USWNT continues Victory Tour on Thursday vs. Korea Republic in Charlotte, N.C.

USA vs. Korea Republic
Victory Tour
Oct. 3, 2019
Bank of America Stadium; Charlotte, N.C.

USWNT FINISHES 2019 VICTORY TOUR WITH MATCHES AGAINST KOREA REPUBLIC: The U.S. Women’s National Team will complete its five-game Victory Tour when it takes on Korea Republic on Thursday, Oct. 3, at Bank of American Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. (7:30 p.m. ET; FS1, the FOX Sports App & TUDN) and Sunday, Oct. 6 at Soldier Field in Chicago (1 p.m. CT on ESPN & the ESPN App).

The match in Chicago will be the final game for USWNT head coach Jill Ellis, who announced on July 30 that she would be stepping down after more than five extremely successful years at the helm of the U.S. team. The USA is coming off two victories against Portugal (4-0 in Philadelphia and 3-0 in St. Paul, Minn.) after starting the Victory Tour on Aug. 3 at the historic Rose Bowl where it downed Ireland 3-0. The Victory Tour celebrates the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup title and features the 23 players who helped the USA win the World Cup. The USA is 17-1-2 so far in 2019 and is riding a 16-match winning streak. The USA is unbeaten in its last 19 matches after dropping the first game of the year, a 3-1 setback to France in Le Havre.

HISTORIC RUN IN FRANCE: The USA is the only nation to have won the World Cup four times: 1991, 1999, 2015 and 2019. The USA’s 2-0 victory against the Netherlands on Sunday, July 7 at Stade de Lyon marked the USA’s record fifth appearance in a FIFA Women’s World Cup Final and added a fourth star to the USA’s jersey. The USA earned its way into the 2019 Final by blazing through its group in record fashion, beating Thailand (13-0), Chile (3-0) and semifinalists Sweden (2-0) before combining tremendous skill, savvy and will to meet increasingly tough challenges from rising power Spain (2-1) in the Round of 16, World Cup host France (2-1) in the Quarterfinal and No. 3 ranked England (2-1) in an epic Semifinal showdown. Goals from Megan Rapinoe – the tournament’s Golden Ball winner as Best Player and Golden Boot Winner as its top scorer – and Rose Lavelle, the Bronze Ball winner, propelled the USA to victory in the championship game vs. the Netherlands (2-0). It was the 50th career goal for Rapinoe and the 10th for Lavelle.

2019 U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM VICTORY TOUR ROSTER (CAPS/GOALS)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC; 2/0), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 22/0), Alyssa Naeher(Chicago Red Stars; 55/0)

DEFENDERS (7): Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 50/0), Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars; 23/1); Crystal Dunn (NC Courage; 94/24), Ali Krieger (Orlando Pride; 104/1), Kelley O’Hara (Utah Royals FC; 125/2), Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals FC; 167/0), Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC; 37/0)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Morgan Brian (Chicago Red Stars; 85/7), Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars; 91/19), Lindsey Horan(Portland Thorns FC; 77/12), Rose Lavelle (Washington Spirit; 34/10), Allie Long (Reign FC; 48/7), Samantha Mewis(NC Courage; 59/14), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit; 11/0)

FORWARDS (7): Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC; 159/32); Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC; 284/117), Jessica McDonald (NC Courage; 11/2), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 168/107), Christen Press (Utah Royals FC; 126/49), Mallory Pugh (Washington Spirit; 58/17), Megan Rapinoe (Reign FC; 158/50)

U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM VICTORY TOUR

USWNT TO FINISH 2019 SCHEDULE AGAINST SWEDEN AND COSTA RICA: The final two matches of the 2019 schedule for the U.S. Women’s National Team will see the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup champions travel to Columbus, Ohio to face Sweden on Nov. 7 at MAPFRE Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1 & TUDN) and Jacksonville, Fla. to face Costa Rica on Nov. 10 at TIAA Bank Field (8 p.m. ET on ESPN2 & TUDN).

The meeting with Sweden, which is ranked fifth in the world after its third-place finish at the World Cup this summer, comes less than five months after the teams met in the final Group F match at the Women’s World Cup in Le Havre, France, a 2-0 victory for the Americans on goals from Lindsey Horan and a Sweden own goal that was created by Tobin Heath. Sweden has begun its qualifying for the 2021 UEFA Women’s Euro, to be staged in England, downing Latvia 4-1 in the first game of Group F for both countries. Next up for Sweden is an Oct. 4 qualifier at Hungary.

The USA has faced Costa Rica 14 times, all victories, with nine of those games coming in Concacaf qualifying competitions. The USA has faced Costa Rica in all four of the Concacaf Olympic Qualifying tournaments that have been held, and the countries are once again likely opponents in the 2020 Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament that will be staged early next year.

ALMOST 20 YEAR AGO: The USWNT has not played in Charlotte in 19 years, last visiting in April of 2000 for a match against Iceland (a 0-0 draw) in the run-up to the Sydney Olympics. The USA did successfully launch their World Cup Qualifying campaign in North Carolina, however, winning the first three games in the Concacaf Women’s Championship last October in Cary, home of the reigning National Women’s Soccer League champion North Carolina Courage and site of the 2019 NWSL Championship Game on Oct. 27.

KRIEGER HONORED FOR 100TH CAP: Prior to thematch in Charlotte, N.C., U.S. defender Ali Krieger will be honored for earning her 100th career cap. Krieger, who currently has 104 caps, earned her 100th on May 16 in the USA’s 5-0 victory against New Zealand in St. Louis, but delayed the honor until now as the USA was on the cusp of the World Cup. Krieger turned out to be one of the feel-good stories of the tournament, returning to the fold after almost two years away from the WNT and contributing to the World Cup triumph while playing in three matches with one start. Most notably, she came off the bench at halftime of the World Cup Final in place of the injured Kelley O’Hara and helped the USA secure its second, and her second, consecutive World cup title. Krieger is the 38th player to play at least 100 times for the USWNT.

