The U.S. Women’s National Team will play the middle game of its five-game Victory Tour, presented by Allstate, when it faces Portugal on Tuesday, Sept. 3, at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minn. (7 p.m. CT; ESPN2 & the ESPN App). The USA is coming off a 4-0 victory vs. Portugal on Aug. 29 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia where 49,504 fans set a record for largest crowd ever to watch the USWNT in a friendly match. Tobin Heath, Morgan Brian, hometown hero Carli Lloyd and Allie Long scored with two goals coming in each half. The USA started the Victory Tour on Aug. 3 at the historic Rose Bowl in front of more than 37,000 fans, downing Ireland 3-0 as Heath, Lindsey Horan and Lloyd scored. The Victory Tour to celebrate the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup title features the 23 players who helped the USA win the World Cup, as well as two additional players who were called into these two matches due to injuries (more below).
SOCIAL LIFE: Fans can follow all the action on the USA’s Victory Tour on Twitter @uswnt and follow the team along its journey on Instagram and Facebook.
USWNT RETURNS TO MINNESOTA, WITH A TWIST: The U.S. WNT is linked historically with Minnesota as Blaine was a popular destination in the early years of the U.S. WNT. The U.S. Team played 13 matches in Blaine between 1986 and 2006, winning 10 and losing three. The USA first four domestic games, back in 1987, took place in Blaine, meaning that the U.S. WNT roots run deep in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Those 13 games still make Blaine one of the most frequent venues for the U.S. Women of any in the United States. The USA had not played in Minnesota in 10 years when it returned in 2016 to face Switzerland at U.S. Bank Stadium, home to the Minnesota Vikings, and won 5-1, but this will be the U.S. WNT’s first ever game at the sparkling new Allianz Arena, home to Minnesota United FC of MLS. The U.S. MNT played at Allianz Field this past summer in the Concacaf Gold Cup defeating Guyana, 4-0.
USA VS. PORTUGAL
After the 4-0 win in Philadelphia on Aug. 29, the USA is now 8-0-0 all-time against Portugal with four of those eight meetings taking place at the Algarve Cup. Half of the meetings took place in the 1990s.
The teams met at the end of 2018 in Lisbon, a 1-0 U.S. win, but prior to that, the teams had not met since 2001, a 2-0 U.S. victory in Silves, Portugal.
The 1-0 U.S. victory on Nov. 8, 2018, was the USA’s 500th victory in program’s history. Jessica McDonald’s first international goal was the game-winner. The USA failed to convert a handful of excellent chances, but the match did end 13-13 on shots.
Before the Aug. 29 match, the USA had faced Portugal just twice before in the USA. Those two matches were played in Florida in January of 1999, the latter of which featured Michelle Akers’ 100th career goal.
Between 1994 and 2015, the USA played 79 matches at twenty Algarve Cup tournaments, all held on the southern coast of Portugal, but the match last November was USA’s first game in the capital of Lisbon.
2019 U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM VICTORY TOUR ROSTER (CAPS/GOALS)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC; 2/0), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 22/0), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 54/0)
DEFENDERS (8): Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 49/0), Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars; 22/1); Crystal Dunn (NC Courage; 93/24), Ali Krieger (Orlando Pride; 104/1), Kelley O’Hara (Utah Royals FC; 125/2), Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals FC; 166/0), 26-Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 28/0), Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC; 36/0)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Morgan Brian (Chicago Red Stars; 84/7), Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars; 90/19), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 76/11), Rose Lavelle (Washington Spirit; 34/10), Allie Long (Reign FC; 48/7), Samantha Mewis (NC Courage; 58/14)
FORWARDS (8): 25-Kristen Hamilton (NC Courage; 0/0), Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC; 158/32); Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC; 283/115), Jessica McDonald (NC Courage; 10/2), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 168/107), Christen Press (Utah Royals FC; 125/49), Mallory Pugh (Washington Spirit; 57/17), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC; 158/50)
U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM VICTORY TOUR, PRESENTED BY ALLSTATE
|
Date |
Kickoff |
Opponent |
Venue; City |
TV |
|
Sept. 3 |
7 p.m. CT |
Portugal |
Allianz Field; St. Paul, Minn. |
ESPN2 |
|
Oct. 3 |
8 p.m. ET |
Korea Republic |
Bank of America Stadium; Charlotte, N.C. |
FS1, Univision Networks |
|
Oct. 6 |
1 p.m. CT |
Korea Republic |
Soldier Field, Chicago, Ill. |
ESPN |
IT’S A RECORD: With the crowd more 49,504 at Lincoln Financial Field on Aug. 29, the record was broken for the largest crowd ever to watch a U.S. WNT friendly match. Only eight crowds inside the USA have ever been larger, six to watch the USA at the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the semifinal and gold medal games at the Atlanta Olympics.
