With the fixtures now set, play begins March 2 at BMO Stadium, home of Angel City FC in the NWSL and LAFC in the MLS. Canada faces Costa Rica (7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT) and Brazil faces South American rival Argentina (10:15 p.m. ET / 8:15 p.m. PT). The quarterfinals continue on Sunday March 3rd. Mexico faces Paraguay (5:00 p.m. ET / 2:00 p.m. PT) before the United States takes on Colombia (8:15 p.m. ET).
The winners of the single-elimination quarterfinal games will advance to the semifinals on March 6 at Snapdragon Stadium and the winners of those games will also play for the title on March 10 at Snapdragon Stadium, home of the NWSL's San Diego Wave FC.
CLOSER TO 100 CAPS
Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher recorded her 60th career clean sheet in the USA's February 20 win over the Dominican Republic and earned her 99th international cap in the February 26 game against Mexico. She is just one cap away from becoming the third goalkeeper and 42nd player in U.S. Women's National Team history to reach the milestone of 100 caps. Naeher remains the goalkeeper with the third-most appearances (99), wins (80) and shutouts (60) in U.S. history for some time, behind only Hall-of-Famers Briana Scurry and Hope Solo. If Naeher reaches 100 caps, the United States will become the first country in history to have three female goalkeepers with more than 100 caps.
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. She was a finalist for the 2023 FIFA Women's Best Goalkeeper award and kept clean sheets in five of her last six appearances for the USA
FAMILIAR ENEMIES
The United States and Colombia recently played each other, meeting in friendlies in Utah and San Diego in late October 2023. The teams opened the two-game slate with a scoreless draw on Oct. 26 at America First Field in Sandy and then traveled to San Diego, where they faced off at Snapdragon Stadium – where all of this tournament's Group B was played and the venue This tournament will be the semi-finals and final of the Concacaf W Gold Cup – this time with a 3-0 win for the USA.
After a scoreless first half, the USA scored three times in the second half, with goals from Mia Fishel, Lindsey Horan and Jaedyn Shaw. Horan scored a world-class volley in the 62nd minute from a cross from Emily Fox, while Fishel – a San Diego native – and Shaw – who plays for San Diego Wave FC – both scored the first goals of their international careers.
INSIDE THE SERIES: USA vs. COLOMBIA
Sunday's quarterfinal will be the 13th all-time meeting between the United States and Colombia and the fifth in a competitive game. The USA has an overall lead of 10 wins, 2 draws and 0 losses in the series. The last six matches were all friendly matches.
Four of the last 12 meetings between the nations have taken place as part of World Championship events – twice at the World Cup and twice at the Olympic Games. The two teams first met at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, a 3-0 victory for the Americans in the second game of Group C. A year later, the teams competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics, meeting again in the group stage each other and ended again with a 3-0 win for the USA. In 2015, they competed in the Round of 16 of the World Championships in Edmonton, Canada. The USA won 2-0 on second-half goals from Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd. The last time the two teams met in a competitive game was in the group stage of the 2016 Summer Olympics, a 2-2 draw against Las Cafeteras on August 9, 2016. Crystal Dunn and Mallory Swanson scored goals for the USA in that game.
The USWNT enters Sunday's quarterfinals undefeated in its last 26 games against CONMEBOL competition and has won 17 of its last 18 games against South American opponents, with victories over Brazil (5), Colombia (5), Chile (3) and Paraguay ( 2). and Argentina (2) during this period.
WAY TO PARIS
With less than five months until 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.
All but two teams in the Olympic field have now been confirmed, only the representatives from Africa have not yet been determined. The 2024 CAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament ends in early April and features two qualifiers from Africa: Morocco faces Zambia and South Africa faces Nigeria.
The remaining ten teams are hosts France, South American qualifiers Brazil and Colombia, Oceania's New Zealand, Spain and Germany, which defeated the Netherlands in the UEFA Women's Nations League third-place match, UEFA and Concacaf, the United States and Canada , This secured Concacaf second place at the Olympics by defeating Jamaica in a two-game playoff during the September international window.
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.
The final draw to determine the tournament schedule and groups will take place on March 20 at 2:00 p.m. ET and will be streamed on FIFA.com.