NEW RECORD: Withthe crowd more 49,504 at Lincoln Financial Field on Aug. 29 as the USA downed Portugal, 4-0, the record was broken for the largest crowd to watch a USWNT friendly match. Only eight WNT crowds inside the USA have been larger, six at the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the semifinal and gold medal games at the Atlanta Olympics. The other two Victory Tour matches have also drawn large crowds with 37,040 coming out to watch the USA defeat Ireland, 3-0, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Aug. 3, and a sell-out crowd of 19,600 watching the USA defeat Portugal, 3-0, at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minn. on Sept. 3. The crowd at the Rose Bowl stands as the third-largest for a domestic stand-alone friendly for the USWNT.

“THE BEST” NIGHT IN MILAN: On Sept. 23 at the famed Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy, Megan Rapinoe, the co-captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team that took the world by storm in France this summer as the USA won the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, was named The Best FIFA Women’s Player of 2019, and Jill Ellis, who led the USA to its second consecutive World Cup title, was named The Best FIFA Women’s Coach for 2019. U.S. forward Alex Morgan, who was one of the three finalists for The Best FIFA Women’s Player, finished second in the voting behind Rapinoe. In addition, U.S. players made up almost half of the FIFA FIFPro Women’s World11 with Rapinoe, Morgan, midfielders Julie Ertz and Rose Lavelle and defender Kelley O’Hara being honored. This year marks the sixth time an American woman has been named FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year following Carli Lloyd’s selection in 2015 and 2016, Abby Wambach in 2012 and Mia Hamm in 2001 and 2002, which were the first two years the award was presented. Ellis was also named FIFA World Coach of the Year in 2015 after the USA won the World Cup in Canada.

USA 2019 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP FACTS

• The tournament marked the eighth consecutive World Cup appearance for now four-time World Cup champion USA, which is one of six countries to qualify for all eight Women’s World Cups along with Brazil, Germany, Japan, Norway, Sweden and Nigeria.
• This was the second and last Women’s World Cup to include 24 nations. FIFA recently announced that the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup will be contested with 32 countries. Sixteen teams participated in the four World Cups held from 1999-2011. The 1991 and 1995 WWC featured 12 teams.
• The USA was only the third defending champion to reach the World Cup Final in the following tournament after winning the title – Germany did so in 2003 and 2007, while Japan accomplished the feat in 2011 and 2015.
• The USA was the first team to reach three consecutive World Cup Finals and was only the second nation to repeat as champions after Germany did so in 2003 and 2007.
• The USA has reached a record five World Cup finals, winning four. The second most accomplished team, Germany, has been to three finals, winning two.
• The U.S. is unbeaten in its last 17 Women’s World Cup matches (14W-3D), winning the last 12 in a row, which is a record. They are the only team to win 12 consecutive WWC matches, besting Norway’s run from 1995 to 19999. Seven of the USA’s 12 wins have been by multiple-goal margins.
• Allie Long and Jessica McDonald made their first World Cup roster at age 31. Long was a member of the 2016 Olympic Team, and McDonald is the top American scorer in the history of the NWSL. McDonald was also the only mother on the World Cup Team. She has a seven-year-old son.
• The average age of the U.S. World Cup roster was just under 29-years-old, about the same as the USA’s 2015 Women’s World Cup Team.
• Six players who had previously scored in a Women’s World Cup tournament were on the World Cup roster. Four of the seven goal scorers against Thailand made their World Cup scoring debuts. The tally for World Cup goal scorers on the last World Cup roster is: Lloyd (10), Morgan (9), Rapinoe (9), Lavelle (3), Horan (2), Mewis (2), Press (2), Ertz (1), Pugh (1), Heath (1), O’Hara (1) and Own Goal (1).
• The World Cup roster featured players from 13 different states. Five players on the roster hailed from California, three from Georgia, while there were two each are from New York, New Jersey, Arizona and Colorado.
• The roster included 11 first-time participants, three more than the team that won the World Cup in 2015. The roster was also tied for the third-most rookies among U.S. teams since the Women’s World Cup began in 1991.
• There are only four nations who have won the eight Women’s World Cup tournaments: The USA (1991, 1999, 2015, 2019), Norway (1995), Germany (2003, 2007) and Japan (2011).
• After the win vs. the Netherlands, the USWNT is now 40-4-6 all-time in the Women’s World Cup, outscoring its opponents 138-37 in 50 games. The 40 wins, 50 games-played and 138 goals scored are all FIFA Women’s World Cup records.
• The USA scored in the first 12 minutes of each of its first six World Cup matches. Only in the World Cup Final did it fail to find the net early.
• The USWNT had nine different goal scorers at the World Cup. Only the 2003 German team (10) and the 1999 American team (10) had more at a single WWC.
• The United States is the only nation to have made it to all eight semifinals of the Women’s World Cup.
• At the World Cup, the USA set a record for most goals in tournament history with 26, breaking its own record of 25, set in 1991 in six games.
• The USA also set records for most goals in a single Women’s World Cup match and largest margin of victory when it beat Thailand 13-0 in its Group F opener, a game that featured 10 second-half goals, also a record.
• Alex Morgan tied the record for most goals in a single match when she scored five against Thailand, matching the feat of Michelle Akers against Chinese Taipei at the 1991 Women’s World Cup in China.
• Jill Ellis became the first coach to win two Women’s World Cup titles. Italy’s Vittorio Pozzo, who won the Men’s World Cup in 1934 and 1938, is the only other coach to win two World Cup titles.
• The USA has now won 12 consecutive World Cup matches (five in 2015 and seven in 2019), which is the longest winning streak in Women’s World Cup history.
• Rose Lavelle (24 years, 54 days) became the second-youngest American to score in a World Cup Final, trailing only Alex Morgan (22 years, 15 days) in 2011.
• The USA was ahead in its World Cup games for 70.2 percent of the time. The Americans never trailed in their seven games and led for 442 of 630 total minutes.
• With six goals and three assists in the World Cup, Megan Rapinoe won the Golden Boot as the tournament’s top scorer and also won the Golden Ball as the tournament MVP.
• Alex Morgan won the Silver Boot as the second-leading scorer. She also had six goals and three assists but played more minutes than Rapinoe.
• Lavelle won the Bronze Ball as the third-best player in the tournament.
• Rapinoe’s goal against the Netherlands made her the oldest player, at 34 years and two days, to score in a Women’s World Cup Final. She broke teammate Carli Lloyd’s record set in 2015. Lloyd was 32 years, 354 days old when she scored three times against Japan.
• This was third World Cup in which the USWNT had never trailed entering the final, a feat also achieved in 1991 and 2015.
• After the 13-0 win over Thailand, the starting frontline of Alex Morgan, Tobin Heath and Megan Rapinoe had a combined 183 career goals. The second string of Christen Press, Mallory Pugh and Lloyd had a combined 176 career goals. Jessica McDonald, the USA’s seventh forward, had two international goals.

