Game in East Hartford to help U.S. women build toward World Cup qualifying

Fans wave to the players after Team USA’s 4-0 win over Mexico Monday at Rentschler Field in July 2021.

When the U.S. women’s soccer team hits the field on Thursday in Pennsylvania to face Portugal, it will be 113 days since their last match in July.

Then, the Americans will play an additional two matches in less than a week with a match at Rentschler Field in East Hartford on Sunday against Portugal at 4 p.m. and a match against New Zealand on Wednesday, Oct. 29 in Kansas City.

“We are extremely excited to get back together with the team,” said American head coach Emma Hayes. “There has been a big gap from July until now and we’ve watched many club games. Now, it’s time to start the build towards qualifying for the 2027 World Cup. We want to maximize every minute we have together, push the players, and keep the momentum going. These three fantastic games ahead of us will help us do that.”

Tickets are still available for the women’s national team’s first appearance in East Hartford since 2021 when they played a pair of games against Mexico in preparation for the COVID-19 delayed 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The U.S. men’s deaf national team will face Germany at 1 p.m. at Rentschler Field before the women’s game against Portugal.

Before the women’s national team contest, Stratford native Alyssa Naeher will be honored before the game. In honor of Naeher, limited-edition collectible bobbleheads will be given to the first 2,000 fans through the gates.

Naeher, who retired from the national team at the end of 2024, was voted as the 2024 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year. She was just the second goalkeeper to win the award in the 40 years it has been given out. Goalie Hope Solo won in 2009.

Naeher played every minute of the 2024 Olympics, allowed just two goals and made crucial saves in all of the knockout round games on the way to the gold medal. The USA won all three knockout games at the Olympics by 1-0 scores – two of which went into overtime – and with her shutout of Brazil in the gold medal game, she became the first goalkeeper in women’s soccer history with shutouts in a World Cup final (2019) and an Olympic final (2024).

Hayes and U.S. soccer recently released the names of the 25 players eligible to play in the three-game series beginning Thursday.

The meetings with Portugal will be the first since the final match of group play at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, a 0-0 draw that was good enough to send the USA to the knockout round. It was Portugal’s first-ever draw with the USA.

Portugal has 12 players on this roster that were on its 2023 World Cup Team, 10 of whom played against the USA in group play.

Five European-based players whom Hayes chose to not call up for the late June/early July FIFA window to give them adequate rest after a long European season, return to the fold — midfielder Lindsey Heaps, defender Emily Fox, forward Catarina Macario, midfielder Lily Yohannes and goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce. All five are currently playing in the UEFA Champions League for their respective clubs.

The American roster features just one first-time call-up in defender Kennedy Wesley, who is in her second season with the San Diego Wave.

Wesley, a Southern California native, has played for the USA at the U-17, U-20 and U-23 levels. She played in the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup as one of the younger players on the roster.

Earlier this year, she traveled to Germany with the U.S. U-23 WNT for two games against the host and played in both. She was one of the five allowed overage players on that roster as she has aged out of the U-23 WNT program.

Forward Trinity Rodman, who was named to the roster, will not attend training camp after suffering a knee injury while playing for the Washington Spirit on Oct. 15 in the Concacaf W Champions Cup. Rodman will not be replaced on the roster, which will now consist of 25 players. Twenty-three players will dress for the respective games.

U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position (Club; Caps/Goals)

October Matches vs. Portugal & New Zealand

GOALKEEPERS (3): Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign FC; 2) Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals; 4), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United, ENG; 3)

DEFENDERS (8): Jordyn Bugg (Seattle Reign FC; 2/0), Emily Fox (Arsenal FC, ENG; 67/1), Lilly Reale (Gotham FC; 2/0), Tara McKeown (Washington Spirit; 8/0), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash; 6/1), Emily Sams (Orlando Pride; 5/0), Emily Sonnett (Gotham FC; 110/2), Kennedy Wesley (San Diego Wave; 0/0)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC; 38/4), Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes, FRA; 167/38), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current; 6/1), Rose Lavelle (Gotham FC; 113/25), Lo’eau LaBonta (Kansas City Current, 2/0)Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC; 9/2), Jaedyn Shaw (Gotham FC; 26/8), Lily Yohannes (OL Lyonnes, FRA; 8/1)

FORWARDS (7): Michelle Cooper (Kansas City Current; 8/1), Catarina Macario (Chelsea FC, ENG; 24/11), Yazmeen Ryan (Houston Dash; 12/2), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville; 8/1), Ally Sentnor (Kansas City Current; 12/4), Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea FC, ENG; 22/3)

Team Portugal roster
Goalkeepers (3): 1-Inês Pereira* (Deportivo De La Coruna, ESP), 12-Patrícia Morais, (S.C. Braga), 22-Sierra Cota-Yarde (AFC Toronto, CAN)                                  

Defenders (9): 2-Catarina Amado* (S.L. Benfica), 3-Lúcia Alves* (S.L. Benfica), 4-Alice Marques (Sevilla FC, ESP), 5-Bárbara Lopes, (S.C.U Torreense), 15-Carole Costa* (S.L. Benfica), 18-Carolina Correia (S.C.U Torreense), 19-Diana Gomes* (S.L. Benfica), 20-Beatriz Fonseca (Sporting CP), 24-Cancelinha Érica (Sporting CP)          

Midfielders (7): 6-Andreia Jacinto* (Real Sociedad (ESP), 7-Francisca Nazareth* (FC Barcelona (ESP), 8-Maria Alagoa (S.C. Braga), 11-Tatiana Pinto* (Juventus FC, ITA), 13-Fátima Pinto* (Racing Club Strasbourg (FRA), 14-Dolores Silva* (Levante UD, ESP), 16-Andreia Faria (Al Nassr FC (SAU)

Forwards (5): 9-Stephanie Ribeiro (UNAM (MEX), 10-Jéssica Silva* (Al-Hilal, SAU), 17-Diana Silva* (S.L. Benfica), 21-Maísa Correia (Sporting CP), 23-Carolina Santiago (Sporting CP)

*Member of 2023 FIFA World Cup Team.

Thursday, Oct. 23
U.S. women’s national team vs. Portugal
At Chester, Pa.
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Cable television: TNT, truTV; Streaming: HBO Max (English), Peacock (Spanish)
Radio: Westwood One (English), Fútbol de primera (Spanish)

Sunday, Oct. 26
U.S. men’s deaf national team vs. Germany
At East Hartford
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
Cable television: TNT, truTV; Streaming: HBO Max (English); Universo and Peacock (Spanish)
Radio: Westwood One

U.S. women’s national team vs. Portugal
At East Hartford
Kickoff: 4 p.m.
Cable television: TNT, truTV; Streaming: HBO Max (English), Universo and Peacock (Spanish)
Radio: Westwood One (English)

Wednesday, Oct. 29
U.S. women’s national team vs. New Zealand
At Kansas City
Kickoff: 8 p.m., EST
Cable television: TNT, truTV; Streaming: HBO Max (English), Universo and Peacock (Spanish)
Radio: Westwood One (English) and FDP (Spanish)

Previous U.S. women’s national team games in East Hartford
July 5, 2021: U.S. 4, Mexico 0 (state record 27,758 fans)
July 1, 2024: U.S. 4, Mexico 0
July 29, 2018: Australia 1, U.S. 1
April 6, 2016: U.S. 7, Columbia 0
June 19, 2014: France 2, U.S. 2
Oct. 23, 2012: Germany 2, U.S. 2
July 17, 2010: U.S. 3, Sweden 0
July 14, 2007. U.S. 1, Norway 0
August 1, 2004: U.S. 3, China 1