USWNT vs Wales, summary: Rodman, score, stats & updates | World Cup 2023 send-off game
USWNT vs Wales: as it happened
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That's all for today, folks. Thanks for joining me for the AS USA coverage of this intriguing game.
See you 'down under' for the World Cup!
Joe
Full-time report:
I don't think it's a shock to say that is not the game we were expecting. The USWNT struggled to beat a clearly inferior Wales side as they said goodbye to their fans ahead of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
For the majority of the game, which I can talk about separate to the goals, the USWNT were awkward, lacking in inspiration and frustrating to watch. Their attacks often lead to nothing and fizzled out before becoming dangerous, meaning a tough-tackling yet savvy Wales side went into the half-time break with the scoreline at 0-0.
The second half was, without being perfect by any means, a lot better. Morgan was replaced by Rodman and the change flipped the script on the pitch, with the US looking more dynamic and dangerous, with the pace of the forward players causing a threat to the tiring Welsh defensive line.
The two goals came in quick succession with Rodman first getting on the end of a squared pass across goal after a canyon opened up in the Welsh defensive line; the second game just minutes later and was a genuine golazo from the edge of the area.
Overall, the result is a good one but the performance will leave question marks that will no doubt turn into doubts and changing possibilities over the starting XI.
We will have to see what happens next time the USWNT take to the pitch... which will be in the World Cup!
Full time!
The USWNT wave goodbye to the fans with a hard-fought win over Wales!
A few Welsh attempts a long passes over the top of the USA defence speak to their fatigue levels as they are all cut out easily by the defenders.
The USA are content to keep the ball and see the game out, it seems.
4 added minutes.
James gets on the end of a bouncing ball and although she makes a nice contact, the shot fizzes wide.
We're back underway.
Rodman gets the ball on the edge of the box after Wales clear two or three half chances. The player takes a few touches to steady herself before whipping a wonderful shot into the top right corner!
It's Wales with every player back in the final stages as they look to hold off the USA...
Rodman plays to Horan on the edge of the box who then receives the return pass before firing over the bar.
Rodman has been the shining light of this USWNT in the second half.
Rodman waits for the cross from Horan that is collected by Clark. Wales are tiring and space is opening up on the pitch; the quality of the US squad is showing now.
Sophia Smith gets the ball inside the box after some shaky defending from Wales but her shot is then well blocked.
The ball is cleared and whipped back in towards Dunn, who heads into the grasp of Clark.
Holland is (rightly) booked for that challenge.
Sophia Smith is brought down as she burns away on the counter attack.
Wales work the ball well in the final third and win a corner after Huerta chose not to take any risks and play the ball out behind goal.
Ten to go.
Mewis and Sonnett ON
Sullivan and Cook OFF
Back underway.
The ball is slipped through a gap in the Wales defence towards Sophia Smith who squares to Rodman for the tap in!
TRINITY RODMAN
Rodman can't get on the end of a ball over the top as Roberts manages to get in front of her as it falls.
Cain takes advantage of a mistake in the buildup of the US and fires a ferocious shot from the edge of the box that smacks into the side netting!
CHANCE FOR WALES!!
Huert finds an inch of space on the right side of the box but her shot/cross was weak and easily saved. USA uninspiring again in the final third.
20 minutes to go.
Sullivan heads towards goal from a corner and Green clears off the line!
HUGE CHANCE FOR THE USA!
Girma makes her first mistake today by playing a simple yet misplaced pass towards Horan, which is cut out.
Huerta, Williams and Demelo ON
Fox, Sanchez and Thompson OFF
Finally, Fox gets down the wing from the right and slides a low cross towards the penalty spot, where Thompson is there waiting.
However, the winger mistimes her shot and fires over the bar from just a few yards out.
THOMPSON!
HUGE CHANCE FOR THE USA!
Alex Morgan update:
Alex Morgan has not come out to the bench, she has remained in the dressing room. The USWNT technical staff did not want to confirm if she had an injury or not.
Evans nips in and gets on the end of a through ball that Rodman controlled poorly inside the box.
Various US players are now warming up, except Rapinoe.
Cain almost gets on the end of a cross from the left after simply stunning pressure from Wales, who penned the USA back into the corner of their own defensive third and caused them to panic like crazy.
Horan's pass through the lines finds Rodman, who can't then make out Thompson among the barrage of players on the edge of the box, and another move breaks down.
Horan fouled again, just seconds later, and springs up off the ground to get into the face of James.
Frustration creeping in for the US side, perhaps?
The first card of the game goes to Josie Green, who went all in on Horan.
Dunn fires over the bar!
The ball dropped kindly to her on the edge of the box but her shot was skewed and looped way over the top of the goal.
Wales are holding their opponents off very well: their defensive effort, away from home and in such blazing heat, is incredible.
Chance!
Rodman gets in behind the left side of the Wales defence and hits a low cross that finds Sanchez, but her shot is wayward.
The USWNT start in a forward-thinking manner, and Horan whips a wild cross over the heads of the onlooking players in the box.
And we're off for the second half!
Wales get us going.
Wales: Morgan ON
Woodham OFF
USA: Rodman ON
Morgan OFF
The fans have not stopped all game!
OK, maybe during that Wales attack towards the end of the half, they all gasped in shock. But, apart from that, they have made a fantastic noise all game.
Half-time report:
That will no doubt be an incredibly frustrating 45 minutes for the USWNT, who have looked clunky and wooden in the attacking moments, which has been the majority of the half.
