With less than two weeks to go until the opening match of the 2024 Olympics, the U.S. Women’s National Team takes the field on Saturday, July 13 against Mexico at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. for the Impact 99 Legacy Match, presented by New York Life. The game, which kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET (TNT, truTV, Telemundo, Universo, Max and Peacock), will be the first of two matches for the Americans before heading to France for the Olympics. In celebration of the 25-year-anniversary of the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup, U.S. Soccer has brought together all 20 players from that famed squad to be honored before the match on Saturday,
Following the game in New Jersey, the U.S. will travel to the nation’s capital where it will face Costa Rica on July 16 at Audi Field in the 2024 Send-Off Match presented by Coca-Cola (7:30 p.m. ET on TNT, truTV, Universo, Max and Peacock).
The 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team, comprised of 18 players on the final roster along with four alternates, will feature in both matches as head coach Emma Hayes and company continue the final preparations before the Olympic opener on July 25 against Zambia.
Fans can follow all the action from Saturday’s match via X (formerly Twitter - @USWNT), Instagram (@USWNT), Facebook and the official U.S. Soccer App.
HAYES ANNOUNCES OLYMPIC ROSTER
On June 26, Hayes announced the 18-player roster for the Paris Olympics. Midfielder Catarina Macario was initially named to the roster but is unable to prepare physically for the Olympic tournament due to consistent irritation in her right knee. Pending official confirmation from the USOPC, IOC and FIFA, Macario will be replaced on the 18-player roster by Lynn Williams, who was originally named to the team as an alternate. Defender Emily Sams, who earned her first USWNT call-up as a training player for this camp, is slated to join the team in France as an alternate.
The squad now heading to France features eight players from the 2020 Olympic Team, 11 players from the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup squad and four players named to their first roster at a senior world championship. The 18-player roster has an average age of 27.0 and averages nearly four years younger than the roster for the 2020 Olympics. The Olympic roster is broken down by position into two goalkeepers, six defenders, four midfielders and six forwards.
Saturday’s match against Mexico and the July 16 game against Costa Rica will feature a 22-player roster, comprised of all 18 players on the Olympic roster plus the four alternates.
U.S. OLYMPIC WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB)
GOALKEEPERS (2): 18-Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage), 1-Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)
DEFENDERS (6): 12-Tierna Davidson (NJ/NY Gotham FC), 2-Emily Fox (Arsenal FC, ENG), 4-Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC), 6-Casey Krueger (Washington Spirit), 13-Jenna Nighswonger (NJ/NY Gotham FC), 14-Emily Sonnett (NJ/NY Gotham FC)
MIDFIELDERS (4): 3-Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA), 17-Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC), 10-Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon, FRA), 16-Rose Lavelle (NJ/NY Gotham FC)
FORWARDS (6): 7-Crystal Dunn (NJ/NY Gotham FC), 5-Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), 15-Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave FC), 11-Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC), 9-Mallory Swanson (Chicago Red Stars), 8-Lynn Williams (NJ/NY Gotham FC)
ALTERNATES (4): 20-Croix Bethune (Washington Spirit), 22-Jane Campbell (Houston Dash), 19-Hal Hershfelt (Washington Spirit), 21-Emily Sams (Orlando Pride)
2024 MEDIA GUIDE
The 2024 U.S. Women’s National Team Media Guide is available for download. The Media Guide features all the history and statistics for the USWNT, as well as full bios on technical staff and the current top players, information on the USA’s Youth Women’s National Teams and general important information on U.S. Soccer.
IMPACT 99
Prior to kick off on Saturday afternoon, U.S. Soccer will honor the players and staff of the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup Team in celebration of the 25th anniversary summer of their historic run to the championship of a tournament that changed the course of women’s soccer history in the USA and globally.
Impact legacy matches, presented by New York Life, will take place annually and will focus on important games in U.S. Soccer history that positively impacted future generations of National Team players. “Impact 99” features a U.S. Soccer-organized reunion of the 1999 World Cup team that defeated China PR on penalties on July 10, 1999, in front of a record-setting crowd at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. to capture the USWNT’s second star.
The USA opened the 1999 World Cup in New Jersey with a 3-0 win over Denmark at the old Giants Stadium, less than 10 miles from Saturday’s game at Red Bull Arena. A crowd of 78,972 fans was on hand that day as Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly and Julie Foudy all scored to kickstart that monumental summer for women’s sport.
