USWNT vs. Wales – World Cup Send-Off Match presented by Visa
Date: July 9, 2023
Venue: PayPal Park; San Jose, Calif.
Broadcast: TNT, Telemundo, Universo, Peacock
Broadcast Time: 1 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. ET (Pre-game coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. PT / 3:30 p.m. ET on TNT)
Official Kickoff Time: 1:07 p.m. PT / 4:07 p.m. ET
Starting XI vs. Wales: 1-Alyssa Naeher, 2-Ashley Sanchez, 4-Naomi Girma, 7-Alyssa Thompson, 10-Lindsey Horan, 11-Sophia Smith, 12-Alana Cook, 13-Alex Morgan, 17-Andi Sullivan, 19-Crystal Dunn, 23-Emily Fox
Available Subs: 3-Sofia Huerta, 5-Kelley O’Hara, 6-Lynn Williams, 8-Julie Ertz, 9-Savannah DeMelo, 14-Emily Sonnett, 15-Megan Rapinoe, 16-Rose Lavelle, 18-Casey Murphy, 20-Trinity Rodman, 21-Aubrey Kingsbury, 22-Kristie Mewis
GAME NOTES | FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
- USWNT Starting XI Cap Numbers (Including this match): Morgan (207), Dunn (132), Horan (129), Naeher (91), Sullivan (45), Smith (30), Fox (29), Cook (25), Sanchez (25), Girma (16), Thompson (4)
- Sunday’s starting lineup features five players with strong connections to the Bay Area. Defender Naomi Girma grew up in San Jose and attended Stanford University, where she helped lead the Cardinal to the 2019 NCAA Championship. Cook, Smith and Sullivan also attended Stanford – each winning a national championship during their time on The Farm – while Morgan attended the University of California, Berkeley.
- This Starting XI averages 66 caps per player with three players in today’s Starting XI – Morgan, Dunn and Horan - with over 100 caps. Naeher has eclipsed 90 caps while the other seven starters today – Sullivan, Smith, Fox, Cook, Sanchez, Girma and Thompson – all have fewer than 50 international appearances.
- Lindsey Horan, who is headed to her second FIFA Women’s World Cup, will captain the USA and is slated to earn her 129th career cap. Horan, who leads the USWNT with 500 total minutes played this year, will captain the USA for the 10th time in her career and, along with Morgan, was announced as one of the team captains heading into the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
- Heading into her third World Cup, Alyssa Naeher will earn her 91st cap as she makes her 88th career start and her fifth of 2023. Naeher has three shutouts so far this year and 53 clean sheets total in her USWNT career, good for third overall in program history.
- Midfielder Ashley Sanchez will make her fifth start of 2023 and the 11th of her international career as she earns her 25th cap overall. Sanchez, who was named to her first Women’s World Cup roster but boasts vast experience at FIFA Youth World Cups, played the full 90 minutes in the USA’s most recent match, a 1-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland on April 11.
- San Jose native Naomi Girma will make her 16th international appearance and 14th career start as she plays her first match with the USWNT in her hometown. Girma, one of four players on this World Cup roster born after the historic 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup, made her senior National Team debut in April 2022 and has played the full 90 minutes in 10 of her 15 career caps.
- The youngest player on this roster and the second-youngest player ever named to a USWNT World Cup roster, 18-year-old Alyssa Thompson, is set to make her second consecutive start as she earns her fourth cap overall. Thompson made her first career start – and played the full 90 minutes – in the USA’s April 11 match in St. Louis – becoming the youngest player to start for the USWNT since 2016.
- Sophia Smith will make her third consecutive start as she earns her 30th cap for the USWNT. The reigning U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year, Smith is heading to her first World Cup following a stellar 2022 campaign in which she led the team in scoring with 11 goals.
- Defender Alana Cook will make her fifth start of the year as she earns her 25th cap for the USWNT. Cook scored her first career goal – which came on her birthday nonetheless – in the USA’s April 11 victory over the Republic of Ireland, becoming just the third player in USWNT history to score on her birthday. Cook is heading to her first FIFA Women’s World Cup at any level.
- Heading into her fourth World Cup, Alex Morgan is set to make her seventh start of 2023, which is tied with Lindsey Horan for the most by any USWNT player this year. Morgan is set to earn her 207th cap overall, breaking a tie with Tiffeny Milbrett to take sole possession of 10th on the USWNT’s all-time cap charts.
- Midfielder Andi Sullivan will make her sixth start of 2023 as she earns her 45th cap for the USWNT. Named to her first World Cup roster – and first world championship event - Sullivan leads the USWNT in total minutes and games played since the end of the 2021 Olympics, logging 1,973 minutes of action over 27 games.
- Defender Crystal Dunn, headed to her second World Cup, is set to make her sixth start of the year as she earns her 132nd cap overall – moving into a tie with Amy Rodriguez for 29th on the USA’s all-time caps list. Dunn is one of three mothers on this World Cup roster, along with Morgan and midfielder Julie Ertz, all of whom will be heading to their first World Cup as moms.
- Emily Fox is headed to her first Women’s World Cup and will make her sixth start of 2023 – and her 20th since the start of 2022 – as she earns her 29th cap overall for the USA. A mainstay on the USA defense following the conclusion of the 2021 Olympics, Fox has played in 24 of the USA’s 29 matches since the October 2021 FIFA window and currently ranks second in the team with 495 total minutes played in 2023.
- Uncapped midfielder Savannah DeMelo is available for selection today and if she sees action would become the ninth player on this World Cup roster to earn their first cap under head coach Vlatko Andonovski. DeMelo is just the third player ever to make a U.S. World Cup roster without previously earning a cap, joining Debbie Keller in 1995 and Shannon Boxx in 2003.
