The U.S. women’s national team’s final pre-World Cup match is officially on the schedule.
Wales will oppose the USWNT at PayPal Park on July 9 in San Jose, California, U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday. It will mark the first-ever meeting between the two national teams and Wales will be the 56th different country that the USWNT has faced.
“When the 2023 World Cup roster comes together for the first time in San Jose, it will signify a lot of hard work by coaches, players and staff over the past few years to get to that point, so we’re really looking forward to having an exciting, productive camp and playing one last match to fine tune some things before we leave for New Zealand,” said U.S. head coach Vlatko Andonovski.
“For everyone involved, the opportunity to be a part of a World Cup doesn’t come along very often so we are going to make sure to appreciate and take advantage of every moment we have together.”
Wales just missed out on qualifying for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, losing 2-1 to Switzerland in a single-leg playoff match in the second round of the UEFA playoffs.
Five of the six Welsh players who have totaled 100 international caps or more are still part of the national team set up including OL Reign midfielder Jessica Fishlock (134 caps). Helen Ward is Wales’ all-time leading goalscorer with 44 goals scored in 102 international caps.
The USWNT faces the Netherlands, Portugal, and Vietnam in group stage play at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this July.