Haiti replaces Australia as USWNT opponent for September matches

CHICAGO (Via U.S. Soccer) – Haiti will replace Australia as the opponent for the third and fourth matches of the Victory Tour as the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup champion U.S. Women’s National Team comes to Detroit and Birmingham, Alabama.

The Australian players have refused to play the matches due to a dispute with their federation so the Americans will face CONCACAF side Haiti on Thursday, Sept. 17, at Ford Field in Detroit (7 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1) followed by a match on Sunday, Sept. 20, at historic Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama (1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2).

Each match has sold more than 31,000 tickets. Tickets for both games are available at ussoccer.com. For the Detroit contest, tickets are also available by phone at 1-877-212-8898 and at the Ford Field ticket office (Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). For the match in Birmingham, tickets are also available by phone at 1-800-745-3000 and at all Ticketmaster ticket centers (including Publix and Walmart locations). [Note: Tickets are not sold at Legion Field except on the day of the event.] Groups of 20 or more can obtain an order form at ussoccer.com or call 312-528-1290.

This will be the first friendly match between the countries. The U.S. Women have played Haiti four times in their history, all in CONCACAF qualifying tournaments. The teams met most recently met on Oct. 20, 2014, at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., during qualifying for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The USA prevailed 6-0 with two goals from Abby Wambach, and single scores from Meghan Klingenberg (her first WNT goal), Carli Lloyd, Christen Press and Morgan Brian.