International Friendly: USA vs. Nigeria - Lineup, Schedule & TV Channels

USWNT vs. Nigeria - International Friendly
Date: September 3, 2022
Venue: Children’s Mercy Park; Kansas City, Kansas
Broadcast: FOX
Broadcast Time: 1:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. CT
Official Kickoff Time: 1:30 p.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. CT

 

Starting XI vs. Nigeria: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 3-Alana Cook, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn (Capt.), 8-Sofia Huerta, 9-Mallory Pugh, 10-Lindsey Horan, 11-Sophia Smith, 13-Alex Morgan, 16-Rose Lavelle, 17-Andi Sullivan, 19-Emily Fox

 

Available Subs: 2-Ashley Sanchez, 5-Hailie Mace, 6-Savannah DeMelo, 7-Ashley Hatch, 12-Naomi Girma, 14-Sam Coffey, 15-Megan Rapinoe, 18-Casey Murphy, 20-Taylor Kornieck, 21-Aubrey Kingsbury, 22-Kristie Mewis, 23-Midge Purce

 

GAME NOTES | FIVE THINGS TO KNOW - NIGERIA

 

• USWNT Starting XI Cap Numbers (Including this match): Sauerbrunn (208), Morgan (197), Horan (117), Naeher (84), Lavelle (79), Pugh (79), Sullivan (33), Smith (22), Huerta (20), Fox (18), Cook (15)

• Saturday’s starting lineup vs. Nigeria is identical to the XI that started the Concacaf W Championship Final vs. Canada on July 17. This is the first time in 2022 that the USA has utilized the same starting lineup in consecutive matches.

• Today’s starting lineup averages 78 caps per player with three players – Sauerbrunn, Morgan and Rapinoe – having 100+ caps. Four players – Smith, Huerta, Fox and Cook – have fewer than 25 caps.

• Just four players in this Starting XI saw action in the USWNT’s most recent meeting against Nigeria in June of 2021. Naeher, Sauerbrunn and Horan all started against the Super Falcons while Morgan came on as a second-half substitute in the 2-0 win for the Americans.

• Becky Sauerbrunn will captain the USA once again as she earns her 208^th career cap. Sauerbrunn, who played five seasons and won two NWSL Championships with FC Kansas City in 2014 and 2015. The 37-year-old Sauerbrunn led the USA with 360 minutes played at the Concacaf W Championship, leading a defense that did not allow a goal all tournament.

• After keeping a clean sheet against Canada in the CWC Final on July 18, Alyssa Naeher once again earns the starting nod as she is set to make her 84^th international appearance for the USWNT. Naeher enters the match against Nigeria with 49 career shutouts, just one clean sheet away from becoming the third goalkeeper in USWNT history with 50 or more shutouts.

• Alana Cook will make 11^th start of the year as she earns her 15^th cap overall with the USWNT. Cook leads the USA with 836 total minutes played in 2022 and has played the full 90 minutes in seven of her 10 appearances so far this year.

• Emily Fox is set to earn her 18^th career cap as she makes 10^th appearance – and 10^th start – of the year. Entering today’s game against Nigeria, Fox has played in 13 of the USA’s 16 matches since the October 2021 FIFA window, making 12 starts during that span.

• Lindsey Horan will make her ninth start of 2022 as she earns her 117^th career cap. She and Sophia Smith were the only U.S. players to start every match at the Concacaf W Championship and Horan finished the tournament with the third-most minutes played. Since the start of 2020, Horan has played in 38 matches for the USA and has been directly involved in 21 goals - with 13 goals and eight assists.

• Sofia Huerta will make her 20^th career appearance for the USA as she makes her third consecutive start, the longest such streak of her USWNT career. Huerta played the full 90 minutes in the USA’s semifinal win over Costa Rica at the Concacaf W Championship and went the distance again in the final vs. Canada. Huerta was one of four USA players to appear in every game at the CWC.

• Rose Lavelle will make her 79^th international appearance as she makes her 10^th start of 2022. Lavelle, along with Alex Morgan, Becky Sauerbrunn and Naomi Girma, was named to the Concacaf W Championship Best XI and drew what proved to be the game-winning penalty in the final vs. Canada. She has been directly involved in nine goals in the USA’s last nine matches, tallying three goals and adding six assists.

• After collecting Golden Ball honors at the Concacaf W Championship, Alex Morgan will make her seventh appearance of the year as she earns her 197^th career cap with the USWNT. Morgan scored the game winner against Canada in the CWC Final, which gave her 164 combined goals and assists for the USA, tied with Tiffeny Milbrett for fifth best all-time in USWNT history.

• Mallory Pugh will earn her 79^th career cap as she makes her 11^th start and 12^th appearance for the USWNT of 2022. Pugh leads the USA with seven assists on the year and is second in scoring with six goals. With 24 career international goals and 27 assists, the 24-year-old Pugh is on the verge of becoming just the 18^th player in USWNT history with 25+ goals and 25+ assists, a feat she could achieve before the age of 25.

• Sophia Smith will make her team-high 12^th start of the year as she earns 22^nd career cap. The 22-year-old Smith leads the USA in scoring with seven goals on the year, most recently scoring a brace in the USA’s 5-0 win over Jamaica on July 7.

• Andi Sullivan is set to make her 33^rd international appearance as she starts a fourth consecutive match for the USWNT. Sullivan started four of the USA’s five matches at the Concacaf W Championship and is second on the team in total minutes played in 2022, with 769 minutes of action. 

• Two players on today’s 23-player roster have yet to appear in a match for the USA – midfielders Sam Coffey and Savannah DeMelo. Should either player see action against Nigeria, she would become the 250^th woman to earn a cap for the USWNT.