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USWNT Jul 01, 2019

USA battles England on Tuesday in Women’s World Cup Semifinals

USA vs. England
2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup – Semifinals
July 2, 2019 (3 p.m. ET; FOX and Telemundo)
Stade de Lyon; Lyon, France

USA FACES ENGLAND IN WORLD CUP SEMIFINALS: Following a spectacular 2-1 victory against host France in Paris last Friday courtesy of two goals from Megan Rapinoe, the U.S. Women’s National Team traveled to Lyon to face England in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup semifinal (3 p.m. ET; FOX and Telemundo).

The other semifinal will see European champion Netherlands take on Sweden on July 3, also in Lyon. The USA and England played to a 2-2 draw earlier this year during the 2019 SheBelieves Cup on March 2 in Nashville, Tennessee. The quarterfinal match against France was U.S. head coach Jill Ellis’ 125th in charge of the USA, giving her the record of most games coached in U.S. history and breaking a tie with April Heinrichs (124); it also marked her 100th win as U.S. head coach.

2019 U.S. WORLD CUP ROSTER (CAPS/GOALS)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC; 1/0), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 21/0), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 51/0)

DEFENDERS (7): Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 45/0), Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars; 21/1); Crystal Dunn (NC Courage; 90/24), Ali Krieger(Orlando Pride; 101/1), Kelley O’Hara (Utah Royals FC; 122/2), Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals FC; 162/0), Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC; 34/0)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Morgan Brian (Chicago Red Stars; 83/6), Julie Ertz(Chicago Red Stars; 86/19),Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 73/10), Rose Lavelle (Washington Spirit; 31/9), Allie Long(Reign FC; 46/6), Samantha Mewis (NC Courage; 54/14)

FORWARDS (7): Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC; 154/30); Carli Lloyd(Sky Blue FC; 279/113),Jessica McDonald (NC Courage; 8/2), Alex Morgan(Orlando Pride; 167/106), Christen Press (Utah Royals FC; 121/48), Mallory Pugh (Washington Spirit; 56/17), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC; 157/49)

HOW THEY GOT HERE

USA – 1st in Group F
Date Opponent Score Goal Scorers
June 11 Thailand 13-0 W Morgan (5), Lavelle (2), Horan, Mewis (2), Rapinoe, Pugh, Lloyd
June 16 Chile 3-0 W Lloyd (2), Ertz
June 20 Sweden 2-0 W Horan, Own Goal
June 24 Spain 2-1 W Rapinoe (2)
June 28 France 2-1 W Rapinoe (2)

England – 1st in Group D
Date Opponent Score Goal Scorers
June 9 Scotland 2-1 W Parris, White
June 14 Argentina 1-0 W Taylor
June 19 Japan 2-0 W White (2)
June 23 Cameroon 3-0 W Houghton, White, Greenwood
June 27 Norway 3-0 W Scott, White, Bronze

