International Friendly: USA vs. Republic of Ireland - Lineup, Schedule & TV Channels

USWNT vs. Republic of Ireland - International Friendly

Date: April 11, 2023
Venue: CITYPARK; St. Louis, Mo.
Broadcast: HBO Max, Universo and Peacock
Broadcast Time: 7:30 p.m. ET /61:30 p.m. Local (Pre-game coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT on HBO Max)
Official Kickoff Time: 7:37 p.m. ET / 6:37 p.m. Local

 

Starting XI vs. Republic of Ireland: 18-Casey Murphy, 2-Ashley Sanchez, 3-Sofia Huerta, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn (Capt.), 5-Kelley O’Hara, 10-Lindsey Horan, 11-Sophia Smith, 13-Alex Morgan, 15-Alana Cook, 17-Andi Sullivan, 28-Alyssa Thompson

Available Subs: 1-Alyssa Naeher, 6-Lynn Williams, 7-Ashley Hatch, 8-Julie Ertz, 12-Tierna Davidson, 14-Emily Sonnett, 19-Crystal Dunn, 20-Casey Krueger, 22-Kristie Mewis, 23-Emily Fox, 25-Trinity Rodman, 27-Naomi Girma

 

Not Dressing: Adrianna Franch, Taylor Kornieck, Rose Lavelle

GAME NOTES | FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

• USWNT Starting XI Cap Numbers (Including this match): Sauerbrunn (216), Morgan (206), O’Hara (157), Horan (128), Sullivan (44), Huerta (29), Smith (29), Sanchez (24), Cook (24), Murphy (14), Thompson (3)

• Tuesday’s lineup features six different players from the lineup that started on Saturday in Austin: Murphy in goal for Naeher; Cook, Huerta and O’Hara on defense for Dunn, Fox and Girma, Sanchez in the midfield for Lavelle and Thompson in the attack for Swanson. 

• This Starting XI averages 78 caps per player with two players in today’s Starting XI – Sauerbrunn, and Morgan – with over 200 caps and two more – O’Hara and Horan – with over 100 caps. The other seven starters today - Sullivan, Huerta, Smith, Sanchez, Cook, Murphy and Thompson all have fewer than 50 caps, including four players – Sanchez, Cook, Murphy and Thompson – with fewer than 25 international appearances.

• Eighteen-year-old Alyssa Thompson, who was added to the USA roster after Mallory Swanson was injured in the April 8 game in Austin, will make her first career start as she earns her third cap for the USWNT. Thompson made her USWNT debut on October 7, 2022, at the age of 17, coming on against England at Wembley in 84^th minute in front of a packed crowd of 76,000+ fans to become the 70th teenager all-time to earn a cap for the USWNT.

• Only 18 years and 155 days old, Thompson is the youngest player to start for the USWNT since Mallory Swanson (formerly Pugh) started against Sweden at the 2016 Olympics at 18 years and 105 days of age. Thompson is the first teenager to start a match for the USA since a 19-year-old Tierna Davidson started against Chile in September of 2018.

• St. Louis native Becky Sauerbrunn will captain the USA as she makes 216^th international appearance and her third in her home state of Missouri. Sauerbrunn, who ranks ninth all time in USWNT history in both caps and total minutes played, will be honored prior to the match for her 200^th cap, which she earned on Feb. 17, 2022, against the Czech Republic. Sauerbrunn became the 12^th player in USWNT history to reach 200 caps and just the fourth defender to do so.

• The more than 19-year age gap between the 18-year-old Thompson and the nearly 38-year-old Sauerbrunn is the largest difference in age between starters in any match in USWNT history.  Thompson was three years old when Sauerbrunn made her USWNT debut on January 16, 2008.
  
  
• The previous largest age gap between starters was 18 years, which occurred in Carli Lloyd's final match in October of 2021, when 39-year-old Lloyd and 21-year-old Sophia Smith both started against Korea Republic.

• Casey Murphy is set to earn her 14^th cap as she makes her third start of 2023. Murphy has nine shutouts in her previous 13 career appearances, including clean sheets earlier this year against New Zealand and Japan. Should she record a clean sheet against the Irish, Murphy would become the ninth goalkeeper in USWNT history to reach double digit shutouts, joining Hope Solo (102 shutouts), Briana Scurry (72), Alyssa Naeher (53), Nicole Barnhart (24), Siri Mullinix (21), Mary Harvey (13), Saskia Webber (13) and Amy Allmann Griffin (10).

• Ashley Sanchez will make her fourth start of 2023 and the 10^th of her international career as she earns her 24^th cap for the USWNT. Sanchez, one of five players in today’s starting lineup who earned her first cap under head coach Vlatko Andonovski, has appeared in all but three of the USA’s matches since making her international debut in November of 2021.

• Sofia Huerta is set to earn her 29^th cap as she makes her fourth appearance and third start of 2023. Huerta played in both January matches against New Zealand, including starting and playing the full 90 minutes in the USA’s January 21 victory in Wellington, and started the Feb. 19 match against Japan at the 2023 SheBelieves Cup.

• Making her return from injury, Kelley O’Hara returns to the field for the USWNT for her first appearance – and first start – July 11, 2022, in the final game of the Concacaf W Championship group stage vs. Mexico. This will be O’Hara’s 157^th career cap, which ranks 22^nd all-time in U.S. Women’s National Team history and just one behind current U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone.

• Lindsey Horan, who scored her first goal of the year and the 27^th of her international career on April 8 against Ireland, will make her sixth start of the year as she earns her 128^th cap for the USA. Horan has now scored at least one goal for the USWNT each of the last nine years, the only USWNT player to score in each calendar year dating back to 2015.

• Sophia Smith will make her second consecutive start as she earns her 29^th cap for the USWNT. With 11 international goals in 2022, Smith became the youngest player to lead the WNT in scoring in a calendar year since a 21-year-old Mia Hamm led the USA with 10 goals in 1993, seven years before Smith was born.

• Alex Morgan is set to make her sixth start of 2023 as she earns her 206^th cap overall, moving into a tie with Tiffeny Milbrett for 10^th on the USWNT’s all-time cap charts. Morgan is third on the team with four goal involvements – two goals and two assists – in 2023 and has scored in three of her four career appearances against the Republic of Ireland, totaling five goals in those games.

• Alana Cook, who is celebrating her 26^th birthday today, will make her fourth start of the year as she earns her 24^th cap. Cook started the first two games for the USA at the 2023 SheBelieves Cup, helping the USWNT to back-to-back shutouts.

• Midfielder Andi Sullivan will make her fifth start of 2023 as she earns her 44^th cap for the USWNT. Sullivan assisted Emily Fox’s first-half goal against Ireland on April 8 for her first assist of the year and the fifth of her international career.

• After last appearing for the USA on October 21, 2021, against Korea Republic, Casey Krueger is available for selection today for the USA off the bench. Should Krueger see the field today against Ireland, it would be her 38^th career cap and would make her the 16^th woman to play for the USWNT after becoming a mom.

• Olympian and 2019 World Cup Champion Tierna Davidson is also available for the USA off the bench. Davidson, who has 48 career caps, last appeared for the USA on Feb. 23, 2022, against Iceland in the SheBelieves Cup finale before tearing her ACL in preseason with the Chicago Red Stars in March of 2022.