The U.S. Women's National Team begins the 2024 season on Tuesday, February 20, meeting the Dominican Republic at the Concacaf W Gold Cup to open the group stage. The teams will compete at 10:15 p.m. ET / 7:15 p.m. PT at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. The game will be broadcast in English on Paramount+ and in Spanish on ESPN Deportes and ESPN+.
The U.S. will be placed in Group A along with Argentina and Mexico and will play the entire group stage in Carson, California, against Argentina on February 23 (10:15 p.m. ET / 7:15 p.m. PT) and against Mexico on February 23. 26 (10:15 p.m. ET / 7:15 p.m. PT) to conclude the group stage.
Fans can also follow all the action from the W Gold Cup X (formerly Twitter – @USWNT), Instagram (@USWNT), Facebook and the official US Soccer app.
U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM ROLES BY POSITION (CLUB)
GOALKEEPER (3): 21-Jane Campbell (Houston Dash), 18-Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage), 1-Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)
DEFENDER (8): 2-Abby Dahlkemper (San Diego Wave FC), 19-Crystal Dunn (NJ/NY Gotham FC), 12-Tierna Davidson (NJ/NY Gotham FC), 23-Emily Fox (Arsenal FC, ENG) , 4-Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC), 20-Casey Krueger (Washington Spirit), 3-Jenna Nighswonger (NY/NJ Gotham FC), 5-Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns FC)
MIDFIELDER (6): 15-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) , 13-Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC), 14-Emily Sonnett (NJ/NY Gotham FC)
Forwards (6): 7-Mia Fishel (Chelsea FC, ENG), 9-Midge Purce (NJ/NY Gotham FC), 22-Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), 8-Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave FC), 11- Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC), 6-Lynn Williams (NJ/NY Gotham FC)
Interim head coach Twila Kilgore announced the 23-man roster for the Concacaf W Gold Cup on February 7, however one change has since been made with center back Alana Cook due to a minor knee injury sustained in the NWSL preseason , had to give up. She was replaced by experienced defender Becky Sauerbrunn.
Twenty players from this squad took part in the USA's year-end games against China PR last December, including three players – defender Jenna Nighswonger and midfielders Korbin Albert and Olivia Moultrie – who made their international debuts in those games.
The three new additions to this squad are proven veterans with a wealth of experience, as Sauerbrunn, goalkeeper Alyssa Naheher and defender Crystal Dunn return to the squad for the first time since the friendlies against Colombia in October 2023.
ALL ABOUT THE GOLD CUP
The Concacaf W Gold Cup is the region's new flagship competition for women's national teams, providing additional opportunities for competition and exposure. The field for the final tournament was set on February 17 when the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Puerto Rico won their preliminary round games to secure their place in the 12-team field. The Dominican Republic beat Guyana 1-0 to join the United States in Group A, Puerto Rico beat Haiti 1-0 to move into Group B and El Salvador beat Guatemala 3-1 to secure the spot a place in Group C.
The 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup will be played at four venues across the United States, with games taking place at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Shell Energy Stadium in Houston and BMO Stadium in Los Angeles become.
Group A will be played entirely at Dignity Health Sports Park, while Group B, which includes Brazil, Colombia, Panama and Puerto Rico, will play all group games at Snapdragon Stadium. Canada, Costa Rica, Paraguay and El Salvador make up Group C, which will play its group games at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston.
The top two teams in each group advance to the knockout stages, along with the two best third-place teams overall. The knockout rounds begin with the quarterfinal round on March 2 and 3 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, with pairings determined based on the group stage rankings. The team that accumulates the most points overall in group play (with different tie-breaks for teams that accumulate the same number of points) will face the eighth-placed country, the second-place team will face the seventh-place team, and so on so that the number 1 seed faces the number 8 seed, number 2 plays against number 7, number 3 plays against number 6 and number 4 plays against number 5.
The winners of the single elimination games then qualify for the semi-finals and finals.
The tournament then heads to San Diego, where the semifinals (March 6) and final (March 10) will be played at Snapdragon Stadium, home of the 2023 NWSL Shield winners San Diego Wave FC.
INSIDE THE SERIES: USA vs. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Tuesday's Group A game will be the second all-time meeting between the USWNT and the Dominican Republic and the first since 2012, when the teams met in Concacaf Olympic qualifying. The teams competed on January 20, 2012 in Vancouver, Canada in the group stage of Concacaf qualifying for the 2012 Summer Olympics, where the United States would win the gold medal.
The United States defeated the Dominican Republic 14-0 in that game, setting program records for most goals scored and largest margin of victory in program history. Amy Rodriguez led the U.S. with a five-goal effort, while Heather O'Reilly also scored a hat trick for the Americans.
Overall, the U.S. is undefeated in its last 79 games against Concacaf opponents on home soil, posting a record of 77 wins, two draws and zero losses in a streak that dates back to December 2000.
CALIFORNIA STATE OF MIND
All six possible games for the USWNT in this Concacaf W Gold Cup will be played within the friendly borders of California. The USWNT has played more games in California (53) than any other state in the country and has never lost a game in the Golden State, with an overall record of 49W-4D-0L.
