Match Preview: USWNT vs. England (October 7th, 2022)
U.S. Women’s soccer is back in action on Friday at Wembley Stadium, taking on the reigning European Champions, the Lionesses from England, in the first of two international friendlies in October. The return of defender Crystal Dunn is the highlight of the 24-player roster selected by Vlatko Andonovski. Still, the reigning World Cup champs will also be without the offensive power of striker Alex Morgan, who is nursing a knee injury.
Coming off maternity leave, Crystal Dunn trained with the team last month but wasn’t part of the friendlies against Nigeria. Midfielder Savannah DeMelo and forward Alyssa Thompson are new additions to the team. Thompson is 17 years old and is the second youngest player to be called up to the USWNT after current player Sophia Smith, who was called up when she was 16 in 2017.
| U.S. Women’s National Team Roster – October European Friendlies |
| GOALKEEPERS: Aubrey Kingsbury, Casey Murphy, Alyssa Naeher |
| DEFENDERS: Alana Cook, Crystal Dunn, Emily Fox, Naomi Girma, Sofia Huerta, Hailie Mace, Becky Sauerbrunn |
| MIDFIELDERS: Sam Coffey, Savannah DeMelo, Lindsey Horan, Jaelin Howell, Rose Lavelle, Kristie Mewis, Ashley Sanchez, Andi Sullivan |
| FORWARDS: Ashley Hatch, Mallory Pugh, Megan Rapinoe, Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith, Alyssa Thompson |
The 2023 World Cup is on Andonovski’s mind with this roster selection. He told reporters, “The group we are bringing to Europe includes players who have a lot of experience against top European teams and some that don’t.” He finished the press conference by noting that “our whole squad needs to get a clear picture of what these games are like as we continue to prepare for the World Cup.”
The United States qualified for the World Cup next year by winning the CONCACAF Championship in July, and the Lionesses through the UEFA qualification process at the beginning of September.
The United States edged England in both appearances in their past two meets. In July 2019, Christen Press and Morgan scored to send the team to the World Cup finals by a 2-1 margin, and the U.S. would beat the Netherlands 2-0.
The teams met last in March 2020 at the opening match of the SheBelieves Cup in Florida. Goals from Press and Carli Lloyd gave the U.S a 2-0 win in Orlando. The United States would go on to win the Cup while England placed third. Since then, England has changed coaches, and under Sarina Wiegman, they have won every game they’ve played since September of last year.
The Lionesses won the UEFA Championship at Wembley earlier this year, but the USWNT hasn’t been to the venue since 2012, where they took down Japan 2-1 to win the gold medal at the Olympic Games. General admission tickets sold out incredibly fast, making this eagerly anticipated matchup the fastest-selling women’s soccer match of all time.
After taking on England on Friday, the U.S. will travel to El Sadar Stadium in Pamplona, Spain, to take on a team much different than the one that qualified for the 2023 World Cup earlier this year. Fifteen players from La Roja signed a letter to the Royal Spanish Football Federation saying the current training environment of the team had harmed their “physical and emotional health,” and they would not play until the situation improves. In response, the Federation released a scathing statement against the fifteen, and coach Jorge Vilda refused to put them on the roster for the U.S. match.
Those looking to watch the match on Friday in the United States can do so on Fox Sports or the Fox Sports website, where the game will kick off at 3 pm Eastern Time!