SHORT AND HAMILTON CALLED UP: Chicago Red Stars defender Casey Short and North Carolina Courage forward Kristen Hamilton were added to the U.S. Women’s National Team roster for the two matches against Portugal after the USA’s roster found itself a bit depleted due to injuries. “With the injuries we currently have to several World Cup players, and with two of our main priorities on the Victory Tour being to spread around the minutes and keep players healthy for their clubs during this critical playoff push, it made sense to call in Casey and Kristen to give us options and depth for these games against what will be a tough Portugal team,” said U.S. head coach Jill Ellis. “Both players have been performing very well in the NWSL, and I know they’ll fit right in with our group for these matches.”
Hamilton, 27, was recently named as an overage player to the U.S. U-23 WNT roster that won the four-team Nordic Tournament in England but instead joined the USA on the Victory Tour for her first senior team call-up. Her eight goals for the third-place Courage are tied for second in the NWSL. Short, who has 28 caps, has played in 17 of the 18 matches for the second-place Red Stars so far this season. Against Portugal she saw her first action for the USA since the final game of 2017, coming on in the 60th minute of the Aug. 29 match in Philadelphia.
JILL ELLIS FACT FILE: U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Jill Ellis has an overall record of 104-7-18 and now trails only Tony DiCicco (105) for most USWNT wins all-time. Should the USA defeat Portugal in Minnesota, Ellis will tie DiCicco for most wins in U.S. history. The WWC match against France on June 28 was her 125th on the bench for the USA, earning her the record for most U.S. WNT games coached and that win was the 100th in her WNT career.
On July 30, Ellis announced she was stepping down from her post after five-plus years at the helm of the world’s #1 ranked team. She is the third U.S. coach – and the first female American coach – to win a Women’s World Cup (2015) at the senior level, following Anson Dorrance (1991) and the late Tony DiCicco (1999), and the first to win two after the 2019 triumph in France. Ellis was named the 2015 FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women’s Soccer on Jan. 11, 2016 and will be the favorite again this year.
USWNT ROSTER NOTES
Twelve different players have scored the USA’s 62 goals this year. Carli Lloyd leads the team with 10 and Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe have nine each. Tobin Heath has eight goals, Samantha Mewis has six and Mallory Pugh has five. Rose Lavelle has four and Christen Press and Lindsey Horan have three each. Jessica McDonald, Julie Ertz, Morgan Brian and Allie Long have one each. The USA has benefited from one own goal.
The U.S. Women’s National Team reached an impressive milestone on Nov. 8, 2018 with its 1-0 victory against Portugal that was the 500th win in program history. Since its inception in 1985, the U.S. WNT has compiled a record of 516 wins, 66 losses and 76 ties. Over the history of the program, the USA has gone 290-28-22 (88% winning percentage) at home, 52-14-17 away (73%) and 174-33-28 (81%) on neutral ground. Of the USA’s 66 losses, 12 (18%) came at the Algarve Cup in Portugal.
The USA has scored in 46 consecutive matches and has averaged more than three goals per game in that time. Since the end of the 2015 World Cup, the USA has played 89 matches and earned a 75-5-9 record.
Lloyd has 51 WNT goals since the start of 2015. Morgan (57) is the only other player with more than 30 goals over the four years.
The U.S. has scored multiple goals in 14 consecutive matches. The USA had not scored multiple goals in 14 straight games since March 19-June 13, 1995.
The USA has now won 15 consecutive matches, the third longest winning streak in team history. The U.S. Women had not won 15 games in a row since Feb. 10-July 23, 1996.
This current streak is the longest since July 25, 1990 – May 25, 1991, which included 18 wins.
They have kept 11 clean sheets in that time and scored multiple goals in all but the first game of the run, a 1-0 win over Brazil.
The U.S. Women are unbeaten on home soil over its last 33 matches, 28 wins and five draws. The last loss at home was July 27, 2017 vs. Australia, a 1-0 setback in Seattle.
IN FOCUS: PORTUGAL
FIFA World Ranking: 30
UEFA Ranking: 19
World Cup Appearances: None
Best Women’s World Cup finish: N/A
Record vs. USA: 0-8-0
Head Coach: Francisco Neto
Portugal Women’s Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Inês Pereira (Sporting CP), 12-Patrícia Morais (Sporting CP), 22-Rute Costa (SC Braga)
DEFENDERS (10): 2-Mónica Mendes (AC Milan, ITA), 3-Raquel Infante (Benfica), 4-Sílvia Rebelo (Benfica), 5-Matilde Fidalgo (Manchester City, ENG), 6-Andreia Norton (SC Sand, GER), 7-Cláudia Neto (VfL Wolfsburg, GER), 8-Melissa Gomes (Stade de Reims, FRA), 15-Carole Costa (Sporting CP), 21-Inês Maia (SC Braga), 23-Joana Marchão (Sporting CP)
MIDFIELDERS (5): 9-Ana Borges (Sporting CP), 10-Jéssica Silva (Olympique Lyon, FRA), 16-Diana Silva (Sporting CP), 18-Carolina Mendes (Sporting CP), 20-Ana Leite (Borussia Bochholt, GER)
FORWARDS (5): 11-Tatiana Pinto (Sporting CP), 13-Fátima Pinto (Sporting CP), 14-Dolores Silva (Atletico Madrid, ESP), 17-Vanessa Marques (SC Braga), 19-Diana Gomes (SC Braga)
PORTUGAL NOTES
Portugal head coach Francisco Neto called 23 players for the two matches over these FIFA dates.