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, which makes up a third of the field at the Paris Olympics. All four competitors are ranked in the top 11 in the world, have qualified for the Olympics 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 place. In the semifinals on April 6 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the USA (#2) will face Japan (#8) (TNT, Telemundo, 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.
HAYES AT THE ROOSTER IN MAY
After A global 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, 2023. 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.
USA TEAM AND LINEUP NOTES
- The USWNT has played more games in California (56) than any other state in the country and has won 51 of their 56 all-time games in the Golden State.
- The team has played at BMO Stadium once before, on April 7, 2019 with a 6-0 win against Belgium.
- Becky Sauerbrunn (219), Alex Morgan (218), Crystal Dunn (142 caps) and Lindsey Horan (141 caps) are the only players in this squad with more than 100 caps. Alyssa Naheher will join the 100-cap club with her next appearance for the USA.
- Five players in this squad have fewer than 10 caps, four of whom made their debut in 2023: 23-year-old Jenna Nighswonger (4 caps), 20-year-old midfielder Korbin Albert (3 caps), 19-year-old Jaedyn Shaw (6). internationals) and 18-year-old Olivia Moultrie (3 internationals).
- Seven players in this squad – Naomi Girma, Sophia Smith, Nighswonger, 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.
- Morgan is the top scorer on this list with 123 international goals, followed by Horan with 32 goals, Lavelle and Dunn with 24 each, Williams with 18 and Smith with 15.
- So far, six different players have scored for the USWNT in 2024 – led by two goals each from Morgan, Moultrie and Shaw and one each from Horan, Nighswonger and Williams.
- Midge Purce leads the U.S. with two assists in 2024, while Smith, Horan, Rose Lavelle and Casey Krueger all have one assist.
- Twelve players called up for this camp were on the USA's 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup squad and nine – Dahlkemper, Davidson, Dunn, Horan, Lavelle, Morgan, Naher, Sauerbrunn and Sonnett – were on the Women's World Cup squad 2019 Champions.
- Eight of the 14 NWSL clubs are represented in this squad, led by seven players from NJ/NY Gotham FC. Portland Thorns FC and San Diego Wave FC each have four players.
- Three players in this squad play for clubs in Europe – two in France (Lindsey Horan at Olympique Lyon and Korbin Albert at Paris Saint-Germain) and one in England (Emily Fox at Arsenal FC).
IN FOCUS: COLOMBIA | FIVE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
FIFA World Ranking: 23
Concacaf ranking: 2
Olympic appearances: 2 (2012, 2016)
Best Olympic result: Group stage (2012, 2016)
Balance sheet vs. USA: 0W-2D-10L (GF:2, GA: 38)
Last meeting against USA: Oct. 29, 2023 (3-0 USA win in San Diego, California)
Head Coach: Angelo Marsiglia (COL)
COLOMBIAN WOMEN'S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM ROLES BY POSITION (CLUB)
GOALKEEPER (3): 1-Natalia Giraldo (America De Cali), 12-Sandra Sepulveda (Llaneros FC), 22-Stefany Castaño (Clube Atlético Mineiro, BRA)
DEFENSE (5): 2-Manuela Vanegas (Real Sociedad, ESP), 3-Daniela Arias (SC Corinthians, BRA), 14-Angela Baron (Atlético Nacional), 17-Carolina Arias (Unattached), 19-Jorelyn Carabali (Brighton & Hove Albion, ENG ). )
MIDFIELDER (11): 4-Angie Yanten (America De Cali), 5-Lorena Bedoya (Real Brasilia, BRA), 6-Daniela Montoya (Atlético Nacional), 7-Maria Camila Reyes (Unattached), 8-Marcela Restrepo (Atlético Nacional), 9- Ivonne Chacon (Valencia Feminas CF, ESP), 10-Diana Celis (Millonarios FC), 13-Iilana Izquierdo (Deportivo Cali), 16-Lady Andrade (Real Brasil CF, BRA), 20-Monica Ramos (Grêmio FBPA, BRA) , 21-Liana Salazar (Millonarios FC)
FORWARD (4): 11-Catalina Usme (Pachuca, MEX), 15-Manuela Pavi (Deportivo Cali), 18-Linda Caicedo (Real Madrid CF, ESP), 23-Elexa Bahr (Unaffiliated)
COLOMBIA TEAM NOTES
- After finishing second in Group B, Colombia will go into the quarterfinals in fifth place overall. Colombia opened the tournament with a decisive 6-0 win over Panama. Buoyed by a brace from striker Manuela Pavi in the first half, Las Cafeteras built a three-goal lead at half-time and added three more in the second stanza, highlighted by an impressive display of skill and a goal from standout teenager Linda Caicedo.
