USWNT vs. Canada – 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup – Semifinal
Date: March 6, 2024
Venue: Snapdragon Stadium; San Diego, Calif.
Broadcast: Paramount+, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+
Official Kickoff Time: 10:15 p.m. ET / 7:15 p.m. PT
Starting XI vs. Canada: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 3-Jenna Nighswonger, 4-Naomi Girma, 7-Alex Morgan, 8-Jaedyn Shaw, 10-Lindsey Horan (Capt.), 12-Tierna Davidson, 15-Korbin Albert, 17-Sam Coffey, 22-Trinity Rodman, 23-Emily Fox
Available Subs: 2-Abby Dahlkemper, 5-Becky Sauerbrunn, 6-Lynn Williams, 9-Midge Purce, 11-Sophia Smith, 13-Olivia Moultrie, 14-Emily Sonnett, 16-Rose Lavelle, 18-Casey Murphy, 19-Crystal Dunn, 20-Casey Krueger, 21-Jane Campbell
GAME NOTES | FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
- USWNT Starting XI Cap Numbers (Including this match): Morgan (220), Horan (143), Naeher (101), Davidson (54), Fox (44), Rodman (33), Girma (29), Coffey (12), Shaw (9), Nighswonger (6), Albert (6)
- The starting lineup to face Canada is the same as the lineup that started against Colombia in the quarterfinal, marking the first time this tournament the USA has used the same starting lineup in back-to-back games.
- The Starting XI to face Canada averages 25.9 years of age and 59 caps per player.
- Five players in this Starting XI played in the most recent matchup between the USA and Canada at the 2023 SheBelieves Cup – Naeher, Fox, Horan, Morgan and Rodman – and six – Naeher, Girma, Fox, Horan, Morgan and Rodman – saw the field when the teams met in the 2022 Concacaf W Championship.
- Lindsey Horan will earn her 143rd cap as she makes her fourth consecutive start of the W Gold Cup and captains the U.S. for the 22nd time in her career. Horan is tied for the team lead with three goal involvements this tournament (two goals, one assist) and scored what proved to be the game-winning penalty kick in the quarterfinal win over Colombia.
- Horan now has seven goal contributions (3 goals, 4 assists) in competitive knockout matches. Since her first knockout match appearance in 2016, only Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan (10 each) have more goal contributions in competitive knockout matches than Horan.
- After a stellar showing against Colombia in her 100th cap, Alyssa Naeher will make her fourth start of the tournament as she earns cap No. 101. Naeher has 61 career shutouts, two of which have come at the W Gold Cup. This will be Naeher’s fifth start against Canada in a competitive match. She did not allow a goal in any of her previous four such matches against Canada.
- After scoring her second career goal in the win over Colombia, Jenna Nighswonger will make her third start of the W Gold Cup as earns her sixth cap overall for the USWNT. Nighswonger started and scored from the penalty spot in the USA’s opening match of the Gold Cup against the Dominican Republic and then started and scored her first goal from the run of play in Sunday’s quarterfinal victory.
- Naomi Girma will make her second consecutive and third start overall of the W Gold Cup as she earns her 29th cap. The 2023 U.S. Soccer Player of the Year, Girma and center back partner Tierna Davidson will be starting together for the third time this tournament. Prior to this tournament, the former Stanford teammates had started just two matches together for the USWNT.
- Alex Morgan earns her 220th cap for the USWNT as she makes her third start of the Concacaf W Gold Cup. Morgan is tied for the team lead with three goal involvements this tournament and assisted Jenna Nighswonger’s goal against Colombia on March 3. Morgan has 10 career goals against Canada – her second-most against any opponent – and has scored a total of five goals in six competitive knockout round matches against Canada, including winning goals in the 2022 Concacaf W Championship Final and the 2012 Olympic semifinal. Her five knockout-round goals against Canada are tied for the most by any USWNT player against a single opponent (M. Akers vs. Chinese Taipei, C. Lloyd vs. Japan, A. Wambach vs. Costa Rica).
- Jaedyn Shaw will earn her ninth cap as she makes her third start of the Concacaf W Gold Cup and the fourth of her career. Shaw leads the USA in scoring with three goals this tournament and joined Shannon Boxx as the only players in USWNT history to score in each of their first three starts. No USWNT player has scored in each of the first four starts of their international career.
- With her quarterfinal goal against Colombia coming at 19 years and 104 days of age, Shaw became the youngest player ever and just the third teenager all-time to score for the USWNT in the knockout rounds of a competitive tournament. She joins Kristine Lilly, who scored in the semifinal and final of 1991 World Cup Qualifying, and Heather O'Reilly, who scored in the semifinal of the 2004 Olympics.
- Tierna Davidson will earn her 54th cap as she makes her third start of the Gold Cup and the 40th of her international career. Only 25 years old, Davidson is a veteran of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the Tokyo Olympics and will be making her eighth start for the USWNT in a competitive match.
- Korbin Albert earns her sixth cap as she makes her fourth career start, all of which have come at the Concacaf W Gold Cup. A steady presence in the midfield, Albert ranks fourth on the team with 16 ball recoveries this tournament.
- Sam Coffey will make her third consecutive start and fourth start of the Gold Cup as she earns her 12th cap. Coffey, who entered the Gold Cup with just two starts and seven caps, has played the third-most minutes of anyone on the U.S. roster this tournament and will be making her fifth appearance of the tournament.
- Trinity Rodman earns her 33rd cap as she makes her 23rd consecutive appearance for the USWNT. Rodman, who tallied her first assist of the year on Jaedyn Shaw’s goal against Colombia, has appeared in every match for the USWNT since the start of 2023 and her 23 consecutive appearances are the longest streak by any USWNT player since 2020.
- Emily Fox will make her third consecutive start of the W Gold Cup as she earns 44th cap for the USWNT. Fox finished second on the team in total minutes played in 2023 and logged her first 90-minute performance of 2024 in the quarterfinal win over Colombia.