U.S. WOMEN’S WORLD CUP TEAM FACTS

  • The U.S. is unbeaten in its last 15 Women’s World Cup matches (12W-3D), winning the last 10 in a row. After the victory against France, the USA tied Norway’s run from ’95 to ’99 of most consecutive WC matches won.
  • World Cup Rosters: Lloyd (4); Krieger (3), O’Hara (3), Sauerbrunn (3), Heath (3), Morgan (3), Rapinoe (3); Harris (2), Naeher (2), Brian (2), Ertz (2), Press (2); Franch (1), Dahlkemper (1), Davidson (1), Dunn (1), Sonnett (1), Horan (1), Lavelle (1), Long (1), Mewis (1), McDonald (1), Pugh (1).
  • Of the 23 players named to the roster, Lloyd has the most experience, having played in 23 matches while scoring 10 goals, one in 2011, six at the 2015 tournament and three so far in 2019. Lloyd is the oldest player on the roster at 36 and against Chile became the oldest player to score at least twice in a Women’s World Cup match.
  • Five players own double-figure World Cup caps: Lloyd (23), Krieger (14), Morgan (16), Rapinoe (16) Heath (14) and Sauerbrunn (12).
  • Davidson is the youngest player on the roster at age 20. Pugh turned 21 on April 29. Brian was the youngest player on the 2015 World Cup Team at 22. Just under half the roster (11 players) are in their 30s and 12 are in their 20s.
  • Allie Long and Jessica McDonald made their first World Cup roster at age 31. Long was a member of the 2016 Olympic Team, and McDonald is the top American scorer in the history of the NWSL. McDonald is also the only mother on the World Cup Team. She has a seven-year-old son.
  • The average age of the U.S. roster is just under 29 years old, about the same as the USA’s 2015 Women’s World Cup Team.
  • Six players had previously scored in a Women’s World Cup tournament that are on the roster. Four of the seven goal scorers against Thailand made their World Cup scoring debuts. Current all-time World Cup goal scorers on the roster are: Lloyd (10), Morgan (8), Rapinoe (6), Horan (2), Lavelle (2), Mewis (2), Ertz (1), Pugh (1), Heath (1), O’Hara (1), Press (1) and Own Goal (1).
  • The roster features players from 13 different states. Five players on the roster are from California, three are from Georgia, while two each are from New York, New Jersey, Arizona and Colorado.
  • The roster includes 11 first-time participants, three more than the team that won the World Cup four years ago. This roster is also tied for the third-most rookies among U.S. teams since the Women’s World Cup began in 1991.
  • Number of times a team has won all three-group stage matches in WWC history:
    • Brazil (Three times – 2007, 2011, 2015)
    • China (Once – 1999)
    • England (Once – 2019)
    • France (Once – 2019)
    • Germany (Four times – 1991, 2003, 2011, 2019)
    • Japan (Once – 2015)
    • Norway (Twice – 1995, 1999)
    • Sweden (Once – 2011)
    • USA (Four times – 1991, 1999, 2003, 2019)

2019 FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP FACTS

  • The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup kicked off June 7 and will run through July 7 when the Final is staged in Lyon.
  • Each team is allowed three subs per game in the World Cup and for the first time, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) will be used for women’s international matches.
  • The tournament marks the eighth consecutive World Cup appearance for three-time World Cup champion USA (1991, 1999, 2015), one of six countries to qualify for all eight Women’s World Cups along with Brazil, Germany, Japan, Norway, Sweden and Nigeria. This will be the second Women’s World Cup to include 24 nations. Sixteen teams participated in the four World Cups held from 1999-2011. The 1991 and 1995 WWC featured 12 teams.
  • It will require seven games to win the Women’s World Cup, three in the group stage, a Round of 16 match, a Quarterfinal, a Semifinal and the Final.
  • There are only four nations who have women the seven Women’s World Cup tournament: The USA (1991, 1999, 2015), Norway (1995), Germany (2003, 2007) and Japan (2011).
  • The 90,185 spectators on hand at the Rose Bowl for the USA’s victory against China PR in the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup represent the largest attendance in the tournament’s history. The Stade de Lyon is the largest stadium in this tournament, seating almost 60,000 fans.
  • Abby Wambach’s 14 goals in FIFA Women’s World Cup competition rank second all-time, tied with Germany legend Birgit Prinz. They trail only Brazil’s Marta who has a World Cup-record 17 goals.
  • After the win vs. France, the U.S. WNT is now 38-4-6 all-time in the Women’s World Cup, outscoring its opponents 134-37 in 48 games. The 38 wins, 48 games-played and 134 goals scored are all FIFA Women’s World Cup records.
  • The United States is the only nation to have made it to all eight semifinals of the Women’s World Cup.

ONE NATION. ONE TEAM. 23 STORIES: As the U.S. team readies for its semifinal at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, get to know each player through U.S. Soccer’s “One Nation. One Team. 23 Stories.” series, presented by Volkswagen. Sprinkled with humor, fun and a few heartfelt stories, the videos give fans insight into the players’ personalities, families, motivations, and some of the challenges they’ve experienced on the different roads they’ve traveled to earn the right to represent the United States in the ultimate competition for a soccer player.