The U.S. has won 31 of its last 32 games in the state of California, including both games in 2023 – a 2-0 win over Wales in San Jose on July 9 and a 3-0 win over Colombia in San Diego on October. 29.
Still, no venue in California or the country has hosted the USWNT more than Dignity Health Sports Park. The U.S. is undefeated at the venue in Carson, California, recording 17 wins, 1 draw and 0 losses since its first game there in September 2003, shortly after the stadium opened. The U.S. last played in the SheBelieves Cup in February 2022 at Dignity Health Sports Park with games against the Czech Republic and New Zealand.
Overall, the U.S. is undefeated in its last 13 games on home soil, a streak that dates back to a year-end victory over Germany to close out the 2022 season. During those 13 games, the U.S. kept 10 clean sheets and outscored opponents 25-3.
CLOSER TO 100 CAPSULES
Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher enters the W Gold Cup with 97 caps, just three shy of becoming the third goalkeeper and 42nd player overall in U.S. Women's National Team history to reach the 100 caps milestone. Naeher has been the goaltender with the third-most appearances (97), wins (79) and shutouts (59) in U.S. history, trailing only Hall of Famers Briana Scurry and Hope Solo.
A two-time FIFA Women's World Champion, Naeher debuted for the USWNT in December 2014 and emerged as a consistent starter after the 2016 Olympics. The USWNT tied its annual high with nine shutouts in 2023, including three at the World Cup, as the USA allowed just one goal throughout the tournament.
DOMINANT DEFENSE
Supported by impressive goaltending and a strong defense, the U.S. women's national team is coming off one of its most defensively dominant years ever. In 2023, the USWNT allowed just three goals in 18 total games – an average of 0.17 goals allowed per game. This broke the previous one-year team record (at least 10 games) of 0.40 goals allowed per game from 2016.
The USA posted 15 shutouts in 2023, nine of which came from Naeher and six from Casey Murphy. The USA's defensive prowess was on full display at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, as the Americans only allowed two shots on goal throughout the tournament. Center back Naomi Girma, the 2023 U.S. Soccer Player of the Year and two-time reigning NWSL Defender of the Year, started 16 games in 2023, while Emily Fox made 15 starts and was second on the team with 1,341 total minutes played.
HAYES AT THE ROOSTER IN MAY
After A worldwide search process resulted in U.S. Soccer athletic director Matt Crocker Emma Hayes being officially announced as the tenth head coach in U.S. women's national team history on November 14, 2003. The long-time head coach of English powerhouse Chelsea FC, Hayes began her coaching career in the United States in the early 2000s and will take the helm of the USWNT more than two decades later. Because of her connection with Chelsea, Hayes will finish the 2023-24 Women's Super League season in England and then officially join the U.S. team two months before the start of the Olympics. US Soccer has implemented a comprehensive plan and process to maximize productivity in all aspects of the USWNT's advancement toward the Olympics. A key part of that is interim head coach Twila Kilgore remaining in her role and then joining Hayes' full-time assistant coach roster at the end of May.
SHEBELIEVES CUP ON THE HORIZON
After the conclusion of the Concacaf W Gold Cup, the United States will turn its attention to the 2024 SheBelieves Cup, presented by Visa. The U.S. hosts Brazil, Canada and Japan in the ninth edition of the four-team tournament. All four participants are ranked in the top 11 in the world and took part in last year's tournament, where the USA took first place, followed by Japan in second, Brazil in third and Canada in fourth. In the semifinals on April 6 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the USA (#2) will face Japan (#8) (TNT, Universo, Max & Peacock) at 12:30 p.m. ET and Brazil (#11) will win Canada (#10) at 3:30 p.m. ET (Universo, Max & Peacock).
The four nations then travel to Columbus, Ohio, where Lower.com Field will host the final two games of the tournament on April 9 at 4:00 p.m. ET and 7:00 p.m. ET, with the semifinal winners in the championship and the losers in the play third round. Place match. The USA will play in the 7:00 p.m. ET time slot (TBS, Universo, Max & Peacock), whether playing in the championship or third-place game, and the other game will be at 4:00 p.m. ET ( TBS, Universo, Max & Peacock).
Tickets can be purchased now at ussoccer.com/tickets.
WAY TO PARIS
Five months before the start of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the USWNT is preparing intensively for its pursuit of a fifth Olympic gold medal. The Olympic football tournament consists of 12 teams and will be played from July 25th to August 10th at seven different venues across France: Parc des Princes in Paris, Stade de Lyon, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne, Stade de Marseille, Stade de Nice, Stade de Bordeaux and Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes. The U.S. is one of just five teams already qualified for Paris, joining hosts France, South American qualifiers Brazil and Colombia, and Canada, which secured Concacaf's second Olympic berth by beating Jamaica in a two-game Playoff during the international match in September defeated Fenster.
The United States qualified for Paris by winning the 2022 Concacaf W Championship in Monterrey, Mexico, which served as the region's qualifier for the 2023 Olympics and World Cup.
