USWNT to play September games in Detroit, Birmingham

CHICAGO (Via U.S. Soccer) – The 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup champion U.S. Women’s National Team will play its third and fourth matches on its post-Women’s World Cup tour in Detroit and Birmingham, Alabama, this September.

The games are part of a 10-match tour to celebrate the USA’s third World Cup title. The remaining six match dates, venues and opponents will be announced as they are confirmed.

The USA will face Women’s World Cup quarterfinalist Australia on Thursday, Sept. 17, at Ford Field in Detroit (7 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1) followed by a match on Sunday, Sept. 20, at historic Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama (1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2).

The USA and Australia met in the opening Group D game of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, a 3-1 U.S. victory on two goals from Megan Rapinoe and a game-winner from Christen Press that kick-started the USA’s run to the championship.

The USA’s tour begins on Aug. 16 against Costa Rica at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. More than 37,000 tickets have been sold for that match. The USA will then play Costa Rica at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Aug. 19. That match is sold out with over 20,000 fans expected to attend.

Additional Notes:

The Sept. 17 clash with Australia will mark the USA’s fourth match in the Detroit area and third at Ford Field, home to the NFL’s Detroit Lions.
The USA played indoors at the Pontiac Silverdome in 1993 on grass in a test match for the 1994 World Cup, and then played at Ford Field in December 2008 and 2012 at the end of victory tours t