JILL ELLIS FACT FILE: Jill Ellis is the third U.S. coach – and first female American coach – to win a Women’s World Cup (2015) at the senior level, following Anson Dorrance (1991) and the late Tony DiCicco (1999). Ellis was named the 2015 FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women’s Soccer on Jan. 11, 2016. She was also named the Concacaf Female Coach of the Year. Ellis, who previously served two stints as interim head coach of the U.S. WNT, is the eighth official head coach in U.S. history. She coached seven games as interim coach in 2012 (5-0-2) and two games (1-0-1) as interim in 2014 before she officially came on board, which gave her a 6-0-3 record before she ever was formally named the head coach in May of 2014. She has gone 94-7-15 since then for an overall record of 100-7-18. She earned her 75th career win on April 8 vs. Mexico and with the victory against Belgium on April 7, moved ahead of Pia Sundhage (91) in all-time wins, and now trails only Tony DiCicco (105). The match against Australia on July 29, 2018, marked her 100th game on the bench for the USA, making her the fourth coach in U.S. history to coach in 100 or more games. With the match against France on June 28, her 125th on the bench for the USA, she now has the record for most U.S. WNT games coached. Since taking over as head coach, Ellis has won seven tournaments: the 2015 Algarve Cup, the 2015 Women’s World Cup, the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship, the 2016 SheBelieves Cup, the 2018 SheBelieves Cup, the 2018 Tournament of Nations and the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship.

U.S. ROSTER NOTES
TEAM

  • The first U.S. goal against France was the fifth goal in the opening 12 minutes of this WWC.
  • Ten different players have scored the USA’s 51 goals this year. Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe lead the team with eight goals each. Samantha Mewis and Tobin Heath have six goals each and Mallory Pugh has five. Rose Lavelle has three, Christen Press and Lindsey Horan have two and Jessica McDonald and Julie Ertz have one each. The USA has benefited from one own goal.
  • The U.S. Women’s National Team reached an impressive milestone on Nov. 8, 2018 with its 1-0 victory against Portugal; that was the 500th win in program history. Since its inception in 1985, the U.S. WNT has compiled a record of 513 wins, 66 losses and 76 ties. Over the history of the program, the USA has gone 288-28-22 (88% winning percentage) at home, 52-14-17 away (73%) and 173-33-28 (81%) on neutral ground. Of the USA’s 66 losses, 12 (18%) came at the Algarve Cup in Portugal.
  • The USA has scored in 43 consecutive matches and has averaged more than three goals per game in that time. Since the end of the 2015 World Cup, the USA has played 86 matches and complied a 72-5-9 record.
  • Lloyd has 49 WNT goals since the start of 2015. Morgan (57) is the only other player with more than 30 goals over the four years.