JILL ELLIS FACT FILE : On July 30, Jill Ellis announced she was stepping down from her post after five-plus years at the helm of the world’s #1 ranked team. She is the third U.S. coach – and the first female American coach – to win a Women’s World Cup at the senior level, following Anson Dorrance (1991) and the late Tony DiCicco (1999), and the first to win two (2015 & 2019) after the triumph in France. Ellis was named the 2015 FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women’s Soccer on Jan. 11, 2016 and won the award again on Sept. 23, 2019 at The Best FIFA Awards in Milan, Italy.

Ellis coached seven games as interim coach in 2012 (5-0-2) and two games (1-0-1) as interim in 2014, which gave her a 6-0-3 record before she ever was formally named the head coach in May of 2014. She has gone 99-7-15 since then for an overall record of 105-7-18. With the victory against Belgium on April 7, 2019 in Los Angeles, she moved ahead of Pia Sundhage (91 career victories) in all-time wins and is now tied with Tony DiCicco, a record she may break against South Korea in Charlotte. The WWC match against France on June 28 was her 125th on the bench for the USA, earning her the record for most USWNT games coached and that win was the 100th in her WNT career.

In her time as head coach of the WNT, Ellis has won eight tournaments: the 2015 Algarve Cup, the 2015 Women’s World Cup, the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship, the 2016 SheBelieves Cup, the 2018 SheBelieves Cup, the 2018 Tournament of Nations, the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship and the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

MARKGRAF NAMED USWNT GENERAL MANAGER AS COACHING SEARCH BEGINS: On Aug. 12, U.S. Soccer announced the appointment Kate Markgraf, who played in six world championships for the USA, winning the 1999 Women’s World Cup and two Olympic gold medals, as the first General Manager of the Women’s National Team . The role of the WNT GM will have an expanded scope beyond the senior team, influencing the development of women’s soccer within the Federation and serving as the external liaison to all stakeholders. Markgraf’s immediate priority will be to lead the process of selecting the next WNT head coach ahead of qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Games, and she will also manage the overall technical plan for the Women’s National Team program, which includes the hiring of Youth National Team coaches and staff.

U.S. ROSTER NOTES
TEAM

• Washington Spirit midfielder Andi Sullivan has been added to the U.S. Women’s National Team roster for the two matches against the Korea Republic. Sullivan, who has 11 career caps, was added due to several injuries and the overall work load of the 2019 Women’s World Cup Team players as the NWSL season nears its conclusion.
• Twelve different players have scored the USA’s 65 goals this year. Carli Lloyd leads the team with 12 and Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe have nine each. Tobin Heath has eight goals, Samantha Mewis has six and Mallory Pugh and Lindsey Horan have five each. Rose Lavelle has four and Christen Press has three. Jessica McDonald, Julie Ertz, Morgan Brian and Allie Long have one each. The USA has benefited from one own goal.
• The U.S. Women’s National Team reached an impressive milestone on Nov. 8, 2018 with its 1-0 victory against Portugal that was the 500th win in program history. Since its inception in 1985, the USWNT has compiled a record of 517 wins, 66 losses and 76 ties. Over the history of the program, the USA has gone 291-28-22 (88% winning percentage) at home, 52-14-17 away (73%) and 174-33-28 (81%) on neutral ground. Of the USA’s 66 losses, 12 (18%) came at the Algarve Cup in Portugal.
• The USA has scored in 47 consecutive matches and has averaged more than three goals per game in that time. Since the end of the 2015 World Cup, the USA has played 90 matches and has a 76-5-9 record.
• Lloyd has 53 WNT goals since the start of 2015. Morgan (57) is the only other player with more than 30 goals over the four years.
• The U.S. has scored multiple goals in 15 consecutive matches. The USA had not scored multiple goals in 14 straight games since March 19-June 13, 1995.
• The USA has now won 16 consecutive matches, the third longest winning streak in team history. The U.S. Women had not won 15 games in a row since Feb. 10-July 23, 1996.
• This current streak is the longest since July 25, 1990 – May 25, 1991, which included 18 wins.
• The U.S. Women are unbeaten on home soil over its last 34 matches, 29 wins and five draws. The last loss at home was July 27, 2017 vs. Australia, a 1-0 setback in Seattle.
• Half of the USA’s 10 goals in its last three games have been headed goals, equaling the total from their previous 10 matches combined. The USA scored five headed goals in the game prior to that 10-game stretch (April 7, 2019 vs. Belgium).
• The U.S. has scored 18 goals from set pieces in 2019, including nine at the Women’s World Cup – three more than any other team.

