WNT Opens 2015 with Major Test against France
WNT Opens 2015 with Major Test against France

U.S. Women’s National Team vs. France
International Friendly
Stade du Moustoir; Lorient, France
Feb. 8, 2015
U.S. WNT OPENS 2015 SCHEDULE WITH MAJOR TEST AGAINST FRANCE: The U.S. Women’s National Team will face one of the most difficult matches to open a year in its history when it takes on France on Feb. 8 in Lorient to start a 10-game schedule that will lead into the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The match between the world’s second- and third-ranked teams will be played at the Stade du Moustoir and kicks off at 12 p.m. ET live on ESPN2. A crowd of around 14,000 is expected for the first meeting between the teams since last summer, when the USA won 1-0 in Tampa, Florida, and drew 2-2 in East Hartford, Connecticut. Following the match, the USA will travel to England for a match against the Three Lionesses on Feb. 13 at stadiummk in Milton Keynes. That game will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 at 3 p.m. ET. The USA’s most recent meeting with England was a 2-1 loss in London in April of 2011. Fans can also follow both matches on Twitter @ussoccer_wnt and @ussoccer_esp.
24 TO EUROPE: Following an intense and highly productive three-week training camp in Los Angeles in January, U.S. head coach Jill Ellis named 24 players to travel to Europe for these two matches. Of the 30 players at that camp, Ellis named 23 plus first-time call-up Tori Huster of the Washington Spirit. As the World Cup is just four months away, every roster selection becomes crucial as Ellis and her staff work toward naming the 23-player squad for the Women’s World Cup. Ellis named three goalkeepers, nine defenders, seven midfielders and five forwards for the trip to France and England.
U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position
GOALKEEPERS (3): 18-Nicole Barnhart (FC Kansas City), 24-Ashlyn Harris (Washington Spirit), 21-Alyssa Naeher (Boston Breakers)
DEFENDERS (9): 16-Lori Chalupny (Chicago Red Stars), 22-Crystal Dunn (Washington Spirit), 6-Whitney Engen (WNY Flash), 14-Julie Johnston (Chicago Red Stars), 25-Meghan Klingenberg (Houston Dash), 11-Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), 5-Kelley O’Hara (Sky Blue FC), 4-Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City), 19-Rachel Van Hollebeke (Portland Thorns FC)
MIDFIELDERS (7): 7-Shannon Boxx (Chicago Red Stars), 15-Morgan Brian (Houston Dash), 17-Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC), 12-Lauren Holiday (FC Kansas City), 26-Tori Huster (Washington Spirit), 10-Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash), 9-Heather O’Reilly (FC Kansas City)
FORWARDS (5): 2-Sydney Leroux (Seattle Reign FC), 13-Alex Morgan (Portland Thorns FC), 23-Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars), 8-Amy Rodriguez (FC Kansas City), 20-Abby Wambach (WNY Flash)
10 GAMES, THEN WINNIPEG: The USA will have 10 matches, six in Europe and four at home, before heading to Winnipeg, Canada, to open the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup on June 8 against Australia. Of those 10, six are friendlies with four coming at the 2015 Algarve Cup, which is held annually in Portugal.
2015 U.S. WNT SCHEDULE:
Date |
Opponent |
Time |
TV |
Venue |
Feb. 8 |
France |
12 p.m. ET |
ESPN2 |
Stade du Moustoir; Lorient, France |
Feb. 13 |
England |
3 p.m. ET |
FOX Sports 1 |
stadiummk; Milton Keynes, England |
March 4 |
Norway* |
2 p.m. ET |
FOX Sports 1 |
Vila Real de San Antonio, Portugal |
March 6 |
Switzerland* |
6 p.m. ET |
FOX Sports 1 |
Vila Real de San Antonio, Portugal |
March 9 |
Iceland* |
Noon ET |
FOX Sports 1 |
Lagos, Portugal |
March 11 |
TBD* |
TBD |
FOX Sports 1 |
TBD, Portugal |
April 4 |
New Zealand |
2:30 p.m. CT |
FOX Sports 1 |
Busch Stadium; St. Louis, Mo. |
May 10 |
Ireland |
11:30 a.m. PT |
FOX Sports 1 |
Avaya Stadium; San Jose, Calif. |
May 17 |
Mexico |
6 p.m. PT |
FOX Sports 1 |
StubHub Center; Carson, Calif. |
May 30 |
Korea Rep. |
4:30 p.m. ET |
ESPN, WatchESPN |
Red Bull Arena; Harrison, N.J. |
June 8 |
Australia |
6:30 p.m. CT |
FOX |
Winnipeg Stadium; Winnipeg, Canada |
June 12 |
Sweden |
7 p.m. CT |
FOX |
Winnipeg Stadium; Winnipeg, Canada |
June 16 |
Nigeria |
5 p.m. PT |
FOX |
BC Place Stadium; Vancouver, Canada |
USA DRAWN INTO GROUP D AT 2015 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP: After the Final Draw was conducted on Dec. 6 in Ottawa, the U.S. Women's National Team learned it will face Australia, Nigeria and Sweden in Group D at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, taking place from June 6-July 5 in Canada. The U.S. will open Group D play against Australia on June 8 at Winnipeg Stadium. The USA then faces Sweden on June 12 in Winnipeg, followed by Nigeria on June 16 at BC Place in Vancouver. The USA, Nigeria and Sweden have competed in every edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup.
