The 2017 Women’s Nike International Friendlies will take place from Wednesday, Dec. 7 through Monday, Dec. 11 at Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch, Fla. The event will mark the first time the four-team tournament is being held in conjunction with the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Winter Showcase and it will feature the U.S. Under-20 WNT taking on Brazil, England and Finland.
Here are five things to know about the tournament:
Who’s Competing?
The four-team 2017 Women’s Nike International Friendlies will feature U-20 Women’s National Teams from Brazil, England, Finland and the United States.
The USA, Brazil and England will bring players born in 1998 or later while Finland will feature players born in 1997 and later. The USA and Brazil will use the tournament to further preparations for qualifying for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in France. England has already qualified while Finland did not earn a berth to the tournament.
When and How to Watch
The tournament will feature six matches played in three doubleheaders with the USA playing in the evening games on each match day. The U-20 WNT will take on England on Dec. 7, Finland on Dec. 9 and will end the competition against Brazil on Dec. 11. All six matches will be streamed live on U.S. Soccer’s Facebook Page, YouTube channel, and ussoccer.com.
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Match
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Date
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Time (ET)
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Venue
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Live Stream
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Brazil vs. Finland
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Dec. 7
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3:30p.m.
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Premier Sports Campus; Lakewood Ranch, Fla.
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U.S. Soccer Facebook Page; U.S. Soccer YouTube; ussoccer.com
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USA vs. England
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Dec. 7
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6:30 p.m.
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Premier Sports Campus; Lakewood Ranch, Fla.
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U.S. Soccer Facebook Page; U.S. Soccer YouTube; ussoccer.com
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England vs. Brazil
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Dec. 9
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3:30 p.m.
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Premier Sports Campus; Lakewood Ranch, Fla.
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U.S. Soccer Facebook Page; U.S. Soccer YouTube; ussoccer.com
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USA vs. Finland
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Dec. 9
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6:30 p.m.
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Premier Sports Campus; Lakewood Ranch, Fla.
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U.S. Soccer Facebook Page; U.S. Soccer YouTube; ussoccer.com
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Finland vs. England
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Dec. 11
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3:30 p.m.
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Premier Sports Campus; Lakewood Ranch, Fla.
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U.S. Soccer Facebook Page; U.S. Soccer YouTube; ussoccer.com
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USA vs. Brazil
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Dec. 11
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6:30 p.m.
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Premier Sports Campus; Lakewood Ranch, Fla.
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U.S. Soccer Facebook Page; U.S. Soccer YouTube; ussoccer.com
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About the U.S. U-20 WNT in 2017, Qualifying and the 2018 U-20 FIFA WWC
In 2017, the U-20 U.S. WNT has had an excellent year of preparation, taking two trips to Europe – to Spain and to England and Germany – while conducting three domestic training camps, one of which included two games against the Japan U-20 WNT.
The Nike Friendlies will mark the final international matches of the year for the U.S. team, but it will re-convene in Florida for a training camp at the end of the year. That will be the last camp before the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship that is being held in Trinidad & Tobago kicks off Jan. 18-28.
At that tournament, the USA was drawn into Group B with Nicaragua, Mexico and Jamaica. The top three finishers qualify for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in France set to take place Aug. 5-24.
The age cutoff to be eligible for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup is players born on or after January 1, 1998.
U.S. U-20 WNT Nike International Friendlies Roster
On November 30, U.S. U-20 WNT head coach Jitka Klimkova named a 24-player roster for the competition. Klimkova will name 20 players from the roster to suit up for each of the three matches. For this roster, she called up nine players born in 1998, 11 born in 1999 and four born in 2000, making them age-eligible for the 2020 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup as well.
GOALKEEPERS (3): Claudia Dickey (Charlotte Soccer Academy; Charlotte, NC), Laurel Ivory (Virginia; Surfside, Fla.), Amanda McGlynn (Virginia Tech; Jacksonville, Fla.)
DEFENDERS (9): Nicole Albrecht (Minnesota, Cedarburg, Wisc.), Julia Bingham (USC; Ontario, Calif.), Jordan Brewster (Internationals SC; North Canton, Ohio), Sydney Dawson (Internationals SC; North Canton, Ohio), Naomi Girma (California Thorns FC; San Jose, Calif.), Tara McKeown (USC; Newbury Park, Calif.), Zoe Morse (Virginia; East Lansing; Mich.), Isabel Rodriguez (Ohio State; Canton, Mich.), Karina Rodriguez (UCLA; Torrance, Calif.)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Samantha Coffey (Boston College; Sleepy Hollow, NY), Savannah DeMelo (USC; Bellflower, Calif.), Jaelin Howell (Real Colorado; Windsor, Colo.), Taylor Kornieck (Colorado; Henderson, Nev.), Brianna Pinto (NTH Tophat; Durham, NC), Viviana Villacorta (UCLA; Lawndale, Calif.)
FORWARDS (6): Jordan Harr (Texas Tech; Sachse, Texas), Abigail Kim (California; Vashon, Wash.), Civana Kuhlmann (Stanford; Littleton. Colo.), Sophia Smith (Real Colorado; Windsor, Colo.), Taryn Torres (Virginia; Frisco, Texas), Kelsey Turnbow (Santa Clara, Scottsdale, Ariz.)
WNT and Youth World Cup Experience
Out of the 24 players on the 2017 Nike International Friendlies roster, nine have experience playing in a FIFA Women’s World Cup at the youth level: Laurel Ivory (U-17 WWC), Naomi Girma (U-17 WWC), Isabel Rodriguez (U-17 WWC), Karina Rodriguez (U-17 WWC), Savannah DeMelo (U-20 WWC), Jaelin Howell (U-17 WWC), Brianna Pinto (U-17 WWC), Sophia Smith (U-17 WWC) and Civana Kuhlmann (U-17 WWC).
Additionally, three players – midfielders Howell (April of 2017) and Pinto (February and March 2017) and forward Smith (April 2017) – have trained with the full Women’s National Team, although none have been capped.