FORWARDS

• Alex Morgan will miss both matches against Korea Republic as she recovers from a knee injury.
• Morgan had a performance for the ages against Thailand in the opening game of the World Cup, tying a World Cup record with 5 goals while adding three assists. In the Semifinal match against England, Morgan scored what proved to be the game-winner for the USA just after the half-hour mark, heading home Lindsey Horan’s cross for her tournament-leading sixth goal. The six scores upped her career total to 107, tying her with Michelle Akers for fifth on the USA’s all-time goals list. She scored her historic 100th career goal on April 4 vs. Australia.
• Morgan’s 100th goal came in her 159th cap, just three more appearances than Mia Hamm needed to reach 100 goals. Abby Wambach scored her 100th goal in her 129th cap, Michelle Akers in her 128th, Milbrett in her 203rd, Carli Lloyd in her 252nd and Kristine Lilly in her 287th.She was 29 years and 283 days old, third youngest behind Hamm (26 years, 191 days) and Wambach (29 years and 54 days old). Akers scored her 100th at age 32, as did Milbrett. Lilly was 33 and Lloyd was 35.
• Morgan, who has not played on the Victory Tour due to injury, has scored 34 goals over her last 41 WNT matches, a span that runs from the end of 2017. During that 34-goal streak, she has scored on about a quarter of her shots, scoring 10 goals with her right foot, 18 with her left, five with her head and one with her chest. The 34 goals have included six braces, one hat trick and one five-goal game.
• Morgan has scored in 73 career games for the USA and in those matches, the U.S. team has never lost, going 63-0-10. Morgan is one of only three players in U.S. history with 40 or more goals who has never lost a game in which she has scored (Heather O’Reilly and Tisha Venturini are the others), but all 13 players who have scored 40 or more goals have a winning percentage that is equal to or higher than Morgan’s 93 percent.
• Morgan is third all-time in two-goal games (22), behind only Wambach (37) and Hamm (28). With her hat trick against Japan on July 26, 2018, the fourth of her career, and her five-goal game on June 11, Morgan moved ahead of Michelle Akers for third all-time in multi-goal games (27) behind only Abby Wambach (45) and Mia Hamm (38).
• Morgan’s second goal vs. Jamaica on Oct. 14, 2018, was just the second of her international career to come via a penalty kick. Abby Wambach scored 16 of her 184 goals on PKs. Mia Hamm scored five of her 158 goals off PKs.
• Among players with more than 50 goals/assists combined, Morgan has averaged a goal or an assist for every 72.2 minutes on the field in her international career. The only players with more than 50 combined goals/assists who have done better are Hamm (68.5) and Wambach, who averaged a goal or assist for every 71.5 minutes. Akers finished her career at 74.0 minutes per goal or assist.
• Since opening her account in 2010 against China, Morgan has scored against 28 different teams – none more than Japan (12 goals). She has scored nine goals against Canada and Mexico and six against Costa Rica, France, New Zealand, Sweden and Trinidad & Tobago.
• Morgan (who has nine World Cup goals) needs one more World Cup goal to become the 11th player (and fourth American) to score 10 goals at the World Cup. Only two other countries have more than one player to have accomplished this feat: Germany (3) and Brazil (2).
• Morgan is the first player in Women’s World Cup history to score a goal on her birthday. She turned 30 on the same day as the July 2 Semifinal game vs. England.
• Withher penalty kick goal in the World Cup Final, Megan Rapinoe now has 50 career goals, which moves her into sole possession of 11th place on the all-time U.S. scoring list. She has nine career World Cup goals.
• She has been directly involved in 15 goals in her 16 appearances at the Women’s World Cup (nine goals, six assists). Since the start of the 2011 tournament, she has had a hand in more WWC goals than any other player.
• Rapinoe had a team-leading 12 assists in 2018 and after getting two vs. Thailand and one vs. Sweden has 60 assists for her career, moving her to sole possession of sixth place on the U.S. all-time list. Seven of Rapinoe’s 12 assists last year were on Alex Morgan goals and she set up one of Morgan’s five scores against Thailand with the other going to Samantha Mewis. Her assist vs. Sweden was to Lindsey Horan off a corner kick.
• Rapinoe is only the second player to start three Women’s World Cup Finals (2011, 2015, 2019) after Germany’s Birgit Prinz (1995, 2003, 2007).
• Rapinoe missed the first three Victory Tour games due to injuries.
• Carli Lloyd is the USA’s all-time active caps leader with 283. With her substitute appearance against Sweden on June 20, she moved past Mia Hamm into third all-time in career caps.
• Lloyd’s goal off the bench against Thailand and two against Chile in her first start of this World Cup gave her 10 career WWC goals, ahead of Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, who both have nine. Hamm and Kristine Lilly have eight. After scoring on a classy looping header against Ireland on Aug. 3, a volley on Aug. 29 against Portugal, and two more against Portugal on Sept. 3, Lloyd has 117 international goals.
• She leads the USA in scoring this year with 12 goals.
• Lloyd became the first player to score in six consecutive appearances at the Women’s World Cup. She’s scored eight goals across those six games, the last four of 2015 and the first two of 2019.
• Lloyd scored her historic 100th goal on April 8, 2018 vs. Mexico to become the sixth player to score 100 or more for the USA and the first since 2009, when Abby Wambach scored her 100th.
• On Oct. 7, 2018 vs. Panama at World Cup qualifying, Lloyd scored her eighth career hat trick. With that hat trick in World Cup qualifying, Lloyd tied Mia Hamm for most three-goal games all-time in WNT history. Hamm also had two four-goal games in her career. Lloyd has moved ahead of Kristine Lilly and Cindy Parlow into fifth all-time in multi-goal games with 21.
