The U.S. women’s national soccer team is coming to Utah. What will the team look like?
The U.S. women’s national soccer team will be playing Colombia in Utah in October. The match comes after the U.S. endured its earliest World Cup exit in the Round of 16.
The match will be played on Oct. 26 at America First Field and will be a rematch of the U.S.’s last trip to Utah in 2022 when it beat Colombia 2-0. Unlike last time, Colombia is coming off of a World Cup run to the quarterfinals.
After a disappointing World Cup, the U.S. has undergone changes and more will be coming ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Who will the coach be?
Head coach Vlatko Andonovski resigned after the loss and has been replaced by interim coach Twila Kilgore while U.S. Soccer searches for a coach who can quickly right the ship before the Olympics, Just Women’s Sports reported.
Kilgore could be the coach when the team comes to Utah, or there is a chance it could be the debut of a new coach if the federation hires one soon. Andonovski was hired in late October 2019 to replace two-time World Cup winning coach Jill Ellis and coached his first match two weeks later, according to U.S. Soccer.
Who will be on the team?
The official roster for the four September and October friendlies has yet to be released. But it is for certain that the team will be without at least two players who were on the World Cup roster.
Forward Megan Rapinoe will play in her final match for the U.S. in September. She announced her retirement in July before the start of the World Cup. She will finish the NWSL season with OL Reign before retiring from professional soccer.
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Following World Cup elimination, Julie Ertz told ESPN that that game was her “last time in this crest.” She confirmed her retirement on Thursday in a social media post and said “the sacrifices of time away from my family no longer seem doable.” Ertz gave birth to her first child in August 2022.
Both Ertz and Rapinoe were on the 2015 and 2019 World Cup rosters when the U.S. won.
The opening in the forward position group could mark the return of former BYU Cougar Ashley Hatch, who was snubbed from the World Cup roster and is in the running for the NWSL’s golden boot award with nine goals this season.
She only trails national team teammate Sophia Smith, who has 11 goals but is now “week-to-week” after she sprained her MCL on Sunday, per the Portland Thorns.
Hatch played in the U.S.’s last match in Sandy.
When will tickets go on sale?
Ticket presales for U.S. Soccer Insiders start on Sept. 12. Tickets will be available for purchase to the public on Sept. 18. More information can be found at U.S. Soccer.