FORWARDS

  • Alex Morgan had a performance for the ages against Thailand in the opening game of the World Cup, tying a World Cup record with five goals while adding three assists. The five scores upped her career total to 106 and within one goal of tying Michelle Akers for fifth on the USA’s all-time goals list.
  • She achieved a historic 100th career goal on April 4 vs. Australia. Morgan’s 100th goal came in her 159th cap. Just three more than it took Mia Hamm (156 caps). Abby Wambach scored her 100th goal in her 129th cap, Michelle Akers in 130th, Milbrett in her 201st, Carli Lloyd in her 252nd and Kristine Lilly in 287th.
  • Morgan has scored 33 goals over her last 39 WNT matches, a span that runs from the end of 2017. During that 33-goal streak, she has scored on about a quarter of her shots, scoring 10 goals with her right foot, 18 with her left, four with her head and one with her chest. The 33 goals have included six braces, one hat trick and one five-goal game.
  • Morgan has scored in 72 career games for the USA and in those matches, the U.S. team has never lost, going 62-0-10. Morgan is one of only three players in U.S. history with 40 or more goals who has never lost a game in which she has scored (Heather O’Reilly and Tisha Venturini are the others), but all 13 players who have scored 40 or more goals have a winning percentage that is equal to or higher than Morgan’s 93 percent.
  • Morgan is third all-time in two-goal games (22), behind only Wambach (37) and Hamm (28). With her hat trick against Japan on July 26, 2018, the fourth of her career, and her five-goal game on June 11, Morgan moves ahead of Michelle Akers for third all-time in multi-goal games (27) behind only Abby Wambach (45) and Mia Hamm (38).
  • Morgan’s second goal vs. Jamaica on Oct. 14 was just the second of her international career to come via a penalty kick. Abby Wambach scored 16 of her 184 goals on PKs. Mia Hamm scored five of her 158 goals off PKs.
  • For players with more than 50 goals/assists combined, Morgan has averaged a goal or an assist for every 71.9 minutes on the field in her international career. The only players who have done better are Hamm (68.5) and Wambach, who averaged a goal or assist for every 71.5 minutes. Akers finished her career at 74.0 minutes per goal or assist.
  • Since opening her account in 2010 against China, Morgan has scored against 28 different teams – none more than Japan (12 goals). She has scored nine goals against Canada and Mexico and six against Costa Rica, France, New Zealand, Sweden and Trinidad & Tobago.
  • Morgan famously scored in both the semifinal and championship games of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany at her first senior World Cup and scored once in Canada at the 2015 World Cup, that goal coming against Colombia in the Round of 16 during a tournament in which she was working her way back from injury.
  • Morgan (who has eight World Cup goals) needs two goals to become the 11th player (and fourth American) to score 10 goals at the World Cup. Only two other countries have more than one, Germany (3) and Brazil (2).
  • Megan Rapinoe has 49 career goals which moves her into sole possession of 11 th place on the all-time U.S. scoring list. She has eight career World Cup goals.
  • She has been directly involved in 14 goals in her 15 appearances at the Women’s World Cup (eight goals, six assists). Since the start of the 2011 tournament, she has had a hand in more WWC goals than any other player.
  • Rapinoe had a team-leading 12 assists in 2018 and after getting two vs. Thailand, has 59 assists for her career, moving her to sole possession of sixth place on the U.S. all-time list. Seven of Rapinoe’s 12 assists last year were on Alex Morgan goals and she set up one of Morgan’s five scores against Thailand with the other going to Samantha Mewis.
  • Carli Lloyd is a two-time FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year (2015 & 2016) and the USA’s all-time active caps leader with 279. With her substitute appearance against Sweden on June 20, moved past Mia Hamm into third all-time in career caps.
  • Lloyd’s goal off the bench against Thailand and two against Chile in her first start of this World Cup gave her 10 career WWC goals, moving her past Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe (all with 8) for the third-most by an American. She now has 113 international goals for her career.
  • Lloyd has now become the first player to score in six consecutive appearances at the Women’s World Cup. She’s scored eight goals across those six games, the last four of 2015 and the first two of 2019.
  • Lloyd scored her historic 100th goal on April 8, 2018 vs. Mexico to become the sixth player to score 100 or more for the USA, and first since 2009 when Abby Wambach scored her 100th.
  • On Oct. 7, 2018 vs. Panama at World Cup qualifying, Lloyd scored her eighth career hat trick.
  • With the hat trick in World Cup qualifying, Lloyd tied Mia Hamm for most three-goals games all-time in WNT history. Hamm also had two four-goal games in her career. Lloyd has moved ahead of Kristine Lilly and Cindy Parlow into fourth all-time in multi-goal games with 20.
  • Against Panama, Lloyd (36 years, 83 days) became the oldest player to score a hat trick for the U.S. WNT. She broke Wambach’s record of 34 years, 186 days. Kristine Lilly is the oldest player to score a goal for the USA at 38 years, 264 days.