• Against Panama, Lloyd (36 years, 83 days) became the oldest player to score a hat trick for the USWNT. She broke Wambach’s record of 34 years, 186 days. Kristine Lilly is the oldest player to score a goal for the USA at 38 years, 264 days.
• Against Chile, at 36 years, 11 months old, Lloyd became the oldest player to score more than once in a single Women’s World Cup game, overtaking Cristiane’s record set in this year’s tournament for Brazil against Jamaica (34 years, 25 days).
• Lloyd is the highest active goal scorer in U.S. history with the players ahead of or tied with her – Hamm, Wambach, Lilly, Akers and Tiffeny Milbrett – all retired.
• Lloyd scored 36 international goals between the time she debuted (six days before her 23rd birthday) and her 30th birthday. Since turning 30, she has scored 81 goals in 147 games over a span just over seven years. The 147 games played after the age of 30 is the second-most all-time in U.S. history in that category. Christie Rampone is far and away the leader with 175.
• After earning an assist on Allie Long’s goal vs. Portugal on Aug. 29 , Lloyd has 54 career assists and has moved past Shannon MacMillan into 7th place all-time.
• Lloyd scored five goals in the USA’s last four friendly games before the World Cup, all but one of them off the bench, scored three times in the World Cup, two as a starter, and has scored (four times) in all three Victory Tour matches as a starter. Her other goal came in a 3-0 win vs. South Africa in May.
• Tobin Heath has 32 career international goals. She earned her 150th cap against Mexico on May 26 to become the 22nd U.S. female player to hit that mark. She has 14 goals in her last 27 matches and 12 in her last 22. The 14 goals are 43% of her career total.
• In 2018, Heath didn’t return to the U.S. lineup until June 12 after completing her long recovery from injury, but she was on fire for the rest of the year, scoring seven goals with six assists in just 10 games and 657 minutes. She averaged a goal or an assist for every 50 minutes on the field in the latter part of the year. She has 38 career assists, moving past Lauren Holiday and into 13th place on the USA’s all-time assist list.
• At the World Cup in the final match of group play, she appeared to score vs. Sweden at the beginning of the second half, but the goal was later changed to an Own Goal after it was confirmed to have deflected off a Sweden defender and into the net.
• Heath saw the full 90 minutes of play against Spain in the Round of 16 on June 24 and earned the first penalty kick after a brilliant series of moves inside the box. She saw the full 90 minutes vs. France and had a goal called offside. Heath’s early pressure in the Semifinal against England produced the game’s initial breakthrough. Her through-ball was dummied by Lavelle, and Kelley O’Hara ran onto the ball down the right wing before whipping in a far post cross to the head of Christen Press. In the championship game, she played the first 87 minutes before coming off to a rousing ovation.
• Mallory Pugh scored the USA’s first goal of 2019 against France on Jan. 19. She has five goals in 2019 and 17 for her career. The Denver native had a brace on April 4 against Australia in front of her hometown crowd. It was the second two-goal game of her career. She scored 37 seconds after entering the match and in the 66^thminute, her shortest time on the field before scoring in her WNT career. Pugh was the fifth different player to record a brace off the bench since 2015.
• Against Thailand on June 11, she netted her 16th career goal, scoring off the bench in her Word Cup debut and becoming the third-youngest goal scorer in a WWC match in U.S. history.
• She made her first career World Cup start in the match against Chile on June 16 and came off the bench against Sweden in the final group match but then did not see the field again in the tournament.
• Pugh scored in her senior team debut (the 19th USWNT player to score in her first cap) on Jan. 23, 2016, vs. Ireland at 17 years, 8 months and 25 days old, becoming the youngest player to debut for the U.S. in the previous 11 years. Since then, she has earned 58 total caps and has been one of the USA’s most dangerous players, mostly attacking from the wings.
• Christen Press had a quality run-up to the World Cup and played in all seven matches in France, five off the bench. She came off the bench against Thailand at the World Cup and caused havoc, picking up the assist on Alex Morgan’s third goal. Against Chile, she was unfortunate not to score multiple goals as she was the victim of several world class saves from Chile goalkeeper Christiane Endler. Due to Rapinoe’s injury, Press got the start in the Semifinal against England and scored one of the most important goals of her career, giving the USA an early lead after powering a header past England’s goalkeeper Carly Telford. It was her only goal of the tournament. She came off the bench in the World Cup Final to finish out the game.
• After assisting on both first half goals vs. Portugal on Aug. 29, Press now has 126 caps, 49 career goals and 33 career assists. The Los Angeles native set up Tobin Heath’s goal in the first Victory Tour game on Aug. 3 at the Rose Bowl and Heath’s goal in the second Victory Tour game. Both goals put the USA up 1-0.
• She now has four multi-assist games in 2019.
• Press needs just one more goal to join 10 other American female players who have scored 50 career goals. She is in 12th place on the all-time WNT goals list. She also leads the USA in assists this year with 10, six more than any other player.
• Forward Jessica McDonald‘s first career cap came against Romania on Nov. 10, 2016, in San Jose, Calif. She earned her second career cap and start vs. Portugal on Nov. 8 and scored the game-winning goal – her first international score. McDonald, came off the bench to score her second career goal, tallying the sixth score in the 6-0 win vs. Belgium on April 7.
• At the age of 31, she made her World Cup debut on June 16 against Chile, coming off the bench at halftime and almost scored, curling a shot off the right post. She earned her ninth career cap against Ireland on Aug. 3 in the first match of the Victory Tour, her 10^th against Portugal on Aug. 29 and 11^th against Portugal on Sept. 3.

