International Friendly: USA vs. Nigeria - Lineup, Schedule & TV Channels
Venue: Audi Field; Washington, D.C.; Broadcast: ESPN2; Broadcast Time: 6 p.m. ET; Official Kickoff Time: 6:08 p.m. ET
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USWNT vs. Nigeria - International Friendly, Presented by Allstate
Date: September 6, 2022
Venue: Audi Field; Washington, D.C.
Broadcast: ESPN2
Broadcast Time: 6 p.m. ET
Official Kickoff Time: 6:08 p.m. ET
Starting XI vs. Nigeria: 18-Casey Murphy; 3-Alana Cook, 8-Sofia Huerta, 9-Mallory Pugh, 10-Lindsey Horan, 11-Sophia Smith, 12-Naomi Girma, 13-Alex Morgan, 14-Sam Coffey, 16-Rose Lavelle, 19-Emily Fox
Available Subs: 1-Alyssa Naeher, 2-Ashley Sanchez, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 5-Hailie Mace, 6-Savannah DeMelo, 7-Ashley Hatch, 15-Megan Rapinoe, 17-Andi Sullivan, 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): Morgan (198), Horan (118), Lavelle (80), Pugh (80), Smith (23), Huerta (21), Fox (19), Cook (16), Murphy (9), Girma (7), Coffey (1)
- Tuesday’s Starting XI features three different players from the lineup that started against Nigeria in Kansas City: Casey Murphy for Alyssa Naeher in goal, Naomi Girma at center back for Becky Sauerbrunn and Sam Coffey in place of Andi Sullivan in the midfield.
- This starting lineup averages 51 caps per player with Morgan and Horan the only players in the lineup with 100+ caps. Seven players – Smith, Huerta, Fox, Cook, Murphy, Girma and Coffey – have fewer than 25 caps.
- Twenty-three-year-old Sam Coffey gets the starting nod as she makes her international debut for the U.S. Women’s National Team. Coffey, who earned her first call-up to the Senior National Team in June, becomes the 250th woman to earn a cap for the USWNT and the sixth player to earn a first cap for the USA this year. She is the 16th player overall to earn a cap under head coach Vlatko Andonovski.
- Lindsey Horan will wear the captain’s band as she earns her 118th career cap and makes her 10th start of 2022. Horan scored her first goal of the year and the 26th of her international career in the Sept. 3 win over Nigeria. Since the start of 2020, Horan has played in 39 matches for the USA and has been directly involved in 22 goals - with 14 goals and eight assists.
- Making the start in goal, Casey Murphy will earn her ninth career cap as she makes her seventh start of 2022. Murphy started three of the USA’s five games at the 2022 Concacaf W Championship, most recently seeing action in the July 14 semifinal vs. Costa Rica. Murphy has seven career shutouts in her previous eight caps.
- Alana Cook will make her 12th start of the year as she earns her 16th cap overall with the USWNT. Cook leads the USA with 926 total minutes played in 2022 and has played the full 90 minutes in eight of her 11 appearances so far this year.
- Emily Fox is set to earn her 19th career cap as she makes 11th appearance – and 11th start – of the year. The Ashburn, Va.-native recorded her first international assist on Saturday, setting up Sophia Smith’s goal in first-half stoppage time. Entering Tuesday’s game against Nigeria, Fox has played in 14 of the USA’s 17 matches since the October 2021 FIFA window, making 13 starts during that span.
- Defender Naomi Girma will earn her seventh cap as she makes her fifth career start. Girma, who made her international debut on April 12 vs. Uzbekistan, made four appearances and two starts at the Concacaf W Championship, where she was named to the Tournament Best XI along with Becky Sauerbrunn, Alex Morgan and Rose Lavelle.
- Sofia Huerta will make her fourth consecutive start as she makes her 21st career appearance for the USA. Huerta has played the full 90 minutes in each of her last three appearances for the USWNT, a streak that began in the Concacaf W Championship semifinal win over Costa Rica. Huerta was one of four USA players to appear in every game at the CWC.
- Rose Lavelle will make her 80th international appearance as she makes her 11th start of 2022. Lavelle, along Mallory Pugh, become the 47th and 48th players in USWNT history to amass 80 or more caps. Lavelle has been directly involved in nine goals in the USA’s last 10 matches, tallying three goals and adding six assists.
- After collecting Golden Ball honors at the Concacaf W Championship and tallying again in the September 3 win over Nigeria, Alex Morgan will make her fifth consecutive start as she earns her 198th cap with the USWNT. Morgan has scored in back-to-back games for the USWNT – both coming off penalty kicks – and now has four goals on the year and 119 in her international career.
- Mallory Pugh will earn her 80th career cap as she makes her 12th start and 13th 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 18th 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 13th start of the year as she earns 23rd career cap. The 22-year-old Smith leads the USA in scoring with nine goals on the year and is coming off a two-goal, one-assist performance against Nigeria in Kansas City. Smith has a total of 10 goals through her first 22 caps. The only players in USWNT history with more goals through their first 22 caps are Abby Wambach (14), Christie Welsh (13), Carin Jennings-Gabarra (12) and Christen Press (12 goals) and Smith tied Michelle Akers for the 6th fastest to double-digit goals in USWNT history, scoring her 10th goal in her 22nd cap.
- With Coffey making the start tonight, Savannah DeMelo is the only uncapped player on this roster. Should DeMelo see the field, she would become the 251st woman to earn a cap for the USWNT and the seventh of 2022.