  • Against Chile, at 36 years, 11 months old, Lloyd became the oldest player to score more than once in a single Women’s World Cup game, overtaking Cristiane’s record set in this year’s tournament for Brazil against Jamaica (34 years, 25 days).
  • Lloyd is the highest active goal scorer in U.S. history with the players ahead of or tied with her – Hamm, Wambach, Lilly, Akers and Tiffeny Milbrett – all retired.
  • Lloyd scored 36 international goals between the time she debuted six days before her 23rd birthday, and her 30th birthday. Since turning 30, she has scored 77 goals in 143 games over a span of almost seven years. The 142 games after the age of 30 is the second-most all-time in U.S. history in that category. Christie Rampone is far and away the leader with 175.
  • After earning the assist on Mallory Pugh’s goal against Mexico on May 26, Lloyd has 53 career assists and is tied for 8th place all-time with Shannon MacMillan.
  • Tobin Heath scored twice in the 2019 SheBelieves Cup, against England and Brazil, bagged a header goal against Australia on April 4, scored against New Zealand on May 16 and then again against Mexico on May 26, giving her 30 career international goals. She earned her 150th cap against Mexico to become the 22nd U.S. female player to hit that mark.
  • In 2018, Heath didn’t return to the U.S. lineup until June 12 after completing her long recovery from injury, but she was on fire for the rest of the year, scoring seven goals with six assists in just 10 games and 657 minutes. She averaged a goal or an assist for every 50 minutes on the field in the latter part of the year. She picked up her first assist of the year, and 36th of her career, on Rapinoe’s goal against Japan on Feb. 27.
  • Heath has 12 goals in her last 22 matches and 10 in her last 17. The 12 goals are 40% of her career total.
  • She was rested against Chile on June 16 and played 90 minutes against Sweden, appearing to score at the beginning of the second half, but the goal was later changed to an Own Goal after it deflected off a Sweden defender and into the net. Heath saw the full 90 minutes of play against Spain in the Round of 16 on June 24 and earned the first penalty kick with a brilliant collection of moves inside the box. She saw the full 90 minutes vs. France and had a goal called offside.
  • Mallory Pugh doubled her career goals in 2018, finding the net six times, and scored the USA’s first goal of 2019 against France on Jan. 19. She had a spectacular brace on April 4 against Australia in front of her hometown crowd. It was the second-two goal game of her career. Pugh scored 37 seconds after entering the match vs. Australia in the 66th, her shortest time on the field before scoring in her WNT career.
  • Pugh was the fifth different USWNT player to record a brace off the bench since 2015.
  • Off the bench against Thailand on June 11 she netted her 16th, scoring in her Word Cup debut and becoming the third-youngest goal scorer in a WWC match in U.S. history.
  • She made her first career World Cup start in the match against Chile on June 16.
  • Pugh scored in her senior team debut (the 19th U.S. WNT player to score in her first cap) on Jan. 23, 2016, vs. Ireland at 17 years, 8 months and 25 days old, becoming the youngest player to debut for the U.S. in the previous 11 years. Since then, she has earned 56 total caps and has been one of the USA’s most dangerous players, mostly attacking from the wings.
  • After coming off the bench against Japan on Feb. 27 and almost immediately creating a goal for Alex Morgan, Christen Press then put in impactful substitute performances on March 2 against England, March 5 against Brazil and April 4 against Australia. She got the start in front of her hometown crowd on April 7 vs. Belgium in a game that saw her tally three assists, started against South Africa on May 12, came off the bench to set up two goals against New Zealand on May 16, and then came off the bench at halftime on May 26 vs. Mexico and scored a spectacular goal.
  • She came off the bench against Thailand and once again caused havoc, picking up the assist on Alex Morgan’s third goal. Against Chile, she was unfortunate not to score multiple goals as she was the victim of several world class saves from Chile goalkeeper Christiane Endler. After her substitute performance against France, Press now has 121 caps, 48 career goals and 30 career assists. Press is among 30 other U.S. Women’s National Team players to achieve 120 international appearances. She also leads the USA in assists this year with seven. She is tied for 11th place on the all-time WNT goals list.
  • Forward Jessica McDonald‘s first career cap came against Romania on Nov. 10, 2016, in San Jose, Calif. She earned her second career cap and start vs. Portugal on Nov. 8 and scored the game-winning goal – her first international score. She also played off the bench against Scotland on Nov. 13 and against France on Jan. 19, earning her third cap. McDonald, came off the bench to score her second career goal, tallying the sixth score in the 6-0 win vs. Belgium on April 7.
  • At the age of 31, she made her World Cup debut on June 16 against Chile, coming off the bench at halftime and almost scored, curling a shot off the right post.