MIDFIELDERS

• Julie Ertz scored her first World Cup goal on June 16 against Chile and now has a career goal total of an impressive 19 international scores in 91 caps as she has become one of the USA’s most important players.
• On Aug. 29 she played on the same field where her husband Zach Ertz plies his trade for the Philadelphia Eagles. She even used his locker for the match.
• Of Ertz’ 19 career international goals, 15 have come off set plays – seven off free kicks and eight off corner kicks. Nine of her 19 goals have been headers, nine were scored with her right foot and one with her left. Impressively, 37% of her goals (7 of 19) have been game-winners.
• Rose Lavelle made her World Cup debut and scored twice against Thailand in the opening game in France. It was her second career brace. She had her first career brace against T&T on Oct. 10 during group play at the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship. She now has 34 caps – with 27 starts – and 10 goals.
• Lavelle famously scored the clinching goal in the World Cup Final on her brilliant dribbling run and shot that will go down as one of the most memorable goals in U.S. and World Cup history.
• She played in the first Victory Tour match against Ireland but missed the matches against Portugal due to injury.
• Lindsey Horan made her World Cup debut against Thailand and scored her first World Cup goal and got the start against Chile on June 16 as she returned to Paris where she started her professional career with PSG. Against Sweden on June 20, she scored her second World Cup goal and the quickest of the tournament to that point when she tallied in the 3rd minute.
• Horan was a vital starter in the Semifinal match against England on July 2. She lofted a sumptuous cross into the center of the box for Alex Morgan to head home, allowing the U.S. to regain the lead in the 31st minute and ultimately head to the WWC Final.
• She scored her 11th career goal in the first game of the Victory Tour on Aug. 3 at the Rose Bowl and her 12^thagainst Portugal on Sept. 3 in St. Paul, Minn.
• Currently at 59 caps, Samantha Mewis has put in some excellent performances this year, especially at the World Cup. She is fourth on the U.S. team in goals this year with six. She got her first World Cup start and first two World Cup goals against Thailand, which was her third career brace. She has 14 career goals and six goals this year after eight in her first 43 matches for the WNT.
• Veteran Allie Long saw her first World Cup action against Chile on June 16, coming off the bench in the second half. She scored her first three career goals (all on headers) in 2016. She scored her fourth and fifth goals, also off headers, vs. Russia on April 6, 2017. It was the second brace of her career. She finally got a WNT goal with her feet on Oct. 22 vs. Korea Republic, slotting home a pass from Horan. She capped the scoring against Portugal on Aug. 29 with yet another header for her 7th career goal and now has 48 caps.
• Morgan Brian returned to fitness just in time make her second Women’s World Cup Team. Sheplayed in 12 games in 2018, starting seven, but had played in just one match this year, going 90 minutes in the first game of the year against France, before getting the start and playing 90 against Chile on June 16. On Aug. 29 vs. Portugal, she played in her third match, and scored on a header for her 7th career goal. It was her first goal for the U.S. since November of 2016 when she scored in a 5-0 friendly win over Romania. She played in her fourth match of the year on Sept. 3 vs. Portugal and now has 85 career caps at 26-years-old.
• Andi Sullivan , the top pick in the 2018 NWSL Draft by the Washington Spirit, was called into the April camp, but did not see action in either game. She returned to the squad in the USA’s European January Camp this year but did not play in either match. Before that, her most recent call-ups were in April of 2018 for the two friendlies against Mexico and then again for the USA’s trip to Europe last November where she started against Portugal on Nov. 8, earning her 11th cap.
• As a senior, Sullivan led Stanford to the NCAA title and won the MAC Hermann Trophy as the top player in college soccer. She was a key player for the USA in both the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup and the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. She was taken #1 overall in the 2018 NWSL Draft when she was selected by her home area Washington Spirit.