- Playing against South American opponents Brazil in the second game of the group stage, Colombia conceded an early goal – this is only allowed in the group stage – and lost 1-0, moving up to second place in Group B.
- Colombia bounced back on the final day of the match, defeating Puerto Rico 2-0 and securing a place in the knockout rounds. Caicedo and team captain Catalina Usme both scored in the win, giving Colombia an 8-1 advantage in shots on goal.
- Fifteen of the 23 players in the USA's W Gold Cup squad participated in the October 2023 friendly against Colombia, and seventeen of the 23 players in Colombia's Concacaf W Gold Cup squad were in the October 2023 friendly against the USA, including Caicedo, who, at just 19 years old, was one of three finalists for “The Best FIFA Women's Player Award 2023” and came second in the voting behind Spaniard Aitana Bonmati.
- Like the USA, Colombia qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games in July 2022 and for Las Cafeteras this happened at the Copa America Feminina, which Colombia hosted.
- This tournament saw three teams qualify directly for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, three more for the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago now taking place, and the top two teams for the 2024 Olympic Games. Colombia won Group A by it won all four games.
- With a big win, Colombia defeated Argentina 1-0 in the semi-finals, and although they lost 1-0 to perennial South American power Brazil in the championship game, their Olympic berth was secured. More than 15,000 fans attended Colombia's semifinals and 28,000 attended the title game.
- In the Copa América, Colombia spread the goals around as Daniela Arias, Caicedo, Daniella Montoya, Mayra Ramirez and Manuela Vanegas all scored twice in the tournament.
- Caicedo, who was only 17 at the time and scored a wonder goal against Germany at the 2023 Women's World Cup, won the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.
- At the 2023 World Cup, Colombia made history and thrilled fans around the world by winning a group that also included Germany, Morocco and South Korea. Not only did Colombia win the group with a 2-1 win over Germany and a 2-0 win over South Korea (and despite a 0-1 loss to Morocco), but Colombia also won a knockout game, by defeating Jamaica 1-1. 0 and gave eventual finalists England everything before losing 2-1 in the quarter-finals.
- Colombia performed well at the 2015 FIFA World Cup: 1-1 against Mexico, defeating world power France 2-0 and losing to eventual third-placed England 1-2 at the end of the group stage. The four points were enough to secure Colombia's place in the round of 16 against the USA, and Las Cafeteras fought hard against the eventual world champions before being eliminated 2-0.
- Colombia made its debut at the London 2012 Women's Olympic Football Tournament when it was drawn in an extremely tough Group G against defending champions and eventual winners USA, France (who finished fourth) and Korea DPR. And despite conceding just six goals in three games and facing some of the sport's most dangerous attackers, Colombia failed to score and lost to North Korea (2-0), the United States (3-0) and France (1-0). ).
- Colombia also took part in both the 2022 U17 Women's World Cup in India and the 2022 U20 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica, allowing a young generation of players to gain quality international experience.
- Caicedo represented Colombia at the 2022 FIFA U17 Women's World Cup in India, helping Colombia reach the final where they lost 1-0 to Spain thanks to a late own goal. Despite the heartbreaking finish, it was Colombia's best finish at a Youth Women's World Cup and served as a coming out party for Caicedo, who won the Silver Ball as the second-best player overall in the tournament, as well as the Bronze Shoe. finished the tournament with four goals. She was also part of Colombia's squad for the U-20 World Cup in Costa Rica earlier this summer, where Colombia won its group before losing 1-0 to South American rivals Brazil in the quarterfinals.