ALYSSA 100
Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, a native of nearby Connecticut, will also be honored before the start of Saturday’s match for achieving her 100th cap. Naeher made her historic 100th appearance on March 3 in a 3-0 shutout victory over Colombia in the quarterfinals at the Concacaf W Gold Cup, becoming just the third goalkeeper in U.S. Soccer history to reach 100 caps along with Briana Scurry (175 caps) and Hope Solo (202). A two-time World Cup champion and now three-time Olympian, Naeher is now up to 62 shutouts in her 104 caps and will be heading to her sixth world championship with the USWNT.
The match at Red Bull Arena will be the 44th meeting all-time between the USA and Mexico, breaking a tie with Sweden and making Mexico the fourth most-common opponent in USWNT history. The U.S. leads the all-time series 40W-2L-1D and its 40 wins against La Tri are the second-most against any opponent in program history, trailing only Canada (53 wins).
This will be the second meeting between the USWNT and Mexico this year and the first since La Tri handed the U.S. a 2-0 defeat on February 26 in Carson, Calif. in the final group stage match of the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup. The victory was just Mexico’s second ever win against its North American neighbors and its first since 2010.
As the USA looks to start a new win streak in the series, Mexico aims to do what has only been done by one other nation and win consecutive matches against the USWNT on American soil. Norway is the only team to accomplish this feat, doing so in five straight visits to the USA from 1987-92 and again in two consecutive matches in 2000.
Prior to their meeting at the Gold Cup, the most recent meeting between the USA and Mexico came on July 11, 2022, during the final group stage game at the Concacaf W Championship in Monterrey. The USA prevailed 1-0 in a hard-fought match behind an 89th minute game winner from Kristie Mewis. The USA went on to win the Concacaf W Championship and qualify for both the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2024 Olympics while Mexico failed to advance out of the group, failing to qualify for either tournament.
This will be the first time that the teams have met in friendly competition since July 2021, when the USA played Mexico twice in East Hartford, Conn. In its final matches before heading to the delayed Tokyo Olympics. The Americans won both games by 4-0 scorelines.
OFF TO THE OLYMPICS
The USA will kick off play at the 2024 Summer Olympics – the eighth Olympic Games to feature women’s soccer – all of which have featured the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team - on July 25, one day before the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, opening Group B play against Zambia at Stade de Nice in Nice (9 p.m. local / 3 p.m. ET). Zambia defeated Morocco 3-2 on aggregate in the two-leg playoff in CAF Qualifying in April to secure the 12th and final spot in the Olympic field.
After opening the tournament in Nice, the Americans will play in Marseille for their second match at Stade de Marseille and will face Germany on July 28 (9 p.m. local / 3 p.m. ET). The USA will finish group play against Australia on July 31 (7 p.m. local / 1 p.m. ET) at Stade de Marseille. Located in the south for France, Nice is nearly 600 miles from Paris near France’s border with Monaco and Italy. Marseille, located 125 miles west of Nice, is the second-largest city in France.
The top two teams from each group along with the two best third-place finishers will advance to the knockout rounds.
HAYES ERA OPENS WITH JUNE VICTORIES
The first two USWNT games under Hayes were feel-good performances and quality results for the USWNT as the team picked up two wins over South Korea on June 1 and June 4 in Colorado and Minnesota, respectively. Before coming to U.S. Soccer, Hayes, spent 12 years as head coach for Chelsea FC, one of the most successful women’s teams in Europe, helping the club to 15 trophies including five consecutive Women’s Super League trophies.
Hayes started her coaching career in the United States in the early 2000s, starting her career in the New York area. She coached numerous clubs in the Long Island area, served as head coach of the Long Island Lady Riders in the USL W-League and eventually became the head coach at Iona College in New Rochelle, N.Y.
Hayes is the 10th full-time head coach in USWNT history and the fourth full-time female head coach in the history of the program.
USA TEAM & ROSTER NOTES
- This will be the USWNT’s ninth match all-time at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. The USWNT has an overall record of 5W-1L-2D at the venue.
- Four of the players on this roster have 100+ caps, led by midfielder and team captain Lindsey Horan with 148 caps. Crystal Dunn has 147 international appearances followed by Alyssa Naeher (104 caps) and Rose Lavelle (100).
- Eight of the 22 players available for selection on Saturday have 20 caps or fewer, including three uncapped players in Emily Sams and midfielders Croix Bethune and Hal Hershfelt. Defender Jenna Nighswonger has the fewest caps on the 18-player Olympic roster with just nine international appearances.
