USWNT vs. Costa Rica: Match Preview & Game Notes for July 16 Send-Off Match presented by Coca-Cola

Following a 1-0 victory over Mexico on July 13 at Purple Bull Enviornment, the U.S. Ladies’s Nationwide Staff will now play its ultimate match earlier than the Paris Olympics, taking over Costa Rica on July 16 at Audi Area within the 2024 Ship-Off Match, offered by Coca-Cola. Tuesday’s match in Washington, D.C. will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET with broadcast protection accessible on TNT, truTV, Universo, Max and Peacock.

Following the ultimate whistle, followers in attendance are inspired to remain and be a part of the Ship-Off Ceremony, throughout which every of the 22 gamers – the 18 gamers on the roster plus 4 alternates — heading to the Olympics shall be acknowledged previous to departing for France. The celebration will embody pyrotechnics, in-stadium video shows and extra to have fun the group’s impending departure for Paris 2024.

Followers can comply with all of the motion from Saturday’s match through X (formerly Twitter – @USWNT), Instagram (@USWNT), Fb and the official U.S. Soccer App.

LAST TIME OUT

In its penultimate match earlier than the Olympics, the USWNT defeated Mexico 1-0 in entrance of a sellout crowd at Purple Bull Enviornment in Harrison, N.J., avenging its solely lack of the 12 months. The USA outshot Mexico 17-3 on the afternoon, however didn’t discover the breakthrough till the sixty fourth minute, when Sophia Smith was performed in by Mallory Swanson within the left facet of the penalty space and he or she curled in a right-footed attempt for her team-leading fifth purpose of 2024. It additionally marked Smith’s first time scoring in back-to-back video games for the USA, additionally discovering the again of the web within the June 4 win over Korea Republic in Minnesota.

With the win, the U.S. now has three wins in three video games underneath new head coach Emma Hayes, all of them coming through shutout. Hayes used all six allotted substitutes on Tuesday, together with giving a primary cap to 23-year-old midfielder Croix Bethune, who shall be an alternate on the Olympic roster. Bethune is having fun with a standout rookie season with the Washington Spirit and got here on within the 81st minute to develop into the 261st participant all-time to earn a cap for the USWNT.

WILLIAMS REPLACES MACARIO ON OLYMPIC ROSTER

On June 26, Hayes introduced the 18-player roster for the Paris Olympics. Midfielder and 2020 Olympian Catarina Macario was initially named to the roster however was unable to arrange bodily for the Olympic event attributable to constant irritation in her proper knee and on July 12, she was formally changed on the 18-player roster by Lynn Williams, who was initially named to the group as an alternate. Defender Emily Sams, who earned her first USWNT call-up as a coaching participant for this camp and is offered for choice towards Costa Rica, replaces Williams as one of many 4 alternates.

The squad now heading to France options eight gamers from the 2020 Olympic Staff, 11 gamers from the 2023 FIFA Ladies’s World Cup squad and 4 gamers named to their first roster at a senior world championship. The 18-player roster has a median age of 27.0 and averages almost 4 years youthful than the roster for the 2020 Olympics. The Olympic roster is damaged down by place into two goalkeepers, six defenders, 4 midfielders and 6 forwards.

U.S. OLYMPIC WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB)

GOALKEEPERS (2): 18-Casey Murphy (North Carolina Braveness), 1-Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Purple 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 Purple Stars), 8-Lynn Williams (NJ/NY Gotham FC)

ALTERNATES (4): 20-Croix Bethune (Washington Spirit), 22-Jane Campbell (Houston Sprint), 19-Hal Hershfelt (Washington Spirit), 21-Emily Sams (Orlando Satisfaction)

2024 MEDIA GUIDE

The 2024 U.S. Ladies’s Nationwide Staff Media Information is offered for obtain. The Media Information options all of the historical past and statistics for the USWNT, in addition to full bios on technical employees and the present high gamers, info on the USA’s Youth Ladies’s Nationwide Groups and basic essential info on U.S. Soccer.

INSIDE THE SERIES: USA vs. COSTA RICA

Tuesday’s match would be the 18th matchup all-time between the USA and Costa Rica, with the People profitable all 17 earlier conferences. The USA’s 17 consecutive wins towards Costa Rica are its most towards any single opponent with no loss in program historical past.