MIDFIELDERS

  • Julie Ertz was named the MVP of the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship while playing the entire tournament at defensive midfielder. She scored against Jamaica in the CWC semifinal on Oct. 14, and in group play against Mexico on Oct. 4.
  • She scored her first World Cup goal on June 16 against Chile and now has a career goal total of an impressive 19 international goals in 86 caps as has become one of the USA’s most important players.
  • Rose Lavelle is coming off her World Cup debut in which she scored twice against Thailand, her second career brace. She had her first career brace against T&T on Oct. 10 during group play at the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship. She also scored the game-winning goal in the title game, a 2-0 victory against Canada, and with three goals in the qualifying tournament, doubled her career total coming into the competition. She now has 31 caps – with 26 starts – and nine goals. She was a key player in the USA’s 2-1 win over Spain, earning the game-winning penalty kick, and was subbed out in the 89th minute.
  • Lindsey Horan excelled with the WNT as a consistent starter in 2018 (only Alex Morgan had more starts, but two other players also had 16) and scored three goals. She also had eight assists in 2018, second-most on the team.
  • After starting the first two games of the year, both in Europe, she missed the SheBelieves Cup with a quad injury but returned to make an impact in every match since. She made her World Cup debut against Thailand and scored her first World Cup goal, giving her nine career goals, and got the start against Chile on June 16 as she returned to Paris where she started her professional career with PSG, and against Sweden on June 20, when she scored her second World Cup goal and the quickest of the tournament thus far when she tallied in the 3rd minute.
  • Currently at 54 caps, Samantha Mewis has put in some recent excellent performances this year as reserve and a starter. She is tied for third on the U.S. team in goals this year with six. She got her first World Cup start and first two World Cup goals against Thailand, her third career brace. She has 14 career goals and six goals in her last six games after eight in her first 43 matches for the WNT.
  • Veteran Allie Long saw her first World Cup action against Chile on June 16, coming off the bench in the second half. She scored her first three career goals (all on headers) in 2016. She scored her fourth and fifth goals, also off headers, vs. Russia on April 6, 2017. It was the second brace of her career. She finally got a WNT goal with her feet on Oct. 22 vs. Korea Republic, slotting home a pass from Horan, and now has 45 caps.
  • Morgan Brian returned to fitness just in time make her second Women’s World Cup Team. Sheplayed in 12 games in 2018, starting seven, but had played in just one match this year, going 90 minutes in the first game of the year against France, before getting the start and playing 90 against Chile on June 16. She has 83 career caps and six goals at 26-years-old.

DEFENDERS

  • Becky Sauerbrunn is the 20th player, and just the third who has played exclusively as a defender, to play 150 times for the WNT. She currently has 162 caps and since 2014 has started 107 of those caps.
  • She was held out of the World Cup opener on June 11 due to a minor quad issue but returned to play 90 minutes in the matches against Chile on June 16, Sweden on June 20, Spain on June 24 and France on June 28.
  • Abby Dahlkemper has played full 90s in 11 of 14 games this year. She has played the most minutes of any U.S. player through the first five games of this World Cup with 442. She has started 40 of her 45 caps and played her first World Cup match on June 11 vs. Thailand.
  • Crystal Dunn solidified her spot as an outside back for the USA in 2018, a position where she played the final 16 of her 18 caps last year. She has played a bit in the midfield but put in a solid shift at left back in her first World Cup match on June 11 vs. Thailand. Dunn, who has consistently shown her excellent attacking abilities from outside back, has 24 career international goals. She was rested against Chile on June 16 but returned to the lineup against Sweden and Spain – playing all 90 minutes, and had an excellent outing vs. France, once again going all 90.
  • Kelley O’Hara picked up her second World Cup start on June 11 against Thailand (her first came in 2015) and earned the assist on the first goal. She now has 122 caps and 16 career assists to go along with two goals, one of which was scored in the 2015 World Cup semifinal vs. Germany. She was rested against Chile on June 16 but returned to play vs. Sweden, Spain and France.
  • Tierna Davidson madeher World Cup debut in style on June 16 against Chile, playing all 90 minutes at left back and earning two assists on corner kicks. She was the first defender since at least 2011 with multiple assists in a WWC match. At age 20, she is youngestU.S. player to start a World Cup match since Tiffany Roberts in 1995.
  • Davidson helped lead Stanford to the NCAA Championship in 2017 as a sophomore and was a consistent U.S. WNT call-up in 2018 as the youngest player on the roster. She started and played the entire 90 minutes to earn her first cap in the 5-1 victory against Denmark on Jan. 21 in a game where she picked up the game-winning assist on Julie Ertz’ goal.
  • Against Chile on Aug. 31, 2018, Davidson scored her only career goal, via a header off a Tobin Heath corner kick
  • Davidson is the third teenager since 2013 to earn a first cap for the WNT. Mallory Pugh (17 in 2016) and Lindsey Horan (19 in 2013) are the most recent teenagers to debut for the WNT.
  • Emily Sonnett made her World Cup debut against Chile on June 16, coming off the bench to earn her 34th cap and has shown her consistent abilities this year at right back. She played a solid match against France on Jan. 19, against Spain on Jan. 22 when she played the first half and against Japan on Feb. 27 when she played the second half. She came off the bench in the second half of the SBC match vs. Brazil and helped secure the shutout. Against Australia on April 4, the started and played 79 minutes, picking up assists on two of the five goals – to Tobin Heath and Mallory Pugh – which were the second and third of her career. She played the final 20 minutes off the bench against Mexico on May 26 in the USA’s World Cup Send-Off Match.
  • The Portland Thorns standout played in three games at World Cup qualifying and has shown her versatility to play outside back with the WNT and center back in the NWSL. Against the Aussies, Sonnett became just the second WNT defender over the last three years with multiple assists in a match.
  • Veteran Ali Krieger, a member of the USA’s 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup Team and the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup championship squad as well as the 2016 Olympic Team, returned to the roster during the April matches for the first time since the 2017 Tournament of Nations, where she did not see action. Her start and 90 minutes against Belgium on April marked her first game since an appearance against Russia in April of 2017. Krieger earned her 100th cap on May 16 against New Zealand as she came off the bench at halftime and became the 38th U.S. WNT player to hit the century mark.
  • She played in her 14th World Cup match, and earned her first start of this World Cup, against Chile on June 16, going the entire 90 minutes at right back.