- Seven players on this roster – Naomi Girma, Sophia Smith, Hal Hershfelt, Jenna Nighswonger, Trinity Rodman, Korbin Albert, Jaedyn Shaw – were born after the historic 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary this summer. Smith became the first player born after the ’99 World Cup to earn a USWNT cap when she debuted for the U.S. on November 27, 2020, against the Netherlands.
- Horan is the top scorer on this roster with 35 international goals, followed by forward Mallory Swanson with 34, Dunn with 25 and Lavelle with 24.
- Horan also leads the U.S. with 784 total minutes played in 2024, followed by Sam Coffey (677), Emily Fox (661) and Alyssa Naeher (660).
- Eleven different players have scored so far for the USWNT in 2024 – led by five goals from Shaw, four goals each from Horan and Smith, two goals each from Alex Morgan, Olivia Moultrie, Tierna Davidson, Mallory Swanson and Jenna Nighswonger and one each from Dunn, Lynn Williams and Lily Yohannes.
- Trinity Rodman and Rose Lavelle lead the U.S. with three assists apiece this year, follow by Sophia Smith and Midge Purce with two each.Nine other players have one assist on the year.
- Overall, 18 different players have been directly involved in a goal for the USA in 2024, led by six goal involvements each from Shaw (5 goals, 1 assist) and Smith (4 goals, 2 assists).
- Eleven players called up for this camp were on the USA’s roster at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and seven – Davidson, Dunn, Horan, Lavelle, Morgan, Swanson and Sonnett – were on the roster for the 2019 Women’s World Cup Champions.
IN FOCUS: MEXICO | FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
Current FIFA World Ranking: 29
Concacaf Ranking: 3
Olympic Appearances: 1 (2008)
Record vs. USA: 2W-40L-1D
Coach: Pedro Lopez (ESP)
MEXICO WOMEN’S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB)
GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Celeste Espino (Guadalajara), 12-Blanca Felix (Guadalajara), 21-Esthefanny Barreras (Pachuca)
DEFENDERS (10): 2-Jocelyn Orejel (Club America), 3-Karla Martinez (Guadalajara), 4-Rebeca Bernal (Rayados de Monterrey), 5-Karen Luna (Club America), 6-Nicki Hernandez (Club America), 14-Greta Espinoza (Tigres UANL), 15-Cristina Ferral (Tigres UANL), 18-Reyna Reyes (Portland Thorns FC, USA), 23-Kimberly Rodriguez (Club America)
MIDFIELDERS (4): 7-Maria Sanchez (San Diego Wave FC, USA), 8-Alexia Delgado (Tigres UANL), 16-Karla Nieto (Pachuca), 19-Nicole Perez (Rayados de Monterrey)
FORWARDS (7): 9-Kiana Palacios (Club America), 10-Diana Ordoñez (Houston Dash, USA),11-Lizbeth Ovalle (Tigres UANL), 13-Mayra Pelayo (Tijauna), 17-Myra Delgadillo (Rayados de Monterry), 20-Scarlett Camberos (Bay FC, USA), 22-Maricarmen Reyes (Tigres UNAL)
MEXICO TEAM NOTES
- Mexico failed to qualify for the 2024 Olympics – and the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup – after finishing last in its group at the 2022 Concacaf W Championship in Monterrey, Mexico.
- The roster selected by Mexico head coach Pedro Lopez for the W Gold Cup features 19 players who play their club soccer domestically in Liga MX Femenil, which has experienced tremendous growth in recent years. Five players on this roster play for reigning Apertura and Clausura champions Tigres UANL while another five play for Clausura runners-up Club America.
- The four players on this roster competing for clubs outside of Mexico all play in the NWSL. Maria Sanchez, who is from Idaho and played collegiately for both Idaho and Santa Clara, began her professional career with the Chicago Red Stars, signed a lucrative three-year deal with the Houston Dash and this season was traded to San Diego Wave FC. Forward Diana Ordonez plays for the Dash and played on the U.S. Youth Women’s National Teams as well as collegiately at the University of Virginia. Forward Scarlett Camberos plays for expansion side Bay FC after spending the 2023 season with Angel City FC while defender Reyna Reyes is in her second season with Portland Thorns FC, playing alongside Sam Coffey and Sophia Smith.
