U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Jill Ellis has named a 24-player roster for a two-game European tour that will see the USA travel to face Portugal in Lisbon on Nov. 8 (1 p.m. ET on ESPN2) and Scotland in Paisley on Nov. 13 (2 p.m. ET on FS1 & UDN) to wrap up its 2018 schedule. Ellis and her staff will name 18 players to the gameday roster for each match.
- READ: Jill Ellis Q&A
- READ: Road to France 2019: By The Numbers
- READ: The U.S. WNT Has Qualified to the World Cup. Are YOU Going?
These will be the first friendly matches for the USA since it secured a berth to the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and the first in Europe since the summer of 2017. So far, the USA has compiled a 16-0-2 record this year and is unbeaten in its last 26 matches (23-0-3), scoring in all 26 games, and outscoring opponents 91-17 through that stretch.
U.S. WNT Roster by Position – Portugal-Scotland Tour ’18 (Caps/Goals):
GOALKEEPERS (3):
Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC; 0/0), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride;
18/0), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 37/0)
DEFENDERS (7):
Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 28/0), Crystal Dunn (NC Courage; 73/24), Emily
Fox (UNC; 0/0), Merritt Mathias (NC Courage; 1/0), Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah
Royals FC; 147/0), Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 27/0), Emily Sonnett
(Portland Thorns FC; 24/0)
MIDFIELDERS (7):
Danielle Colaprico (Chicago Red Stars; 0/0), Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars;
71/18), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 61/7), Rose Lavelle (Washington
Spirit; 18/6), Allie Long (Seattle Reign FC; 39/6), Samantha Mewis (NC
Courage; 40/8), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit; 10/0)
FORWARDS (7):
Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC; 142/25), Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC;
263/105), Jessica McDonald (NC Courage; 1/0), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride;
151/97), Christen Press (Utah Royals FC; 106/46), Mallory Pugh (Washington
Spirit; 41/12), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC; 144/41)
Milestone Watch
- The next victory for the U.S. Women’s National Team will be the 500th win in program history. Since its inception in 1985, the WNT has compiled a record of 499 wins, 65 losses and 74 ties.
- Alex Morgan is three goals away from 100. She would join six other American players to have achieved that distinction: Abby Wambach (184), Mia Hamm (158), Kristine Lilly (130), Michelle Akers (107), Carli Lloyd (105) and Tiffeny Milbrett (100).
Did You Know…
- Between 1994 and 2015, the USA played 79 matches at 20 Algarve Cup tournaments, but this will be the USA’s first game in the capital of Lisbon. The match will be played at Estadio António Coimbra da Mota, the 8,000-seat home to Second Division club G.D. Estoril Praia. The venue is in Estoril, a suburb of Lisbon.
- The match against first-time World Cup qualifier Scotland on Nov. 13 will be staged at The Simple Digital Arena, the 8,000-seat home of Scottish Premier League side St. Mirren FC. The stadium is in Paisley, just outside of Glasgow. It will be the USA’s first friendly match in Scotland and in the United Kingdom outside of England. The USA did play two games at the famed Hampden Park in Glasgow during the 2012 Olympics.
- A trio of midfielders are back in the fold. Danielle Colaprico gets her first call-up since October of 2016; Allie Long, who was last with the USA at the 2018 Tournament of Nations this past summer; and Andi Sullivan, whose most recent call-up came in April of this year for the two friendlies against Mexico. Forward Jessica McDonald, who had a stellar 10-goal season with NWSL champions North Carolina Courage and then scored once in the semifinal and twice in the championship game to help her club claim the title, gets her first call-up since the 2017 SheBelieves Cup. McDonald also led the NWSL in assists with eight.
- Defender Emily Fox, a veteran of the USA’s last two FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Teams and one of the top outside backs in the college game, gets her first senior team call-up. The University of North Carolina sophomore earned 34 caps and scored four goals at the U-20 level.