All but one of the remaining Olympic places will be determined during this international window in February, with the 2024 UEFA Women's Nation's League Final and 2024 AFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament scheduled to end later this month and New Zealand and Solomon Islands meeting in the final of the OFC -Qualification tournament will take place on February 19th. The 2024 CAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament will conclude in early April and will produce two qualifiers from Africa, while the final draw to determine the tournament schedule will take place in late March.
USA RECORD NOTES
- Becky Sauerbrunn (217), Crystal Dunn (140 caps) and Lindsey Horan (139 caps) are the only players in this squad with more than 100 caps.
- Seven players in this squad have fewer than 10 caps, five of whom debuted in 2023: 23-year-old Jenna Nighswonger, 22-year-old Mia Fishel, 20-year-old midfielder Korbin Albert and 19-year-old Jaedyn Shaw and 18 -year-old Olivia Moultrie
- Eight players in this squad – Naomi Girma, Sophia Smith, Nighswonger, Mia Fishel, Trinity Rodman, Albert, Shaw and Moultrie – were born after the historic 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this summer. Smith became the first player born after the 1999 World Cup to earn a USWNT cap when she debuted for the United States against the Netherlands on November 27, 2020.
- Horan is the top scorer on this list with 31 international goals, followed by Lavelle and Dunn with 24, Williams with 17 and Smith with 15.
- Eleven players called up for this camp were on the USA's 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup squad and eight – Dahlkemper, Davidson, Dunn, Horan, Lavelle, Naheher, Sauerbrunn and Sonnett – were on the Women's World Cup champion squad 2019.
- Eight of the 14 NWSL clubs are represented in this squad, led by seven players from NJ/NY Gotham FC. Portland Thorns FC has four players and San Diego Wave FC has three.
- Four players on this squad play for clubs in Europe – two in France (Lindsey Horan at Olympique Lyon and Korbin Albert at Paris Saint-Germain) and two in England (Mia Fishel at Chelsea FC and Emily Fox at Arsenal FC).
IN FOCUS: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC | FIVE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
FIFA World Ranking: 107
Concacaf ranking: 14
Balance sheet vs. USA: 0W-0D-1L (GF:0, GA: 14)
Last meeting against USA: January 20, 2012 (14-0 USA victory in Vancouver, Canada)
Head Coach: Henry Parra (COL)
ROLES OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM BY POSITION
GOALKEEPER (3): 1-Odaliana Gomez (Florida International, USA), 12-Carolina Moreno (Cibao FC), 20-Paloma Peña (Univ. of Florida, USA)
DEFENSE (8): 2-Alexa Pacheco (Goldey-Beacom College, USA), 3-Stella Tapia (Univ. of Michigan, USA), 4-Giovanna Dionicio (Univ. of Connecticut, USA), 5-Nadia Colon (Univ. of Texas, USA ). ), 16-Renata Mercedes (Connecticut FC, USA), 18-Claudia Alcantara (Fundacion Eagles FC), 19-Gabriella Cuevas (Unattached), Brianne Reed (SF Damaiense, POR)
MIDFIELDER (5): 7-Winibian Peralta (Municipal Perez Zeledon, CRC), 13-Keisla Gil (Central Methodist Univ., USA), 14-Lucia Marte (Watford FC, ENG), 15-Kat Gonzalez (Unbound), 21-Jaylen Vallecillo (Unbound )
FORWARD (7): 6-Yomerci Brito (April 5), 8-Dahien Cabrera (Edward Waters Univ., USA), 9-Mia Asenjo (Univ. of Central Florida), 10-Vanessa Kara (Unbound), 11-Alyssa Oviedo (Unbound) , 17-Jazmin Jackson (Virginia Commonwealth University, USA), 23-Angelina Vargas (PDA, USA)
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC TEAM NOTES
- The squad selected by head coach Henry Parra for this Concacaf W Gold Cup has a strong American bias, as twelve of the 23 players on the roster currently play for clubs or colleges in the United States.
- Parra is Colombian.
- Striker Mia Asenjo plays for former US WNT player and assistant coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak – one of the most famous 99ers in the USA – in Central Florida. She had three goals and three assists for the Knights last season.
- Team captain Lucia Marte, at 26, is one of the older and more experienced players in this squad. A creative and skilled attacking player, Marte currently plays for Watford FC in England. Marte, who also spent time with the Spanish U23 women's youth national team, began her club career at Tottenham Hotspur and spent many seasons with the London club, followed by a spell at Real Betis.
- The Dominican Republic won Group C in League B of the Concacaf W Gold Cup Qualifying, defeating Bermuda, Barbados and St. Vincent and the Grenadines with an overall goal difference of 24:3, and qualified for the preliminary round match in which they defeated Guyana, 1-0 on February 17th at Dignity Health Sports Park.
- Kat Gonzalez scored DR's only goal in the 55th minute with a perfectly struck, swerving shot from outside the penalty area, securing a spot in Group A of the tournament. Gonzalez, a Pennsylvania native, played college soccer at East Carolina and Marshall.
- Jazmin Jackson led her team in the pre-qualifying tournament with four goals. Mia Asenjo, Gonzalez and Lucia Marte each had three.