USWNT to play 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup send-off match July 9 in San Jose

CHICAGO – The U.S. Women’s National Team will play its 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup send off match on Sunday, July 9 in San Jose, Calif. against Wales, marking the first-ever meeting between the two countries in women’s soccer.

The match at PayPal Park will kick off at 1 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on TNT in English and Universo, Peacock and Telemundo in Spanish. The pre-game show on TNT will begin at 12:30 p.m. PT / 3:30 p.m. ET and the match will be followed by a special on-field send-off ceremony, giving the fans a chance to cheer the team on as it embarks on its journey to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Wales will be the 56th different country the USWNT has faced in its history and the 30th from Europe.

“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.”

Additional Notes:

• Wales just missed qualifying for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, losing a single-leg match in the second round of the UEFA playoffs by a 2-1 score in overtime to Switzerland. Rhiannon Roberts scored in the 19th minute of that match, but Switzerland equalized in the 45th minute and dramatically won the game in 121st minute to avoid the imminent penalty kick shoutout.
• Wales midfielder Jessica Fishlock, one of her country’s most legendary players, has played in every season of the NWSL, all for OL Reign.
• This will be the 12th appearance for the USWNT in San Jose, with the first six coming at the historic Spartan Stadium. The USA has played four times at the home of the San Jose Earthquakes, winning all four games, and most recently played in San Jose in May of 2019 against South Africa, but that match was held at Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers.
• The USWNT has a long history of players with San Francisco Bay Area ties and in the current player pool there are numerous former Stanford University players (Alana Cook, Sophia Smith, Naomi Girma, Andi Sullivan, Catarina Macario and Tierna Davidson), Alex Morgan attended UC Berkeley and Sofia Huerta and Julie Ertz attended Santa Clara University. The only current players who hail from the Bay Area are Girma, who is from San Jose, and Davidson, who grew up in Menlo Park.
• The match be the 52nd for the USWNT in the state of California which has hosted more matches than any other state, a stat made more interesting by the fact that the U.S. Women did not play a game in California until 1996, 11 years after the program started.
• At the World Cup, which is taking place from July 20-Aug. 20 in 10 stadiums across nine host cities — five in Australia and four in New Zealand — the USA will open Group E play against Vietnam on July 22 at Eden Park in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau, which will also serve as the host venue for the Opening Ceremony of the 2023 World Cup on July 20 when New Zealand plays Norway. The USA then faces Netherlands on July 27 at Wellington Regional Stadium in Wellington/Te Whanganui-a-Tara, followed by Portugal on Aug. 1 at Eden Park in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau.