The U.S. women’s national team’s World Cup year kicks off with a trip to New Zealand, but it will have to do so without two of its biggest names in Sophia Smith and Megan Rapinoe.
Smith, the reigning NWSL MVP, will miss out due to a foot injury (although manager Vlatko Andonovski said she was already back in light training on her own) while Rapinoe is struggling with an ankle injury. However, defender Emily Sonnett and forward Lynn Williams will return to the side after missing much of the last year with injuries.
Serving as part of a dry run to the 2023 World Cup, which begins July 20 in Australia and New Zealand, the U.S. will face the Football Ferns at Sky Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand on Jan. 18 (10 p.m. ET on Jan. 17 in the U.S.) before a rematch three days later in Auckland’s Eden Park. All three of the USWNT’s group stage matches at the 2023 World Cup will take place between the two stadiums.
“We’ve been thinking about and planning for the World Cup for a long time, but when the calendar turns to the World Cup year, for sure it brings some renewed focus and energy as the tournament starts in less than 200 days,” Andonovski said in a statement.
“To get to bring the team to New Zealand in January and play in our World Cup venues has so many benefits so we are going to make sure we maximize our time together, make this trip as productive as possible and enjoy a unique experience as many of our players have never been to New Zealand before.”
The nations last faced each other in the 2022 SheBelieves Cup last February, which the U.S. won 5–0 thanks in part to a bizarre own-goal hat trick from New Zealand’s Meikayla Jean-Maree Moore. The U.S. last played in a series of November friendlies against Germany, winning the second match 2–1 to end a three-match losing streak.
After the New Zealand camp, the U.S. will then return home for the SheBelieves Cup, which begins Feb. 16. With matches in Orlando, Nashville and Frisco, Texas, the U.S. will face stiff competition in Canada, Brazil and Japan.
Aiming to become the first nation to ever win three straight World Cups, the USWNT will kick off its 2023 World Cup campaign on July 22 against Vietnam.
Here is the full 24-player roster for the New Zealand camp:
Goalkeepers: Adrianna Franch (Kansas City Current), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)
Defenders: Alana Cook (OL Reign), Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns), Emily Fox (Racing Louisville), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave), Sofia Huerta (OL Reign), Hailie Mace (Kansas City Current), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns), Emily Sonnett (Washington Spirit)
