Following a 9-1 victory over Uzbekistan on Saturday night in Columbus, the U.S. Women’s National Team will play its second and final match of this April FIFA international window on Tuesday, April 12, squaring off against Uzbekistan at Subaru Park in Chester, Pa. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET with broadcast coverage on ESPN2 and ViX.
The U.S. is coming off a 9-1 victory in the first ever meeting between the two nations on Saturday evening in Columbus, Ohio. Seven different players scored for the USA in the win, highlighted by a hat trick from 21-year-old forward Sophia Smith. Overall, seven of the USWNT’s nine goals against Uzbekistan were scored by players under the age of 25 as the USA put together its highest-scoring performance since Sept. of 2021 vs. Paraguay.
Tuesday night’s game will be the third-to-last match for the USWNT before kicking off FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying in July. Exactly one week after the game in Chester, the USA will learn its path for qualifying when the Official Draw for the 2022 Concacaf W Championship is held on April 19 in Miami (7 p.m. ET). The event will place the eight competing nations – the USA, Canada and the six qualifying group winners – into two groups of four teams each. The USA, which will head Group A, and Canada, which will head Group B, have received byes straight to the final tournament as the highest-ranked teams in the region. The top two finishers in each group will qualify directly for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Fans will also be able to follow the action via Twitter (@USWNT), Instagram (@USWNT), Facebook and the official U.S. Soccer App.
GOALKEEPERS (3): Bella Bixby (Portland Thorns FC; 0), Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit; 0), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 80)
DEFENDERS (7): Alana Cook (OL Reign; 8/0), Abby Dahlkemper (San Diego Wave FC; 78/0), Imani Dorsey (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 1/0), Emily Fox (Racing Louisville FC; 12/0), Sofia Huerta (OL Reign; 11/0), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC; 0/0), Kelley O’Hara (Washington Spirit; 151/2)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyonnais, FRA; 109/25), Jaelin Howell (Racing Louisville FC; 5/1), Rose Lavelle (OL Reign; 70/18), Catarina Macario (Olympique Lyonnais, FRA; 16/6), Kristie Mewis (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 37/5), Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit; 6/1), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit; 26/3)
FORWARDS (5): Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit; 7/4), Mallory Pugh (Chicago Red Stars; 71/22), Margaret Purce (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 13/2), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit; 2/0), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC; 14/4)
The 22-player U.S. roster for these matches against Uzbekistan features 17 players who helped the U.S. win the SheBelieves Cup in February. Veterans and World Cup champions Abby Dahlkemper and Lindsey Horan returned to the roster after missing the SheBelieves Cup due to injury while goalkeeper Bella Bixby and defenders Imani Dorsey and Naomi Girma are the other new additions from February. Midfielder Samantha Mewis was initially named to this roster when it was announced on March 29 but was ruled out on April 1 as she continues to recover from a knee issue and was not replaced.
The 2022 U.S. Women’s National Team Media Guide is available for download. The Media Guide features all the history and statistic for the USWNT, as well as full bios on technical staff and the current top players, information on the USA’s Youth Women’s National Teams and general important information on U.S. Soccer.
The matchup in Columbus was the first meeting ever between the USA and Uzbekistan and made Uzbekistan the 55th different country the USWNT has faced in its nearly 37-year history. Uzbekistan is the eighth different opponent from Asia the USWNT has faced and was the first new AFC opponent for the USWNT since Thailand in 2016.
With goals in the 33rd, 35th and 56th minutes, Smith netted the 63rd hat-trick all-time in USWNT history and the first since Alex Morgan’s three-goal outpouring against Paraguay on September 21, 2021, in Cincinnati, Ohio. At 21 years and 242 days old, Smith became the fifth-youngest player in USWNT history to record a hat-trick and the youngest since 19-year-old Christie Welsh scored three times against Iceland on April 5, 2000. Danielle Fotopoulos (19 years), Sarah Rafanelli (21 years, 33 days) and Mia Hamm (21 years, 112 days) are the only players younger than Smith to ever score a hat trick for the USWNT. The hat trick came in Smith’s 14th career cap and marked the first multi-goal game of her young international career.
Forward Mallory Pugh continued her strong run of form for the USWNT with a goal and three assists on Saturday against Uzbekistan. Pugh scored the USA’s second goal of the evening – which proved to be the game-winner – in the 26th minute, just 46 seconds after the USA opened the scoring with a goal by Andi Sullivan. Pugh’s strike was her team-leading fourth goal of 2022 and gives her goals in three consecutive games for the USWNT, the longest scoring streak of her international career.
Pugh also dished out three assists on the day, setting up Smith’s first and third goals of the game and Ashley Sanchez’s first career goal in the 90th minute. Pugh’s three-assist outing was the second of her USWNT career, the other coming in the USA’s 9-0 win over Paraguay on Sep. 16, 2021. The 23-year-old Pugh now has 24 career assists, tied with Shannon Boxx for 20th all-time in USWNT history. With 22 international goals, she is also just eighth player in USWNT history to record 20+ goals and 20+ assists before the age of 25. The others are Mia Hamm, Alex Morgan, Kristine Lilly, Shannon MacMillan, Tiffeny Milbrett, Cindy Parlow Cone and Heather O’Reilly.
