The U.S. women’s national team will play a two-game series against Nigeria beginning Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan. The pair of friendlies will be the first competition for the USWNT since Concacaf W Championship where the USA won their ninth Concacaf title over the summer and qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, 2024 Olympic Games, and 2024 W Gold Cup. Saturday’s match will mark the seventh meeting overall between the two national teams, and despite close scorelines during past matches, the USWNT are winners of the previous six games.
Here’s how you can watch the match and what to know:
Viewing information
- Date: Saturday, September 3 | Time: 12:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Children’s Mercy Park — Kansas City, Kan.
- TV: FOX
- Live stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Want more coverage of women’s soccer? Listen below and make sure to follow Attacking Third, A Tri-weekly CBS Soccer Podcast devoted to bringing you everything you need to know from the NWSL and around the globe.
Storylines
USWNT: The team is all back together after USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski named the same 23-player roster that featured in the Concacaf W Championship for the September friendlies. Defenders Emily Sonnett and Kelley O’Hara are absent due to injury and forward Trinity Rodman is unable to participate due to a family commitment. Kansas City Current’s Hailie Mace and Racing Louisville FC’s Savannah DeMelo were called into camp as replacement players.
With a short build-up to the 2023 World Cup, the coaching staff is likely to use international windows as opportunities to establish more cohesion between the lines, so don’t be surprised to see Sophia Smith, Mallory Pugh, and Alex Morgan leading the attack once more in this match.
Nigeria: The Nigerian team is coming off a semifinal appearance in the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, where they qualified for the 2023 World Cup. Despite some injuries to key players, the team will provide some challenges to the USWNT with an attacking core of players that have the technical ability to challenge defenders. U.S. fans will be familiar with forwards Michelle Alozie (Houston Dash) and Ifeoma Onumonu (Gotham FC), but audiences should also keep an eye on Uchenna Kanu — the Tigres Femenil striker — as someone to cause problems on the pitch.
USWNT vs. Nigeria prediction
The two sides will play another classic tight, closely contested match, but USA take the first game. Pick: USWNT 2, Nigeria 0.