GOALKEEPERS

  • Alyssa Naeher has 28 career shutouts in her 51 caps. Naeher earned 13 caps in 2017 and 16 in 2018. After the matchup against Spain in Round of 16, she became the fourth goalkeeper in U.S. history to earn 50 or more caps.
  • Naeher had an assist against Australia on April 4. She is the first U.S. ‘keeper to record an assist since Hope Solo did in July of 2012 against France on an Alex Morgan goal in the opening game of the Olympics.
  • Veteran Ashlyn Harris has 21 caps, earning her most recent vs. Belgium on April 7 as she came off the bench at halftime. Against Brazil on March 5 she played very well while going 90 minutes to earn the shutout and made several important plays in the match. It was her seventh career shutout.
  • Adrianna Franch earned her first WNT cap against England on March 2. She became the 27th player earn her first cap during this cycle (post-WWC 2015). She has been getting call-ups to the senior side since 2012 after she was a member of the USA’s 2010 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Team and has seen training time with the WNT on-and-off for the past five years.

IN FOCUS: England

England Football Association
FIFA World Ranking: 3
UEFA Ranking: 2
World Cup Appearances: 5 (1995, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019)
Best Women’s World Cup finish: Third Place, 2015
Record vs. USA: 4-10-2
Head Coach: Phil Neville

England Women’s World Cup Roster By Position
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Karen Bardsley (Manchester City), 21-Mary Earps (Wolfsburg, GER), 13-Carly Telford (Chelsea)

DEFENDERS (8): 2-Lucy Bronze (Olympique Lyon, FRA), 3-Alex Greenwood (Manchester United), 5-Steph Houghton (Manchester City), 6-Millie Bright (Chelsea), 12-Demi Stokes (Manchester City), 14-Leah Williamson (Arsenal), 15-Abbie McManus (McManus), 17-Rachel Daly (Houston Dash, USA)

MIDFIELDERS (6): 4-Keira Walsh (Manchester City), 8-Jill Scott (Manchester City), 16-Jade Moore (Reading), 19-Georgia Stanway (Manchester City), 20-Karen Carney (Chelsea), 23-Lucy Staniforth (Birmingham City)

FORWARDS (6): 11-Toni Duggan (Barcelona, ESP), 22-Beth Mead (Arsenal), 7-Nikita Parris (Manchester City), 9-Jodie Taylor (Reign FC, USA), 18-Ellen White (Birmingham City), 10-Fran Kirby (Chelsea)