The USA carries a 66-game home unbeaten streak into Tuesday’s game in Chester, which includes 59 wins and seven draws. During this unbeaten streak, the USA has outscored its opponents 246-28, including a 116-4 margin during its last 28 matches at home, all but two of which have been wins except for a 0-0 draw with Korea Republic on Oct. 21 and a scoreless draw vs Czech Republic on Feb. 17. The match against South Korea ended the USA’s home winning streak at 22 consecutive games, the second-longest such streak in USWNT history. The USA’s longest home winning streak was 23 games and spanned from April 1993 to February 1996.
Tuesday’s game in Chester will be the USA’s 21st game all-time in Pennsylvania and the 12th in the Philadelphia area. Four of the USWNT’s previous matches in the region were at Lincoln Financial Field and seven at what is now Subaru Park. The first match at Subaru Park came in 2010 against China PR — a 1-1 tie — and the most recent was in February of 2019 vs. Japan — a 2-2 tie.
Prior to Uzbekistan’s goal in the 70th minute on Saturday, the USA had not allowed a goal on home soil in over two years, last conceding at home on March 11, 2020, in a 3-1 win over Japan in the final match of the 2020 SheBelieves Cup. The home shutout streak ended at 17 consecutive home clean sheets, the longest such streak in program, and totaled 1,632 minutes.
A new cycle is well underway with less than three months until the start of qualifying for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be co-hosted in Australia and New Zealand beginning in July of 2023. The Concacaf qualifying tournament is scheduled to take place in Monterrey, Mexico from July 4-18, 2022, with the top four teams guaranteeing their spot in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Two more Concacaf representatives will advance to a 10-team intercontinental playoff tournament to determine the final teams in the expand 32-team field for 2023.
The six teams that will join the USA and Canada in the final eight-team field at the Concacaf W Championship will also be determined on Tuesday, with every group still to be decided on the final match day of play. In each of the six qualifying groups – A through F – the team currently in first will play the team in second to determine who will advance to the championship field. Should those matches go to form, Mexico, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Panama, Haiti and Trinidad & Tobago would all go through.
The eight team Concacaf W Championship will consist of group play, followed by semifinal and championship rounds. Along with qualifying for the World Cup, at conclusion of the Concacaf W Championship, the winning nation will also guarantee its place in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games Women’s Football Tournament and the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup. The runner-up and the third-place nations will progress to a Concacaf Olympic play-in to be played in September of 2023. The winner of the play-in will also guarantee their place in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games and the 2024 W Gold Cup.
The USA is looking to qualify for its ninth consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup, having played in every tournament since the competition’s inception in 1991 and winning a record four titles. The USA will also have the opportunity to qualify for an eighth consecutive Summer Olympics.
IN FOCUS: UZBEKISTAN | FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
AFC Ranking: 10
FIFA Country Code: UZB
2023 World Cup Qualifying: N/A
World Cup appearances: None
Best World Cup Finish: N/A
Record vs. USA: 0-1-0
Last Meeting vs. USA: April 9, 2022, a 9-1 defeat in Columbus, Ohio
Coach: Midori Honda (JPN)
Championship Honors: None
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Tilovova Laylo (PFK Sevinch), 12-Saidova Zarina (FC Bunyodkor), 13-Uzganova Nigora (FC Sogdiana)
DEFENDERS (7): 2-Nabieva Yulduz (FC Bunyodkor), 3-Kuchkarova Ugiloy (FC Sogdiana), 9-Irisboeva Ziyoda (FC Bunyodkor), 11-Mirzayorova Mukhlisa (FC Metallurg), 17-Zarbieva Tanzilya (FC Sogdiana), 21-Tojiddinova Shokhida (FC AGMK), 22-Khusniddinova Solikha (Kocaeli Bayan FK, TUR)
MIDFIELDERS (7): 4-Zaynitdinova Shakhrizoda (Trabzonspor, TUR), 5-Panjieva Maftuna (FC Sogdiana), 6-Turdalieva Irodahon (FC Sogdiana), 10-Ablyakimova Ilvina (FC Bunyodkor), 14-Takaboeva Setora (Trabzonspor, TUR), 15-Vokhidova Madina (FC Qizilkum), 19-Kamoltoeva Nozima (FC Sogdiana)
FORWARDS (6): 7-Kudratova Nilufar (PFK Sevinch), 8-Ergasheva Dildora (FC Sogdiana), 16-Juraboeva Diyora (FC Metallurg), 18-Norboeva Aziza (FC Bunyodkor), 20-Zaripova Kamila (Trabzonspor, TUR), 23-Khabibullaeva Diyorakhon (FC Sogdiana)
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