A win, plenty of goals and a party for hometown hero Rose Lavelle, soon-to-be-retired Carli Lloyd and the Olympic bronze medal-winning U.S. Women’s National Team. That’s what’s in store at the USWNT’s next match vs. Paraguay on Tuesday in its first visit to recently opened TQL Stadium in Cincinnati.
The U.S. women pounded No. 50-ranked Paraguay 9-0 on Thursday in Cleveland and there’s no reason not to expect more of the same when the teams take the field Tuesday. The USWNT is on a 59-game home unbeaten run (54-0-5) with the last 21 being victories.
The talent gap is such that the South American side won’t pose much of a test for this year’s Olympic bronze medalists (the USWNT outshot Paraguay 32-1 last week), but U.S. head coach Vlatko Andonovski still believes the match will be a valuable exercise to test new patterns of play, to fine-tune player relationships on the field and to give some of the newer faces international experience.
WATCH: USWNT vs. Paraguay on fuboTV (free 7-day trial)
USWNT legend Lloyd was the star of Thursday’s match with a team record-tying five goals in the first of her final four matches before she calls it a career in October. Whether the 39-year-old starts or comes off the bench, she’s sure to be celebrated by the fans in Cincinnati, though it’s local product Lavelle who’ll be the primary focus of the crowd’s affection.
The final match of the two-game set with Paraguay will wrap up the September international camp. The USWNT will get together again in October for two matches against South Korea that will mark the end of Lloyd’s career in red, white and-blue: Oct. 21 in Kansas City, Kan., and Oct. 26 in St. Paul, Minn.
DeCOURCY: USWNT will struggle to find someone like Lloyd
How to watch USA vs. Paraguay
- Date: Tuesday, Sept. 21
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- TV channel: FS1
- Spanish-language TV: TUDN
- Stream: fuboTV
The match will be televised in English (FS1) and Spanish (TUDN) with both networks available to be streamed on fuboTV (free 7-day trial for new users).
Per U.S. Soccer, the match will kick off at 7:45 p.m. ET.
USWNT vs. Paraguay: Lineups
For its post-Olympic tour, the U.S. roster is composed mainly of players who won bronze in Japan. Head coach Vlatko Andonovski called up three NWSL players who were not part of the Olympic team to make up for a handful of absences: Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns) and Mallory Pugh (Chicago Red Stars).
USWNT star Christen Press opted out to focus on mental health. Out due to injury are goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, midfielders Julie Ertz, Samantha Mewis and Lindsey Horan, and forward Megan Rapinoe.
MORE: Pugh gets three assists in opener vs. Paraguay
Based on the starting XI picked for the first match, we could potentially see wholesale changes, though Lavelle should get a second straight start in front of her hometown crowd and Lloyd could get the satisfaction of another 90 minutes as she nears the end of her time with the USWNT. It could also make sense for the three new players —Sullivan, Pugh and Smith — to get another run to show Andonovski what they can offer.
USWNT Sept. 16 starting lineup (4-3-3, left to right): 18-Adrianna French-GK — 19-Crystal Dunn, 12-Tierna Davidson, 4-Becky Sauerbunn, 5-Kelley O’Hara — 22-Kristie Mewis, 25-Andi Sullivan, 16-Rose Lavelle — 11-Mallory Pugh, 10-Carli Lloyd, 6-Lynn Williams
USWNT subs (8): 21-Jane Campbell-GK, 2-Abby Dahlkemper (72′ for Sauerbrunn), 20-Casey Krueger, 14-Emily Sonnett (63′ for Dunn), 17-Catarina Macario (59′ for Lavelle), 13-Alex Morgan (59′ for Mewis), 7-Tobin Heath (74′ for Williams), 27-Sophia Smith (59′ for Pugh)
Paraguay coach Epifania Benitez has just 18 players available for the two matches against the United States and she only made three subs in the last game. We’ll see whether the four unused players get the nod for the starting XI.
Paraguay Sept. 16 starting lineup (5-4-1, right to left): 1-Cristina Recalde-GK — 2-María Martinez, 3-Limpia Fretes, 5-Tania Riso, 4-Daysy Bareiro, 8-Lorena Alonso — 6-Fany Gauto, 10-Fanny Godoy, 14-Deisy Ojeda, 11-Mirta Pico — 7-Fabiola Sandoval
Paraguay subs (7): 12-Alicia Bobadilla-GK, 15-Sofía Almiron, 13-Fiorela Martínez, 7-Yanina Servín, 16-Monserrath Ayala (63′ for Ojeda), 18-Ramona Martínez (69′ for Maria Martinez), 9-Natalia Pena (45′ for Pico)
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