DEFENDERS

• Becky Sauerbrunn is the 20th player, and just the third who has played exclusively as a defender, to play 150 times for the WNT. She currently has 167 caps and since 2014 has started 111 of those caps.
• She was held out of the World Cup opener on June 11 due to a minor quad issue but returned to play 90 minutes in the remaining six matches at the WWC, once again anchoring a U.S. defense that allowed just three goals.
• Abby Dahlkemper has played full 90s in 15 of her 20 games this year. She played the most minutes of any U.S. field player in the World Cup with 622, starting all seven games. She played her first World Cup match on June 11 vs. Thailand. She has started 45 of her 50 caps.
• Against Portugal on Sept. 3, she became 59th female player in U.S. history to play in 50 or more games. She leads the USA in minutes played this year with 1,652.
• Crystal Dunn solidified her spot as an outside back for the USA in 2018, a position where she played the final 16 of her 18 caps last year. She put in a solid shift at left back in her first World Cup match on June 11 vs. Thailand. She was rested against Chile on June 16 but returned to the lineup against Sweden and Spain – playing all 90 minutes and had excellent outings vs. France, England and the Netherlands, once again going all 90. She was one of the USA’s most important players in the World Cup, going against some of the world’s best attacking players and coming out on top in each battle.
• Dunn, who has consistently shown her excellent attacking abilities from outside back, has 24 international goals but has not scored this year.
• Kelley O’Hara picked up her second World Cup start on June 11 against Thailand (her first came in 2015) and earned the assist on the first goal. She now has 125 caps to go along with two goals, one of which was scored in the 2015 World Cup semifinal vs. Germany. She was rested against Chile on June 16 but returned to play vs. Sweden, Spain, France and in the final against the Netherlands, but she had to leave the Final at halftime after taking a knock to the head in an aerial challenge. She tallied her 17th career assist in the Semifinal match against England with a brilliant far-post cross from the right side to a Christen Press header.
• She did not play in the matches against Portugal due to an ankle injury.
• Tierna Davidson, who turned 21 on Sept. 19, madeher World Cup debut in style on June 16 against Chile, playing all 90 minutes at left back and earning two assists on corner kicks. She was the first defender since at least 2011 with multiple assists in a WWC match. At age 20, she is youngest U.S. player to start a World Cup match since Tiffany Roberts in 1995.
• She got the start on Aug. 29 in Philadelphia and played the first 45 minutes and came off the bench to play the second half on Sept. 3 in Minnesota and currently has 23 caps.
• Davidson helped lead Stanford to the NCAA Championship in 2017 as a sophomore and was a consistent USWNT call-up in 2018 as the youngest player on the roster. She started and played the entire 90 minutes to earn her first cap in the 5-1 victory against Denmark on Jan. 21 in a game where she picked up the game-winning assist on Julie Ertz’ goal. Against Chile on Aug. 31, 2018, Davidson scored her only career goal, via a header off a Tobin Heath corner kick
• Davidson is the third teenager since 2013 to earn a first cap for the WNT. Mallory Pugh (17 in 2016) and Lindsey Horan (19 in 2013) are the most recent teenagers to debut for the WNT.
• Emily Sonnett made her World Cup debut against Chile on June 16, coming off the bench to earn her 34th cap, and has shown her consistent abilities this year at right back. Against Australia on April 4, she started and played 79 minutes, picking up assists on two of the five goals – to Tobin Heath and Mallory Pugh – which were the second and third of her career. She played the final 20 minutes off the bench against Mexico on May 26. She has played in all three Victory Tour matches so far to up her cap total to 37.
• Veteran Ali Krieger, a member of the USA’s 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup Team and the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup championship squad as well as the 2016 Olympic Team, returned to the roster during the April matches for the first time since the 2017 Tournament of Nations, where she did not see action. Her start and 90 minutes against Belgium on April marked her first game since an appearance against Russia in April of 2017.
• Krieger earned her 100th cap on May 16 against New Zealand as she came off the bench at halftime and became the 38th USWNT player to hit the century mark.
• She played in her 14th World Cup match and earned her first and only start of the 2019 World Cup against Chile on June 16, going the entire 90 minutes at right back. Krieger also saw action in the Semifinal vs. the Lionesses, coming in for Kelley O’Hara in the 87th minute, and played a vital role in the Final, coming on for O’Hara again and playing an excellent 45 minutes at right back to help the USA secure the championship.

GOALKEEPERS

• Alyssa Naeher has 30 career shutouts in her 55 caps, including a shutout in the World Cup Final, becoming the fifth goalkeeper to earn a shutout in a Women’s World Cup Final. Naeher earned 13 caps in 2017, 16 in 2018 and has 17 in 2019.
• After the matchup against Spain in Round of 16, she became the fourth goalkeeper in U.S. history to earn 50 has now moved past Nicole Barnhart to become the third-most capped goalkeeper in U.S. history.
• Naeher had an assist against Australia on April 4. She is the first U.S. ‘keeper to record an assist since Hope Solo did in July of 2012 against France on an Alex Morgan goal in the opening game of the Olympics.
• The USA got a victory-securing penalty kick stop from Naeher late in the second half of the Semifinal against England on July 2. The Lionesses were awarded a penalty kick after VAR revealed that Ellen White had been inadvertently tripped by U.S. defender Becky Sauerbrunn. England captain Stephanie Houghton stepped up to take the spot kick, but Naeher read her well and got down to her right for the massive save. It was the first penalty kick save by a U.S. goalkeeper in regulation time at a World Cup.
• Veteran Ashlyn Harris has 22 caps, earning her most recent vs. Ireland on Aug. 3 as she came off the bench at halftime. Against Brazil on March 5 she played very well, going 90 minutes to earn the shutout and making several important plays in the match. It was her seventh career shutout.
• Adrianna Franch earned her first WNT cap against England on March 2. She became the 27th player to earn her first cap during this cycle (post-WWC 2015). She has been getting call-ups to the senior side since 2012 after she was a member of the USA’s 2010 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Team and has seen training time with the WNT on and off for the past six years.
• Franch earned her second cap and her first shut-out in the USA 4-0 win vs. Portugal on Sept. 29 in Philadelphia.

IN FOCUS: KOREA REPUBLIC

FIFA World Ranking: 20
AFC Ranking: 5
World Cup Appearances: 3 (2003, 2015, 2019)
Best Women’s World Cup finish: Round of 16 (2003)
Record vs. USA: 0-9-2
Head Coach: HWANG Insun

Korea Republic Women’s World Cup Roster by Position :
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-KANG Gaae (Gumi Sportstoto WFC), 18-KIM Minjung (Hyundai Steel Red Angels WFC), 21-MIN Yukyeong (Hwacheon KSPO WFC)

DEFENDERS (8): 2-HA Eunhye (Gumi Sportstoto WFC), 3-HONG Hyeji (Changnyeong WFC), 4-EO Hee Jin (Gumi Sportstoto WFC), 5-KIM Hyeyeong (Gyeongju KHNP WFC), 6-LIM Seonjoo (Hyundai Steel Red Angels WFC), 19-LEE Hyokyeong (Albirex Niigata Ladies, JPN), 20-KIM Hyeri (Hyundai Steel Red Angels WFC), 24-KIM Jinhui (Changnyeong WFC)

MIDFIELDERS (10): 7-LEE Youngju (Hyundai Steel Red Angels WFC), 8-CHO So Hyun (West Ham United WFC(ENG), 9-JANG Selgi (Hyundai Steel Red Angels WFC), 11-MOON Mira (Suwon UDC WFC), 12-KIM Soeun (Gumi Sportstoto WFC), 14-LEE Sodam (Hyundai Steel Red Angels WFC), 15-JANG Chang (Seoul City WFC), 16-PARK Yeeun (Gyeongju KHNP WFC), 17-LEE Seaeun (Hyundai Steel Red Angels WFC), 23-KANG Chaerim (Hyundai Steel Red Angels WFC)