Ten of the earlier 17 matchups between the groups have are available World Cup or Olympic Qualifying, together with the newest matchup between the perimeters within the semifinals of the 2022 Concacaf W Championship. The USA defeated Costa Rica 3-0 on July 14, 2022, in Monterrey, Mexico to advance to the ultimate of the Concacaf W Championship, the place the USA then defeated Canada within the ultimate to safe its spot in Paris 2024. Emily Sonnett scored the primary purpose of her worldwide profession to open the scoring for the People and Swanson added to the lead simply earlier than halftime. Midfielder Ashley Sanchez rounded out the scoring with a purpose deep into second-half stoppage time and the People recorded their fourth consecutive clear sheet of the event.

Previous to the assembly in Monterrey, the groups final met in February 2020 throughout Olympic Qualifying. The USA received that match in Houston 6-0 to complete first in its group. Christen Press and Samantha Mewis each scored twice for the People whereas Lindsey Horan and Jessica McDonald additionally discovered the again of the web.

This would be the first time the USA and Costa Rica have performed in a pleasant competitors since November 2019, a 6-0 win for the USA within the second match underneath then head coach Vlatko Andonovski.

USA IN D.C.

This would be the USWNT’s twelfth all-time match in Washington, D.C., having received 10 of the primary 11 matches within the nation’s capital – the lone loss coming to France in 2017.

Whereas Tuesday’s match at Audi Area would be the first ever assembly between the USA and Costa Rica within the Washington, D.C. space, the match shall be a homecoming of types for a number of gamers on the U.S. roster, a lot of whom have ties to the nation’s capital. 4 gamers on the USA’s 22-player roster at the moment compete for the Washington Spirit, these being Casey Krueger, Trinity Rodman, Hal Hershfelt and recently-capped Croix Bethune. One other 4 U.S. gamers – Crystal Dunn, Mallory Swanson, Emily Sonnett and Rose Lavelle – beforehand performed for the Spirit, with Dunn and Swanson being former No. 1 draft picks by the Spirit and Sonnett serving to the membership to its first NWSL Championship in 2021.

Defender Emily Fox hails from Ashburn, Virginia, situated lower than 40 miles west northwest of Washington, D.C., and shall be making her second journey to her dwelling space with the USWNT.

OFF TO THE OLYMPICS

The USWNT kicks off its marketing campaign on the 2024 Summer time Olympics – the eighth Olympic Video games to function girls’s soccer and eighth to function the U.S. Ladies’s Nationwide Soccer Staff – on July 25, at some point earlier than the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, starting Group B play towards Zambia at Stade de Good in Good (9 p.m. native / 3 p.m. ET). Zambia defeated Morocco 3-2 on mixture within the two-leg playoff in CAF Qualifying in April to safe the twelfth and ultimate spot within the Olympic area and not too long ago tied New Zealand 1-1 in a Pre-Olympic pleasant.

After opening the event in Good, the People will play in Marseille for his or her second match at Stade de Marseille and can face Germany on July 28 (9 p.m. native / 3 p.m. ET). The USA will end group play towards Australia on July 31 (7 p.m. native / 1 p.m. ET) at Stade de Marseille. Positioned within the south for France, Good is almost 600 miles from Paris close to France’s border with Monaco and Italy. Marseille, situated 125 miles west of Good, is the second-largest metropolis in France.

The highest two groups from every group together with the 2 finest third-place finishers will advance to the knockout rounds.

USA TEAM & ROSTER NOTES

  • This would be the USWNT’s second match all-time at Audi Area, the primary coming in a 2-1 win over Nigeria in September 2022.
  • 4 of the gamers on this roster have 100+ caps, led by midfielder and group captain Lindsey Horan with 149 caps. Crystal Dunn has 148 worldwide appearances adopted by Alyssa Naeher (105 caps) and Rose Lavelle (101).
  • Eight of the 22 gamers accessible for choice towards Costa Rica have 20 caps or fewer, together with two uncapped gamers in Emily Sams and midfielder Hal Hershfelt. Defender Jenna Nighswonger has the fewest caps on the 18-player Olympic roster with simply 10 worldwide appearances.
  • Seven gamers on this roster – Naomi Girma, Sophia Smith, Hal Hershfelt, Jenna Nighswonger, Trinity Rodman, Korbin Albert, Jaedyn Shaw – had been born after the historic 1999 FIFA Ladies’s World Cup, which celebrated its twenty fifth anniversary this summer time. Smith grew to become the primary participant born after the ’99 World Cup to earn a USWNT cap when she debuted for the U.S. on November 27, 2020, towards the Netherlands.
  • Fourteen of the 22 gamers on this roster had been born after the 1996 Olympics, the primary ever Olympics to function girls’s soccer.
  • Horan is the highest scorer on this roster with 35 worldwide targets, adopted by ahead Mallory Swanson with 34, Dunn with 25 and Lavelle with 24.
  • Horan additionally leads the U.S. with 848 complete minutes performed in 2024, adopted by Sam Coffey (767), Alyssa Naeher (750), Emily Fox (725) and Tierna Davidson (720).
  • Eleven completely different gamers have scored to this point for the USWNT in 2024 – led by 5 targets every from Shaw and Smith, 4 from Horan, two targets every from Alex Morgan, Olivia Moultrie, Tierna Davidson, Mallory Swanson and Jenna Nighswonger and one every from Dunn, Lynn Williams and Lily Yohannes.
  • Trinity Rodman and Rose Lavelle lead the U.S. with three assists apiece this 12 months, comply with by Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith and Midge Purce with two every. 9 different gamers have one help on the 12 months.
  • Total, 18 completely different gamers have been immediately concerned in a purpose for the USA in 2024, led by seven purpose involvements from Smith (5 targets, 2 assists) and 6 from Shaw (5 targets, 1 help).
  • Eleven gamers referred to as up for this camp had been on the USA’s roster on the 2023 FIFA Ladies’s World Cup and 7 – Davidson, Dunn, Horan, Lavelle, Morgan, Swanson and Sonnett – had been on the roster for the 2019 Ladies’s World Cup Champions.