Portugal has a solid core of experience players with 15 players on the roster holding 40 or more caps.
The most capped player is veteran captain Cláudia Neto, who plays in Germany for Wolfsburg and has 121 caps and has 17 career goals.
Two other players on the roster are in the 100-cap club in midfielder Ana Borges (115) and forward Dolores Silva (107).
Portugal lost veteran defender Carole Costa (112 caps) to an injury and she did not travel to the USA after initially being named to the roster.
Midfielder Carolina Mendes is the leading scorer on the roster with 19 goals, but five other players are in double figures in Neto (17), Vanessa Marques (12), Dolores Silva (12), Diana Silva (10) and Rute Costa (10). Borges has nine career goals.
Diana Silva has scored four goals since the start of 2019, the most of any Portuguese player. Only three other players have scored multiple goals in that time and none more than two: Cláudia Neto, Mónica Mendes and Vanessa Marques. Diana Silva has seven career international goals.
The most experienced of the three goalkeepers is Patricia Morais, who has 60 caps and played well against the USA last November and on Aug. 29.
Neto named a very similar roster to that one that faced the USA last November in Lisbon. Ten of the 11 starters and all three substitutes who played in that match are on the roster.
Portugal was without two of its top players for that match in Lisbon in Neto and Borges, but they return for this two-game set.
Since losing 1-0 to the USA last November, and before traveling to the USA, Portugal has played nine matches – all in Portugal – and lost just two. They had outscored opponents 15-11 over that span, allowing multiple goals just twice.
Portugal followed that USA loss with a 1-0 win two days later against Wales and then a 0-0 draw with Wales three days after that. In 2019, Portugal has played a pair of matches against Ukraine (drawing 1-1 and winning 3-0), had a huge result when it beat Sweden, 2-1, at the Algarve Cup, which it has hosted for around 25 years, but then fell 3-1 to Switzerland and 4-1 to Iceland to finish in 10th place. Most recently, Portugal swept two games from Hungary in April 2019, winning 2-1 and 4-1.
At the Algarve Cup, Claudia Neto scored the game-winner in stoppage time against Sweden, which played 50 minutes a woman down, as Portugal came from behind with Diana Silva getting the equalizer.
Andreia Norton scored against Switzerland and Mónica Mendes tallied vs. Iceland.
Portugal is preparing for the start of its qualifying for the 2021 UEFA Women’s Championship. Portugal was drawn into what it must think is a winnable Group E along with Albania, Cyprus, Finland and 2019 Women’s World Cup participant Scotland. Portugal will open Group E play on the road against Albania on Oct. 3.
The winners of the nine qualifying groups and the three runners-up with the best results against the first, third, fourth and fifth place teams in their respective groups will qualify for the finals.
At the 2018 Algarve Cup, Portugal defeated China PR, 2-1, on goals from Carolina Mendes and Carole Costa, tied Australia 0-0 and then beat Norway, 2-0, on goals from Cláudia Neto and Diana Silva. In the Third-Place match, played in terrible weather conditions, Portugal defeated Australia (which is currently ranked eighth in the world) by a 2-1 score on goals from Nadia Gomes, who played with the Orlando Pride last season, and Vanessa Marques.
Portugal did not qualify for last summer’s World Cup, finishing third in UEFA Group 6 behind World Cup qualifier Italy and second-place finisher Belgium, which earned a playoff spot (but fell to Switzerland in its semifinal series)
Although the Portuguese did not earn a berth to France, they had a solid end to their qualifying campaign in 2018, drawing Belgium 1-1, falling to Italy 3-0, drawing Romania 1-1 and defeating Moldova 7-0 and Romania 5-1.
Diana Silva led Portugal in scoring during the qualifying campaign with five goals while Vanessa Mahlo had four.
Carole Costa, Ana Leite, Carolina Mendes, Andreia Norton and Dolores Silva had two goals each.
As proof of the growth of women’s soccer in Portugal, there are eight players on the roster playing outside the country: three in Germany, one in England, one in Italy, one in Spain and two in France (including Jessica Silva, who plays for European champion Olympique Lyon).
The remainder of the roster is spread across three Portuguese clubs, including seven players who play for Sporting, five for SC Braga and two for Benfica.