FORWARDS (4): 10-JI Soyun (Chelsea FC, ENG), 22-SON Hwayeon (Changnyeong WFC)

USA VS. KOREA REPUBLIC

• The USA is 9-0-2 all-time against Korea Republic, which is ranked 20th in the world.
• The most recent matches between the teams came in the fall of 2017 as the USA downed South Korea, 3-1, in New Orleans on goals from Julie Ertz, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, and 6-0 in Cary, N.C. as Samantha Mewis scored twice in her club’s home stadium, to combine with goals from Christen Press, Ertz, Allie Long and Lynn Williams, who also scored on her home pitch.
• All 11 games between the teams have taken place on U.S. soil. The USA has played two friendly tournaments in South Korea in its history but did not meet the hosts at either one.
• Both draws between the teams have been 0-0 affairs, the first coming in 2008 during the USA’s post-Olympic tour following the gold medal win in Beijing, and the second coming in 2015 in Harrison, N.J.
• South Korea was the opponent on one of the most memorable nights in U.S. history, which came in 2013, a 5-0 victory at Red Bull Arena. That was the historic night that forward Abby Wambach became the greatest goal scorer in international soccer as she scored four goals – all in the first half. It was the third strike in the 29th minute that gave her 159 in her career and moved her past former teammate Mia Hamm to become the all-time leader in international goals. Lauren Holiday scored the fifth and final goal in that match.

KOREA REPUBLIC NOTES

• The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup did not go very well for Korea Republic, but it was in perhaps one of the most difficult groups. Korea was the opponent for host France in the electric opening match of the tournament and gave up three goals in the first half on the way to a 4-0 loss. Korea then dropped its second group match to Nigeria, 2-0, before falling 2-1 to a strong Norway team and exited the tournament. Forward Yeo Minji, who was originally named to the roster but did not travel to the USA, scored her country’s only goal of the tournament, tallying the 78th minute against the Norwegians.
• Four of the eight goals the Korea Republic allowed at the Women’s World Cup came from set pieces, the joint most of any team.
• These matches against the USA will be the first for the Korea Republic since the World Cup.
• Korea played a solid schedule in the lead-up to the World Cup, defeating Romania 3-0 and falling 1-0 to China PR at the Four Nations Tournament in China in January.
• At the Cup of Nations in Australia in March, Korea beat Argentina, 5-0, fell to Australia, 4-1, but then beat New Zealand 2-0.
• In the final three friendlies before the World Cup, the Taeguk Ladies lost to Iceland, 3-2, and drew with Iceland, 1-1, – both in Korea – and lost just 1-0 to Sweden in Gothenburg.
• Korea Republic played the first international match in its history in 1990, against AFC rival Japan. While its rise to prominence in the women’s game has been a bit slow-going, since the turn of the century, Korea has made significant strides, qualifying for the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup, where it was eliminated after the group stage, the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, where it advanced to the Round of 16 – its best performance to date – before bowing out at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, where it went out after group play.
• South Korea won the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup played in Trinidad & Tobago, defeating Japan in the penalty kick shootout in the championship game after tying 3-3 in regulation and overtime.
• In addition to winning the 2010 U-17 Women’s World Cup, Korea finished third the same year in the U-20 Women’s World Cup, losing to eventual champion Germany 5-1 in the semifinal before beating Colombia 1-0 in the 3rd Place match. Ji Soyun won the Silver Ball and the Silver Shoe while scoring eight goals in that tournament.
• Ji is by far the top scorer on this roster with 54 international goals in 119 caps.
• For these matches, South Korea will have an interim head coach – former Women’s National Team player Hwang Insun, who played at the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup – as the previous head coach resigned on Sept. 9 amid allegations that he physically and verbally assaulted his players during his first stint as head coach of the National Team and as coach of a women’s club. The Korea Football Association (KFA) said Choi Incheul, 47, offered to step down from the post earlier to take the fall for mounting assault allegations and it promptly accepted the resignation. The KFA had hired Choi as the new women’s team coach on Aug. 29 for his second tour of duty, replacing Yoon Deokyeo who coached the team at the World Cup in France. Choi had earlier coached the Taeguk Ladies from October 2010 to September 2011 and led the country to a bronze medal at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. “I understand the passage of time doesn’t justify or erase what happened, and I am terribly sorry for my actions,” he said. “My apology may not be enough to heal all the wounds. But I am deeply regretting what I did, and hopefully people will see sincerity in my apology.” Kim Pangon, a KFA executive in charge of appointing national team coaches, gave a mea culpa on his failure to run an appropriate background check on Choi.
• Next year, South Korea will try to qualify for the Olympics for the first time when it hosts a four-team third round group in early February. South Korea must finish in the top two in that group to advance to the final round, which will feature a two-leg series on March 6 and 11 with the winners of the two final round series’ advancing to the Olympics to join host Japan from the AFC.
• Almost all the players on this Korea roster play their club soccer inside the country, with the exception of forward Ji Soyun, who plays at Chelsea FC (where she played with U.S. defender Crystal Dunn), midfielder Cho So Hyun who plays at West Hamm in England and defender Lee Hyokyeong, who plays in Japan with Albirex Niigata.
• Veteran midfielder Cho Sohun leads this roster in caps with 124 (while also scoring 20 goals). Kim Hyeri (83 caps/1 goal) and Lim Seonjoo (76/5) are the most experienced defenders on the roster. Midfielder Jang Selgi has 58 caps with 11 goals and midfielder Lee Sdam has 51 caps with five goals. No other Korean player has more than 38 caps.