PREVIEW: Yanks and Aussies Compete for Top Spot in 2018 Tournament of Nations Standings

Coming off a convincing 4-2 win against Japan on July 26 to open the 2018 Tournament of Nations, the USA now takes on Australia – last years’ ToN winner – on July 29 at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field (7 p.m. ET on FS1). Australia opened its tournament with a solid all-around performance in a 3-1 victory against Brazil and the teams are tied atop the standing with three points each and a plus-2 goal difference, but the USA currently has the edge based on more goals scored. The clash in Connecticut will be a grudge match of sorts for the USA which opened the 2017 Tournament of Nations with a 1-0 setback to Australia, but has not lost since, going 15-0-2 over the past year which includes an 8-0-1 mark in 2018.

After the Tournament of Nations, the USA will have two friendly matches against Chile (Aug. 31 in Los Angeles and Sept. 4 in San Jose) before entering World Cup qualifying. The USA’s 2018 has so far featured wins over Denmark, Germany, England, Mexico (twice), China PR (twice), and Japan, along with a tie against France.

Follow all the #USWNT and tournament action on Twitter using #ToN2018 on@ussoccer_wntand @ussoccer_esp, and also on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat (ussoccer_wnt).

U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position (Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (3): 21- Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC; 0/0), 24- Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 16/0), 1- Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 30/0)
DEFENDERS (6): 7- Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 20/0), 12- Tierna Davidson (Stanford; 9/0), 11- Merritt Mathias (NC Courage; 1/0), 4- Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals FC; 139/0), 14- Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 22/0), Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC; 18/0)
MIDFIELDERS (8): 6- Morgan Brian (Chicago Red Stars; 76/6), 2- Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars; 62/15); 9- Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 52/5), 16- Rose Lavelle (Washington Spirit; 9/2), 10- Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC; 255/100); 3- Samantha Mewis (NC Courage; 37/7); 20- Allie Long (Seattle Reign; 39/6), 25- McCall Zerboni (NC Courage; 3/0)
FORWARDS (6): 19- Crystal Dunn (NC Courage; 65/23), 17- Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns; 134/19), 13- Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 143/89), 23- Christen Press (Utah Royals FC; 101/44), 15- Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign; 138/38), 12- Amy Rodriguez (Utah Royals FC; 131/30)

STORYLINES

#ToN2018 Schedule: The competition tournament format is same as the SheBelieves Cup and last year’s Tournament of Nations with the four teams each participating in three doubleheader events at three different venues over an eight-day period. The winner of the tournament will be based on total points (three for a win, one for a tie), with the first tie-breaker being overall goal difference, followed by most total tournament goals scored, then head-to-head result and lastly, FIFA Ranking if necessary.

Date	Matches	Stadium	City	Kickoff	TV
July 29	Japan vs. Brazil	Pratt & Whitney Stadium	East Hartford, Conn.	4:15 p.m. ET	ussoccer.com
July 29	USA vs. Australia	Pratt & Whitney Stadium	East Hartford, Conn.	7 p.m. ET	FS1
Aug. 2	Australia vs. Japan	Toyota Park	Bridgeville, Ill.	4:45 p.m. CT	ussoccer.com
Aug. 2	USA vs. Brazil	Toyota Park	Bridgeville, Ill.	7:30 p.m. CT	FS1

#ToN2018 Standings

Team	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts.
USA	1	1	0	0	4	2	+2	3
Australia	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	3
Japan	1	0	1	0	2	4	-2	0
Brazil	1	0	1	0	1	3	-2	0

USA vs. Australia: The USA has a record of 25-1-2 against Australia dating back to 1987, and has outscored Australia 95-23, only allowing more than one goal against the Matildas on four occasions. Australia’s lone win came at last year’s Tournament of Nations in an even match that saw the Aussies take their chance while goalkeeper Lydia Williams made several great saves.

Read: Five Things to Know About Australia, Presented by Thorne

Before last year’s match in the ToN, the most recent meeting between the teams came at the 2015 Women’s World Cup in the opening game of the tournament for both teams. Megan Rapinoe scored early before Lisa De Vanna equalized in the 27th minute. Christen Press got the game-winner off an assist from Sydney Leroux in the 61st,before Rapinoe scored a dagger in the 78th to clinch the match. Twelve of the 15 players who played vs. the USA in last year’s ToN match are back, including nine starters. The USA brings back 13 of 16 players who played, including nine starters.

Australia at #ToN2017: Australia won last year’s inaugural Tournament of Nations, defeating the USA 1-0, taking down Japan, 4-2, and rolling past Brazil, 6-1. The USA defeated Brazil 4-3, coming back from a 3-1 deficit, and beat Japan 3-0 to finish second. Japan, which finished third, drew 1-1 with Brazil, which finished fourth.

Strong NWSL Presence for Australia at #ToN2018: Australia brings 10 NWSL players into the tournament, and had named an 11th, but Steph Catley returned to Australia due to a death in the family. The 10 players are: goalkeeper Lydia Williams (Seattle Reign), defenders Claire Polkinghorne (Houston Dash), Alanna Kennedy (Orlando Pride) and Ellie Carpenter (Portland Thorns), midfielders Emily Van Egmond (Orlando Pride) and Katrina Gorry (Utah Royals FC), and forwards Caitlin Foord (Portland Thorns FC), Hayley Raso (Portland Thorns), Kyah Simon (Houston Dash) and Sam Kerr (Chicago Red Stars).

Carpenter is the youngest ever to play in the NWSL. She made her debut on May 9, 2018 on the road against Houston at 18 years, 12 days. She is also the youngest player to score in the NWSL, tallying on May 19, 2018 on the road against Washington Spirit at age 18 years, 22 days.Kerr, one of the world’s top strikers, was named the 2017 NWSL MVP and leading scorer. She is the all-time leading scorer in the NWSL. Kerr is also a finalist for the 2018 FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year. She scored a brilliant goal against Brazil in Australia’s opening game of the Tournament of Nations and now has 25 in 68 caps.Kerr has picked up where she left off and is tied for the NWSL lead in scoring with nine goals.

Naeher Comes Home: The U.S. is playing in home state of goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who hails from Stratford, to play its seventh match at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. The most recent game as a 7-0 victory against Colombia on April 6, 2016 in which Allie Long scored twice while Crystal Dunn, Mallory Pugh, Carli Lloyd, Tobin Heath and Christen Press had single goals. Australia will be the seventh different opponent that USA has played at the stadium.

Morgan Keeps on Scoring: After scoring in the opening match of the year against Denmark, twice each in both April games against Mexico, bagging the game-winner against China PR on June 7, and getting a hat trick against Japan on July 26, Alex Morgan has 89 goals in 143 caps and at age 29 sits in sole possession of seventh place on the USA’s all-time goal scoring list. She has scored 16 goals over her last 16 WNT matches through the end of 2017 and start of 2018. Morgan’s brace vs. Mexico on April 8 marked the 19th two-goal game of her career and her hat trick against Japan was her 23rd multi-goal game. Morgan’s opening goal vs. Mexico on April 5 was the first of her international career to come via a penalty kick. More .

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