IN FOCUS: COSTA RICA | FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
Present FIFA World Rating:
44
Concacaf Rating:
5
Olympic Appearances:
0
Document vs. USA: 0W-17L-0D
Coach:
Beni Rubido (ESP)

COSTA RICA WOMEN’S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB)

GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Noelia Bermúdez (Alajuelense), 23-Daniela Solera (Atlas, MEX)

DEFENDERS (7): 2-Gabriela Guillén (Alajuelense), 3-María Paula Coto (Alajuelense), 4-Mariana Benavides (Millonarios, COL), 6-Jimena González (Sporting FC), 12-María Paula Elizondo (Saprissa FF), 15-María José Morales (Dimas Escazú), 20-Fabiola Villalobos (Alajuelense)

MIDFIELDERS (6): 5-Yaniela Arias (Dimas Escazú), 8-Priscila Rodríguez (Saprissa FF), 10-Gloriana Villalobos (Saprissa FF), 11-Raquel Rodríguez (Angel Metropolis FC, USA), 13-Emilie Valenciano (Alajuelense), 19-Alexandra Pinell (Alajuelense)

FORWARDS (7): 7-Melissa Herrera (Xolos Tijuana, MEX), 9-María Paula Salas (Atlas, MEX), 14-Priscila Chinchilla (Zenit de San Petersburgo, RUS), 16-Ángela Mesén (Alajuelense), 17-Alexa Herrera (Alajuelense), 21-Tanisha Fonseca (Sporting FC), 22-Sianyf Agüero (Alajuelense)

COSTA RICA TEAM NOTES

  • Costa Rica head coach Beni Rubido has chosen a 22-player roster for Tuesday’s pleasant towards the USA, headlined by midfielder and group captain Raquel “Rocky” Rodríguez.
  • The 30-year-old Rodriguez scored Costa Rica’s first ever World Cup purpose again in 2015 and is the nation’s all-time main scorer. Born in Costa Rica, Rodriguez performed collegiately at Penn State College the place she received the MAC Herman Trophy in 2015 as the highest participant in school soccer. She was chosen No. 2 total by Sky Blue FC within the 2016 NWSL Faculty Draft, following No. 1 draft choose Emily Sonnett, and performed three seasons for Sky Blue FC, the ultimate underneath now USWNT assistant coach Denise Reddy. She received NWSL Rookie of the 12 months honors in 2016. Rodriguez at the moment performs for Angel Metropolis FC within the NWSL, becoming a member of the membership within the offseason after spending the earlier 4 seasons with the Portland Thorns.
  • After taking part within the FIFA Ladies’s World Cup for the primary time in 2015, and regardless of not qualifying for the 2019 WWC, Costa Rica has been making glorious progress within the girls’s sport. Qualifying for the 2023 FIFA WWC is a constructive signal of that.
  • Drawn into Group C in 2023, Costa Rica performed the whole lot of its group stage in Australia and completed fourth in its group, which featured Zambia, Japan and eventual champions Spain. Ahead Melissa Herrera scored Costa Rica’s lone purpose of the event, that coming in a 3-1 defeat to Zambia within the third and ultimate group stage match.
  • At its first World Cup look in 2015, Las Ticas distinguished themselves, tying two video games in group play (1-1 with Spain and 2-2 with South Korea) whereas shedding one (0-1 to Brazil). Melissa Herrera and Karla Villalobos, in addition to Raquel Rodriguez netted as soon as every on the World Cup.

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