USA VS. ENGLAND

  • The USA is 10-4-2 all-time against England. Out of the last five meetings between the teams, four have been 1-0 results – three wins for the USA and one for England – and one was a 2-2 draw.
  • The most recent meeting came at the 2019 SheBelieves Cup, a 2-2 draw that saw goals from Megan Rapinoe and Tobin Heath for the USA, and Nikita Parris and Steph Houghton for England.
  • At the 2018 SheBelieves Cupm a U.S. 1-0 win, the lone goal came when a Megan Rapinoe cross hit off defender Millie Bright and off goalkeeper Karen Bardsley before spinning into the net.
  • The USA beat England 1-0 on Feb. 13, 2015, in Milton Keynes, England with the goal coming from an Alex Morgan header and at the 2016 SheBelieves Cup in Tampa, Fla. on a brilliant goal from Crystal Dunn. The meeting with England in Milton Keynes, England, sparked a 24-game unbeaten streak which included the run to the World Cup title in 2015.
  • England turned the tables on the USA at the 2017 SheBelieves Cup, scoring in the 89th minute when Ellen White finished from close range after a goal mouth scramble from a set play.
  • Prior to the 2015 meeting, the USA and England hadn’t played since a 2011 friendly in London that saw England defeat the USA 2-1. Prior to that, the teams hadn’t met since the 2007 Women’s World Cup, a 3-0 victory for the USA during the quarterfinal in Tianjin, China.
  • The USA lost its first two matches against England, played in 1985 and 1988, both in Italy. The 1985 match was the third ever played by the U.S. Women’s National Team, a 3-1 loss.
  • U.S. defender Crystal Dunn played a season with Chelsea over 2017-218.

ENGLAND NOTES:

  • England got off to a bit a slow start, but still won Group D handily with a 2-1 victory against Scotland, a 1-0 victory against Argentina and a 2-0 win vs. Japan.
  • The Lionesses amped up their player in the knockout rounds, registering two straight 3-0 wins – over Cameroon and Norway – with forward Ellen White leading the way. She has scored in four of the five matches so far and is tied for the World Cup lead with five goals.
  • No other player has scored more than one, with single tallies from Nikita Parris (against Scotland), Jodie Taylor (against Argentina), Step Houghton (against Cameroon), Alex Greenwood (also Cameroon), Jill Scott (against Norway) and Lucy Bronze (against Norway).
  • England has not given up a goal since the first match of the tournament.
  • The 2018 SheBelieves Cup marked the debut of England head coach Phil Neville, the former Manchester United and Everton star and England National Team defender.
  • England has some extremely experienced players and is one of the most veteran teams in the world. Goalkeeper Karen Bardsley, who grew up in Orange County, Calif., played club for the SoCal Blues and attended Cal State Fullerton, has 81 caps. Usual captain and central defender Steph Houghton has 110 caps with 13 goals while winger Karen Carney is on 143 caps with 32 goals, which is the most international scores on the squad, but she has seen little action in this tournament.
  • England has a deep and dangerous forward line, with Ellen White (86 caps/33 goals), Toni Duggan (75/22), Jodie Taylor (45/18) and Nikita Paris (39/13).
  • The defensive also includes former UNC Tar Heel Lucy Bronze, who has 73 caps and eight goals.
  • England has two NWSL players on the roster in Rachel Daly of the Houston Dash, long an attacking player who has switched to defender for her country, and forward Jodie Taylor of Reign FC. Taylor, who returned to the league in 2018 after playing with the Washington Spirit and the Portland Thorns over 2014-15 (when she scored 14 goals between the clubs), scored the opening goal against Canada in the 2015 Women’s World Cup quarterfinal. Taylor scored nine goals with one assist for the Reign last season. Daly led the Dash with 10 goals.
  • England had a smooth qualifying campaign for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, winning UEFA Qualifying Group 1 with seven wins and one draw, that coming against Wales at home. England defeated Wales away, 3-0, to qualify for France with one game to spare. England out-scored its opponents 29-1 during the eight matches.
  • Nikita Parris (six goals) led England during qualifying, but the scoring was spread around. Toni Duggan had four while Jill Scott had three and Lucy Bronze, Izzy Christiansen, Steph Houghton and Fran Kirby had two each.

Featured Players

Defender, Midfielder
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