New Zealand Confirmed as USA's Final Countdown to the Cup Opponent

New Zealand has been confirmed as the opponent for the U.S. Women’s National Team’s game on May 16 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. 

The addition of New Zealand to the USA’s 2019 schedule means that eight of the 10 Countdown to the Cup opponents will be at the World Cup next summer and that the USA will play teams from all six FIFA Confederations: Europe, Asia, South America, Africa, Oceania and Concacaf before heading to France.

2019 U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM SCHEDULE

COUNTDOWN TO THE CUP
Date	Opponent	Kickoff	Venue; City
Jan. 19	France	2:30 p.m. ET	Stade Océane; Le Havre, France
Jan. 22	Spain	2:30 p.m. ET	Estadio José Rico Perez; Alicante, Spain
Feb. 27	Japan – SheBelieves Cup	7 p.m. ET	Talen Energy Stadium; Chester, Pa.
March 2	England – SheBelieves Cup	3:30 p.m. CT	Nissan Stadium; Nashville, Tenn.
March 5	Brazil – SheBelieves Cup	8 p.m. ET	Raymond James Stadium; Tampa, Fla.
April 4	Australia	7 p.m. MT	Dick’s Sporting Goods Park; Commerce City, Colo.
April 7	Belgium	6 p.m. PT	Banc of California Stadium; Los Angeles, Calif.
May 12	South Africa – Send-Off Series, Presented by Volpi Foods	1:30 p.m. PT	Levi’s Stadium; Santa Clara, Calif.
May 16	New Zealand – Send-Off Series, Presented by Volpi Foods	7 p.m. CT	Busch Stadium; St. Louis, Mo.
May 26	Mexico – Send-Off Series, Presented by Volpi Foods	12 p.m. ET	Red Bull Arena; Harrison, N.J.
2019 FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP
June 11	Thailand - 2019 WWC	3 p.m. ET	Auguste Delaune Stadium; Reims, France
June 16	Chile – 2019 WWC	12 p.m. ET	Parc des Princes; Paris, France
June 20	Sweden – 2010 WWC	3 p.m. ET	Stade Océane; Le Havre, France

DID YOU KNOW...

• New Zealand is coached by former Australia and USA head coach Tom Sermanni.
• The Football Ferns recently won the Oceania Women’s Cup in dominating fashion, outscoring its opponents 43-0 over five games to qualify for the 2019 World Cup.

• The USA most recently played New Zealand in a pair of friendlies in 2017, winning both games by 3-1 and 5-0 scores. Before then, the WNT beat the New Zealand, 2-0, in group play at the 2016 Olympics.

• New Zealand was also the USA’s opponent at Busch Stadium during its preparation for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, winning 4-0 on a special afternoon in front of more than 35,000 fans as St. Louis native Lori Chalupny scored one of the goals.
• The match will mark the 14th time the U.S. WNT has played at a baseball park, but it will be just its fourth game at a Major League Baseball venue. 

COUNTDOWN TO THE CUP TICKETS
Tickets for USA vs. New Zealand and all eight domestic matches of Countdown to the Cup, go on sale to the public Thursday, Dec. 13 through ussoccer.com at 10 a.m. local time for that venue. Groups of 20 or more can order directly at ussoccer.com.

For all eight domestic matches of Countdown to the Cup, Ultimate Fan Tickets (special VIP packages that include a premium ticket, a custom-made official U.S. National Team jersey with name and number, VIP access to the field before and after the game, and other unique benefits) are also available exclusively through ussoccer.com.

Coaches Circle and Presidents Circle members supporting the U.S. Soccer Development Fund can receive individual customer support and concierge services for their ticketing needs. Contact circles@ussoccer.org for more information.