2021 SheBelieves Cup, Presented by Visa
Date: Feb. 18, 2021
Venue: Exploria Stadium; Orlando, Fla.
Broadcast: FS1, TUDN
Broadcast Time: 7 p.m. ET
Starting XI vs. Canada: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 20-Margaret Purce, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn (Capt.), 7-Abby Dahlkemper, 19-Crystal Dunn; 8-Julie Ertz, 9-Lindsey Horan, 11-Catarina Macario; 15-Megan Rapinoe,10-Carli Lloyd, 6-Lynn Williams
Available Subs: 2-Casey Krueger, 3-Jaelin Howell, 5-Kelley O’Hara, 12-Tierna Davidson, 13-Alex Morgan, 14-Emily Sonnett, 16-Rose Lavelle, 17-Sophia Smith, 18-Jane Campbell, 21-Casey Murphy, 22-Kristie Mewis, 23-Christen Press
U.S. WNT Starting XI Cap Numbers (including this match): Lloyd (296), Sauerbrunn (180), Rapinoe (171), Dunn (108), Ertz (106), Horan (89), Naeher (66), Dahlkemper (64), Williams (32), Purce (5), Macario (3)
Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher is slated to make her 63rd start and 66th appearance overall for the U.S. Women’s National Team. One of three finalists for The Best Female Goalkeeper of 2020, Naeher has 38 career shutouts and has recorded a clean sheet in each of last eight outings, the longest such streak of her career.
Margaret Purce is set to make her second career start and earn her 5th cap overall. Purce made her first career start in her international debut on November 10, 2019 playing the full 90 minutes in the USA’s 6-0 win over Costa Rica. She scored her first international goal in the USA’s 6-0 win over Colombia on Jan. 22.
Defender and team captain Becky Sauerbrunn will be earning her 180th cap and enters the match having played 13,940 total minutes for the USA, 13th-most in USWNT history. Sauerbrunn needs 44 more minutes to pass Brandi Chastain for 12th.
Abby Dahlkemper will be making her 57th start and 64th appearance overall for the USA. Dahlkemper led the team in total minutes played in both 2019 and 2020 and led all field players in total minutes played at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Dahlkemper played the full 90 minutes in each of her last eight appearances for the USWNT.
The only player to appear in all nine games in 2020, Crystal Dunn will make her 109th appearance for the USA tonight against Canada. Heading into the SheBelieves Cup, Dunn has featured in 21 of the USA’s last 23 games and started in all but two of those games. Dunn tallied her 18th career assist in the USA’s 6-0 win over Colombia on Jan. 22, setting up Lindsey Horan’s goal in the second half.
Julie Ertz will be making her 106th appearance for the USA and has gone the full 90 minutes in her last eight appearances for the USWNT. Ertz earned her 100th cap on March 5 vs. England at Exploria Stadium in the first match of the 2020 SheBelieves Cup and has 20 international goals, the 29th American female to hit that mark.
After tying for the team lead in scoring in 2020 with seven goals, Lindsey Horan will make her second start of 2021 and earn her 89th cap overall. Horan had a stellar game vs. Colombia on Jan. 18, directly playing a part in three of the four goals, which included earned a penalty kick just seconds into the second half. Against Colombia on Jan. 22, she scored her first goal of the year – directly off a corner kick -- after coming off the bench to play the final 28 minutes. It was her 20th career goal, making her the 31st USWNT player to hit 20 career goals.
Catarina Macario will make her second consecutive start and third appearance for the USA overall. She earnedher first career USWNT cap on Jan. 18, coming on for Megan Rapinoe in the second half against Colombia and scored her first USWNT goal in her first USWNT start less than two minutes into the game against Colombia on Jan. 22. Macario received FIFA approval to play for the USA on Jan. 13 and the appearance against Colombia on Jan. 18 was her first professional game and first international match at any level.
Megan Rapinoe will earn her 171st cap tonight and make her third consecutive start, joining Julie Ertz and Lynn Williams as the only USA players to start every match of 2021 thus far.
This tournament marks Rapinoe’s return to the U.S. roster for the first time since March of 2020 at the SheBelieves Cup where she scored a brilliant free kick against Japan in the USA’s final match to help clinch the tournament title. She had an assist in her 45 minutes against Colombia on Jan. 18 – setting up Samantha Mewis for the USA’s first goal of 2021 - and then scored twice, once from the penalty spot, against Colombia on Jan. 22. The caps moved her to 170 and into a tie for 17th place on the USA’s all-time list while her goals gave her 54, just two short of tying Carin Gabarra for 11th all-time.
The USA's active leader in all-time caps with 297 (including tonight), Carli Lloyd is third all-time in USWNT history and, is one the verge of becoming only the third American, and third player ever, to play 300 or more times for her country, where she would join former teammates Kristine Lilly and Christine Rampone.
Lloyd has three assists so far in 2021 – already matching her total assist output for 2020 – and has hit the back of the net in eight of her last 16 appearances for the USA, scoring 10 times. She has scored in four of her 11 matches under Andonovski. Lloyd’s most recent goal came on Jan. 5, 2020 at Orlando’s Exploria Stadium, scoring in the 55th minute of the USA’s 2-0 win over England at Exploria Stadium to start the 2020 SheBelieves Cup.
Lynn Williams is set to earn her 32nd cap and will be making fourth consecutive start for the USA. Williams, who scored the game-winner and tallied an assist in the USA’s 3-0 win over Canada in the 2020 Concacaf Olympic Qualifying Tournament final, scored her 10th international goal in the 60th minute of the USA’s 6-0 win over Colombia on Jan. 22.
All 23 players on the SheBelieves Cup roster will dress for the match. The only uncapped player in camp is goalkeeper Casey Murphy. Defender Casey Krueger, midfielder Jaelin Howell and forwards Alex Morgan, Christen Press and Sophia Smith could all see first game action of 2021.
Press was one of only two players to play in all 24 WNT games in 2019 and played in all nine in 2020 before missing the first two of 2021. Press has been directly involved in 26 goals in her last 27 appearances for the USA, scoring 11 goals and assisting 15 more.
For the USA’s November training camp and match in the Netherlands, Morgan made her return to the roster for the first time since becoming a mom on May 7, 2020. She played the second half vs. Netherlands in what was her first USWNT game since the 2019 Women's World Cup Final, a span of 509 days. She missed the January training camp and games while recovering from illness. She is currently tied with Michelle Akers for fifth on the USA's all-time goals list with 107 international goals.