CHICAGO (May 26, 2021) – The U.S. Women’s National Team will play Mexico twice in the WNT Send-Off Series, Presented by Visa®, with the first match on July 1 and the second on July 5, both at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. As presenting sponsor, Visa is a proud supporter of the U.S. Women’s National Team and has increased its investment in women’s soccer worldwide to support women athletes on and off the field.
The match on Thursday, July 1 will be broadcast on FS1 and TUDN at 7 p.m. ET and the match on Monday, July 5 will be broadcast on ESPN, TUDN.com and the TUDN App at 5 p.m. ET. With the final 18-player Olympic Team roster being announced at some point in late June, these games will feature the full U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster just days before leaving for Japan to participate in the delayed Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
“These are games to work on the final details, to once again give our players a chance to play with their position groups and areas on the field and to make sure our fitness is in the right place heading into our pre-Olympic training camp,” said U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Vlatko Andonovski. “Mexico is a team that has larger ambitions as it prepares for the run-up to the 2023 Women’s World Cup so we know they will give us two tough tests, which is what we need to continue to sharpen our team before we leave for Japan.”
The pair of Olympic Send-Off matches will be played at the same venue for the first time to enable a more efficient execution of U.S. Soccer’s COVID-19 protocols.
For both matches, tickets will be available at near full capacity for Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. Ticketing information for both games will be released soon. For the opportunity to buy tickets before the general public, fans should consider becoming a U.S. Soccer Insider. Circle Insiders have first access to tickets, followed by VIP Insiders, Premium Insiders, and then Standard Insiders. Membership is free for Standard Insiders. Learn more here.
As the official payment technology sponsor of U.S. Soccer, Visa has made special arrangements for Visa® cardholders to participate in an advance sale of tickets for this match prior to sale to the general public. Timing for the Visa presale will be released soon. As the preferred card of U.S. Soccer, Visa will be the only payment method accepted during the Visa presale. Terms and conditions apply.
Once the USA and Mexico arrive in Connecticut, all the players and staffs will operate inside highly controlled environments for the duration of the Send-Off Series. Trainings and the matches will fall under the comprehensive U.S. Soccer Return to Play Protocols and Guidelines and in accordance with the Concacaf Return to Play Protocols. Everyone entering the controlled environment will be tested for COVID-19 before traveling, upon arrival and periodically thereafter. The teams will not begin full team training until the results of all arrival tests are confirmed.
These matches will mark the 40th and 41st meetings between the USA and Mexico.
The Concacaf neighbors most recently met at the Concacaf Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in February of 2020, a 4-0 U.S. victory that qualified the USA for the since-delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field is a familiar venue for the USWNT, which has played seven previous matches there, most recently a 1-1 tie with Australia on July 29, 2018.
The USA has never lost at Pratt & Whitney Stadium, going 4-0-3 since the first match in 2004 vs. China PR, which was the USA’s Send-Off Game to the 2004 Olympics in Greece, where the USWNT won its second gold medal.
U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher hails from Stratford, Conn., which is about 60 miles from Pratt & Whitney Stadium.
Mexico’s Liga MX Femenil has been a success story. Launched in 2016, the current 18-team league has grown steadily in attendance, attention and quality. Mexico is currently ranked 28th in the world and third in Concacaf.