2020 Tokyo Olympics: USA vs. New Zealand - Starting XI, Lineup Notes, TV Channels & Start Time

2020 Tokyo Olympics – Group G
Date: July 24, 2021
Venue: Saitama Stadium; Saitama, Japan
Broadcast: NBCSN, Telemundo, NBCOlympics.com, Telemundo Deportes App
Broadcast Time: 7:30 a.m. ET
Official Kickoff Time: 7:30 a.m. ET

 

Starting XI vs. New Zealand: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 14-Emily Sonnett, 17-Abby Dahlkemper, 12-Tierna Davidson, 2-Crystal Dunn; 8-Julie Ertz, 9-Lindsey Horan, 16-Rose Lavelle; 7-Tobin Heath, 10-Carli Lloyd, 15-Megan Rapinoe (Capt.)

 

Available Subs: 3-Samantha Mewis, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 11-Christen Press, 13-Alex Morgan, 19-Catarina Macario, 20-Casey Krueger, 22-Jane Campbell

 

 

 

GAME NOTES  |  FIVE THINGS TO KNOW – NEW ZEALAND

• U.S. WNT Starting XI Cap Numbers (including this match): Lloyd (308), Rapinoe (181), Heath (173), Dunn (118), Ertz (112), Horan (100), Naeher (75), Dahlkemper (73), Lavelle (58), Sonnett (57), Davidson (36)

• Today’s Starting XI features five different players from the starting lineup that faced Sweden on July 21 in the Olympic opener: Sonnett for O’Hara and Davidson for Sauerbrunn on defense, Ertz for Samantha Mewis in the midfield, and Rapinoe and Lloyd for Morgan and Press on the forward line.

• Five of the players in tonight’s Starting XI saw time against New Zealand during the 2016 Olympic Group stage. Ertz, Lloyd and Heath all started the match while Horan and Dunn came in off the bench. Lloyd scored the game-winning goal in the ninth minute with a looping header off a set piece.

• With their inclusion in today’s match day roster, Jane Campbell, Casey Krueger and Catarina Macario are now officially deemed Olympians by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

• Today’s Starting XI vs. Sweden has an average of 117 caps per player with six players with 100+ international appearances, including Lindsey Horan who is making her 100^th career international appearance.

• Horan becomes the 41^st player in USWNT history to reach 100 caps and the first to do so since Julie Ertz made her 100^th international appearance on March 5, 2020 vs. England. At 27 years and 59 days old, Horan is the 18^th-youngest player to reach the milestone and the youngest to do so since Alex Morgan hit the 100-cap mark at 26 years and 211 days in January of 2016. Horan has been a consistent force in the midfield, amassing 22 goals and 33 assists through 99 caps and has been directly involved in 17 goals – with 10 goals and seven assists – since the start of 2020, the second-most on the team during that span.

• Horan is one of two players to appear in every match for the USA in 2021, a distinction she shares with Carli Lloyd.

• Captaining the USA against New Zealand, Megan Rapinoe will earn her 181^st career cap and make her 10^th appearance and 8^th start overall at the Olympics. Rapinoe leads the USA in scoring in 2021 with seven goals and has three goals and four assists in her previous nine Olympic matches.

• Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher will make her second consecutive start at the Olympics, coming off a six-save effort on Wednesday against Sweden. This will be the 75^th career cap overall for Naeher, who ranks among goalkeepers in USWNT history in both caps and shutouts (43). Naeher is just the fourth goalkeeper to represent the USWNT in an Olympic match, joining Hope Solo, Briana Scurry and Siri Mullinix.

• Emily Sonnett will make her Olympic debut and earn her 57^th cap overall with tonight’s match against New Zealand. An alternate at the 2016 Olympics, Sonnett becomes the seventh different player to make her Olympic debut for the USA during the 2020 Olympics. Sonnett has made three starts and 10 appearances for the USWNT in 2021 and made her world championship debut during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, coming in as a second-half substitute in the USA’s second group stage match against Chile.

• Abby Dahlkemper is set to earn her 73^rd cap and will make her eighth consecutive start for the USWNT today. Dahlkemper has been a stalwart on the USA backline since her debut following the 2016 Olympics and led all field players in minutes at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which marked her first senior world championship event. Dahlkemper has gone the full 90 minutes in her last 17 appearances for the USA.

• Twenty-two-year-old Tierna Davidson will make her first start of the 2020 Olympics have made her Olympic debut on Wednesday in a second-half appearance against Davidson. This will be the 36^th career cap for Davidson, who made her first start and first appearance at a world championship as a 20-year-old against Chile at the 2019 World Cup. Davidson dished out two assists in the USA’s 3-0 victory, both coming off corner kicks.

• Crystal Dunn will make her 118^th international appearance for the USWNT and make her sixth appearance overall in an Olympic match. Dunn played in all four of the USA’s matches at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, making two starts and tallying both a goal and an assist in the final match of the group stage against Colombia.

• Julie Ertz will make her first start of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after coming on at halftime against Sweden for her first international action since suffering an injury on the first matchday of the 2021 NWSL season. A two-time World Cup champion and two-time Olympian, Ertz started the first six games of the year for the USA and is set to earn her 112^th cap.

• Rose Lavelle will make her second consecutive Olympic start as she earns her 58^th career cap for the USWNT. Lavelle has accounted for three of the USA’s 12 game-winning goals (two goals and one assist on game-winners) since the resumption of play in November 2020.

• Tobin Heath will earn her fourth cap of 2021 and make her third consecutive start for the USWNT in what will be her 14^th appearance overall at the Olympics. Now a four-time Olympian, Heath scored in each of the USWNT’s Send-Off Series matches vs. Mexico, which marked her first game action for club or country since December 20, 2020. She has tallied five assists in her previous 13 Olympic matches – three in 2012 and two in 2016.

• Carli Lloyd will earn her 308^th career cap and make her 18^th appearance overall at the Olympics. Lloyd is the second-most capped Olympian in USWNT history, trailing only Christie Pearce Rampone who had 22 Olympic caps, and her 18 Olympic caps rank in the top-10 all-time in the history of the Women’s Olympic Tournament. Lloyd has faced New Zealand three times previously at the Olympics, tallying an assist in the USA’s group stage win in 2008 and the game-winning goal in the 2016 group stage win.