manchester United star forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, Deportivo La Coruña’s Andres Guardado, New York Red Bulls defender Rafa Marquez, and brothers Jonathan Dos Santos of FC Barcelona and Giovani Dos Santos of Tottenham.

Many of the seats in the lower bowl are sold., but other tickets are still available.