Jeffrey McWhorter/Associated Press
The United States women’s national team meets Uzbekistan for the first time in program history on Saturday.
The USWNT welcomes the Asian nation to Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio, as part of the team’s preparations for Women’s World Cup qualifying.
Uzbekistan is an unusual opponent for the Americans. It was one of the few available nations in the international window because of World Cup qualifying matches happening across the globe.
Vlatko Andonovski called in a mixture of experienced players and up-and-coming stars for Saturday’s clash.
Andonovski’s goal over the next few months is to find the best combination of players for World Cup qualifying. Saturday’s game should give the USWNT manager a look into which young players could make future rosters.
USWNT vs. Uzbekistan Info
Date: Saturday, April 9
Start Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
Live Stream: FoxSports.com and Fox Sports app
Odds: Available odds can be found on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Preview
The USWNT will use Saturday’s clash against Uzbekistan as a chance to get better internally.
Uzbekistan is 48th in the FIFA women’s rankings, and it should not provide much competition for the top-ranked Americans.
The USWNT is coming off a pair of 5-0 victories that clinched the SheBelieves Cup in February. Those victories were over New Zealand and Iceland, both of whom are top 25 teams in the world rankings.
Vlatko Andonovski called in three uncapped players for Saturday’s game and Tuesday’s clash in Chester, Pennsylvania, which is also against Uzbekistan.
Goalkeepers Bella Bixby and Aubrey Kingsbury and defender Naomi Girma are the uncapped players in the squad.
Midfielders Ashley Sanchez and Jaelin Howell and forwards Ashley Hatch and Trinity Rodman are worth watching as they enter the field on Saturday.
Those four players have fewer than 10 international appearances and are looking to make an impact in limited time ahead of World Cup qualifying.
The two-game April window can also serve as a chance for Catarina Macario to continue her international rise.
Macario received high praise from Andonovski in the pre-match press conference, per The Athletic’s Meg Linehan:
Macario has five goals in 15 USWNT appearances, and she could be one of the main sources of goals over the next two games. The Lyon player bagged a brace in the 5-0 win over Iceland that secured the SheBelieves Cup.
Lindsey Horan, Rose Lavelle, Mallory Pugh and Abby Dahlkemper should receive minutes out of the experienced group of players, but Saturday could serve a larger purpose for the USWNT.
The Americans could use a younger lineup to build some confidence against an opponent that is perceived as much weaker.
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