U.S. 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group D Schedule
Date |
Opponent |
Venue |
Local Kickoff / ET |
June 8 |
Australia |
Winnipeg Stadium |
6:30 p.m. / 7:30 p.m. |
June 12 |
Sweden |
Winnipeg Stadium |
7 p.m. / 8 p.m. |
June 16 |
Nigeria |
BC Place; Vancouver |
5 p.m. / 8 p.m. |
WORLD RECORD AND COUNTING: U.S. forward Abby Wambach currently has 177 career goals and is coming off a year in which she scored 14 times (in 20 matches), the sixth most in a calendar year of her 15-year career. Wambach broke Mia Hamm’s all-time international goal scoring record (158 from 1987-2004) on June 20, 2013, when she scored four times against South Korea at Red Bull Arena and has not slowed down. In matches in which Wambach has scored at least one goal, the USA is 111-2-8. Wambach has scored 52 goals in her past 66 games over 2012, 2013 and 2014. She is also third all-time in assists with 69, behind only Kristine Lilly (105) and Hamm (144).
MORGAN SET FOR RETURN: U.S. forward Alex Morgan has not played for the USA since Oct. 17 when she injured her ankle at the end of the second half against Guatemala during Women’s World Cup qualifying. In June of 2014, Morgan also made her return from an ankle injury against France, playing in two matches against the French in what was her first action since November of 2013, an absence of almost seven months. Morgan came off the bench in a 1-0 victory in Tampa and then broke out for two goals five days later in a 2-2 draw in East Harford, Connecticut. With 49 goals in 77 caps, Morgan is already 10th on the USA’s all-time scoring list at the age of 25.
24 FOR FIRST TIME: For the first time in its history, the Women’s World Cup will feature 24 countries, having expanded from 16 that competed in the past four tournaments. The 1991 and 1995 Women’s World Cups featured 12 teams each. The expansion has given several debutantes that chance to compete on the world’s stage, which no doubt will serve to increase the profile and support for the women’s game around the world. Following are the changes in berths per Confederation from the 2011 Women’s World Cup:
Host: |
Canada |
CONCACAF: |
3.5 + host, up from 2.5 |
Europe: |
8 total, up from 4.5 + host in 2011 |
South America: |
2.5, up from 2 |
Africa: |
5 total, up from 3 |
Oceania: |
1, same as in 2011 |
Asia: |
3 total, up from 2 |
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Groups
Group A |
Group B |
Group C |
Group D |
Group E |
Group F |
U.S. ROSTER NOTES:
IN THE RECORD BOOKS:
Video and Features:
Releases:
BY THE NUMBERS:
0.63 Goals per game the USA has allowed in 2014
2 USA’s FIFA ranking
3.29 Goals per game the USA has scored in 2014
8 Assists by Carli Lloyd to lead the team in 2014
13 Number of different U.S. players to score a goal in 2014
19 Goals in 35 career games for Christen Press, a goal in slightly less than every two games
61 Career goals by Carli Lloyd, most ever for a WNT player who has played exclusively as a midfielder
78 Career shutouts by Hope Solo, an all-time U.S. WNT record
80 Minutes on the field per goal averaged by Sydney Leroux in her career
90 Minutes on the field per goal averaged by Alex Morgan in her career
98 Minutes on field per goal averaged by Abby Wambach in her career
111 U.S. victories when Wambach scores a goal (111-2-8 overall)
130 Minutes on field per goal averaged by Mia Hamm in her career
304 Caps by Christie Rampone, second all-time to Kristine Lilly (352)
JILL ELLIS FACT FILE: After her second stint as interim head coach for the U.S. Women’s National Team, a capacity in which she coached two games in 2014 – a win against China PR and a tie against Canada – Jill Ellis was officially named the eighth head coach of the U.S. WNT on May 16. That 1-0-1 record as interim in 2012, combined with seven games as interim coach in 2012 (5-0-2) gave her a 6-0-3 record before she ever was officially named the head coach. She has gone 10-1-3 as head coach, for an overall record of 16-1-6. When named head coach, Ellis stepped away from her job as Development Director for the U.S. Women’s National Teams, a job she was appointed to in January of 2011, but will still work closely with U.S. Women’s National Team Technical Director April Heinrichs who will oversee the USA’s youth teams.