A highly anticipated 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match between the U.S. and Mexico is set to rock Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on August 12.

Telemundo will almost certainly enjoy record-setting ratings with its Spanish-language broadcast of the match, set for 4pm Eastern.

But what's making network executives salivate is the fact that it also holds the exclusive domestic English-language rights to the game.

They've never been for sale, and there's been little interest in offering such coverage - until now.

Thanks to the rapidly increasing interest in the U.S. national soccer team - along with its exceptional play in the recent FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa - Telemundo for the first time will be green-lighting a match en inglės for broadcast on sister network Mun2.

"This is an event that merits a dual broadcast," says Jorge Hidalgo, Telemundo's senior executive vice president for sports. Telemundo will likely announce the hosts for Mun2's coverage early next week. The Deportes Telemundo team will produce the telecast.

Telemundo has had the opportunity to offer English-language coverage of the Mexican national team's games staged in Mexico since August 2000, when it snatched away those rights from Univision.

Now, Hidalgo says, Telemundo aims to bring both soccer and Mun2 to a bigger stage by actively promoting the match to English-language audiences across NBC Universal's stable of non-Hispanic networks.

He points out that airing the game on Mun2 makes sense because it will naturally appeal to the young bilingual Latino who already tunes in for the network's mix of bicultural music and entertainment programming. As a bonus are the non-Hispanic viewers who will learn about Mun2 and may find an interest in its programming.

Hildalgo says Telemundo saw the importance of the upcoming U.S.-Mexico match early on. But it's an intensified rivalry between the clubs that fueled interest in staging an English-language simulcast. "El Tri" is seeking revenge for a 2-0 shutdown by the U.S. squad in a February 2009 game held in Columbus, Ohio.

While concerns of a "nightmare scenario" for marketers - a Mexico-less 2010 FIFA World Cup - have ebbed - a loss in Mexico City to the U.S. squad could prove disastrous for a club that must face Honduras in a September 9 battle. The Honduran squad currently has seven points - and is a qualifier. Mexico sits on the fence, with six points.

The Mexican national team has also had to deal with an April 2009 switch in head coaches, from Sven-Göran Eriksson to legendary 1980s Mexican midfielder Javier Aguirre.

Aguirre inadvertently made headlines July 9, toward the end of what had been an ugly match featuring Mexico against Panama. With the game at a 1-1 tie, Panama's Ricardo Phillips dribbled out of bounds near the Mexican bench. Univision television cameras then caught Aguirre sticking his leg out so as to trip Phillips.

Phillips received a Red Card; Aguirre was ejected and later received a three-game expulsion and fine for his actions.

For Hidalgo, the drama surrounding El Tri and the rise of the U.S. team has given Telemundo the "perfect storm." He says, "Mun2 is a network that has been growing and doing very well. Therefore it became a viable option to not only increasing the network's awareness but also give it its first sporting event."

As of today, the only sporting event shown on Mun2 has been wrestling ... and not lucha libre. The network's broadcasts of "WWE - Raw" are by far its most-watched program, according to Nielsen. The July 8 installment attracted 56,000 Hispanic males 18-49, ranking eighth for the week. By household, "WWE - Raw" ranked sixth (Latin Charts & Ratings- Cable TV Ratings Watch 7/15/2009).

Sponsorships for the Mun2 telecast are far from finalized, a Telemundo spokesperson says.

Meanwhile, Hidalgo isn't prepared to suggest that the August 12 broadcast is the start of a series of live-from-Mexico soccer telecasts for Mun2.

"Like anything else in the broadcast world, the results will speak for themselves," he says. "But I'm very confident that the interest and the buzz this has created, and of word getting out early, that we've opened Pandora's Box."