Morgan has not yet appeared in the game, and it is only Smith and Dunn who have looked bright. The best chance fell to Lindsey Horan, but even that was a difficult header that was well saved by Clark.
Maybe we need to stop talking about the US and focus on Wales who, apart from their lack of composure in the final third, have been excellent. They have defended everything superbly well, especially Woodham, who is having a fantastic game against Sophia Smith on the USA's right side.
Things might need to change in the second half if the US want to get a result, but the positive thing is to see everyone fit and healthy ahead of the World Cup in a few days time.
Right before the whistle went, James collided with Cook and now the Welsh midfielder is on the floor.
Half-time!
That's all for now!
Into the final minute of added time.
Dunn fires a cross over from the left and it flies away behind the goal.
I'd love to say that amazing, interesting things are happening right now, but Wales' plan is clearly to get to the dressing room alive so they're taking their sweet time with everything.
4 added minutes.
CHANCE!
Sophia Smith's shot is blocked by a gaggle of Welsh legs inside the box and dribbles wide of the goal.
The ball from the right was good and landed near the far post where Sanchez was waiting, but the midfielder closed her eyes and hit the ball using the top of her head, which must have hurt.
SANCHEZ HEADS OVER!!
We've seen a few cheap free-kicks given for the US over the past couple of minutes. Something tells me Wales will be more than happy to go into half-time with the scoreline at 0-0. Sullivan to take...
Clark catches Sullivan's free-kick from 40 yards out. Another wasted chance that Wales defend with ease.
Five minutes to go.
My, oh, my... Wales get in behind after a poor ball from Dunn which allows a 3 vs 3 that silences the crowd instantly.
Cook collects the cross from the right and clears, but that's a warning to the US that there are two teams on the pitch today.
An offside call against Thompson causes a few arms to fly up in the air in frustration as the USWNT can't find a way to get a clear shot on goal.
Sánchez has a shot that is blocked and bounces over!
Great defending again from Wales, this time with Ladd, who blocks Fox's cross before getting in the way of a Morgan effort on goal.
Thompson, who looks to have recovered, fires in a cross from the right that is also hooked away.
J. Green hoofs away the ball from inside the box after it drops to Morgan from a corner.
Woodham again with another fantastic block against Smith, who cannot get past her so far today.
After another pause for injury, this time to Cain, we're back again.
Hmm... Thompson is feeling her ankle and is now limping slightly. One to keep an eye on.
As comfortable as the USWNT have been, I can't help but feel they won't be happy with this performance so far: something feels clunky and a little wooden.
If it's not coming from Dunn or Smith (who hasn't managed once to get past Woodham), I don't see how the goal is going to arrive.
Nice play from the USA who work it through the middle before finding Dunn on the left, who whips in a dangerous cross that is missed by Morgan and cleared away.
We're back underway.
Despite the hugely swollen eye Woodham has suffered, I think she's going to carry on.
Ouch. A big hit for Woodham, who has clashed with Thompson.
It's a headinjury, so we've got the medical staff on the pitch.
Another corner for the USWNT on the left after Dunn forces the opposition defence to play the safe option and kick it out.
The ball flies just over the head of Sullivan and Horan can't chase the loose ball as it rolls out of play.
Sophia Smith, again, does brilliantly in a tight space to move herself into a position to create something. Her final pass is slightly under-hit and theWelsh defence manage to scrape it away.
The US are dominating possession now as Smith tries a wonderful skill to get past Woodham, but the defender stands strong yet again.
Cook loses the ball inside the box as James nips in to steal it from her - luckily the defender stuck a leg out and somehow got a touch before the player could fire a shot off!
BIG CHANCE FOR WALES!
It was offside, but that was the first time we've seen Morgan get involved with a ball over the top of the defence.
Morgan fires across goal!
The players on the bench are covering their heads with wet towels as the sun beats down on the stadium...
We're back underway, and Wales have one player less.
K. Green is down with an injury; the referee is asking her to leave the pitch for treatment.
The ball was swung in from the right from Sullivan and caught a few defenders off guard as Lindsey Horan got in front of them to head downwards towards goal from the penalty spot.
Horan with the header! Clark saved well!
BIG CHANCE FOR THE USA!
Dunn's effort from distance is well blocked, but the USWNT are finding plenty of space as Wales drop deeper by the second.
Smith allows the ball from Horan to run past her as she spins in an attempt to get past Woodham, who followed her well.
Thompson wins a free-kick in the middle of the pitch after protesting heavily to referee, Hernández. It looked very soft, but it means the US have the ball back and can continue to play their game.
Cain is down, holding her face.
Dunn gets down the left and fires in a cross smacked Roberts in the face. She looks OK to carry on.
Wales aren't managing to keep the ball for any length of time in the opening stages and the USWNT press is working well.
Smith gets her first touches on the right wing, and she goes up against Woodham who blocks her driving run well and forces the winger to dribble the ball out of play.
Wales are sitting off in a very clear 4-2-3-1 as the US play the ball around the ball.
Holland recovers and tries a searching ball towards Jones down the right, but Girma cuts it out well.
A fast start by the USWNT, who force a few early mistakes from Wales and allow Thompson to burst in down the left, but the ball rolls out of play.
Here we go!
And we're off!
It gets better, there's a mini, remote-controlled car to bring the ball to the referees! First ChatGPT, now this.
Wow, we've got fireworks and pyrotechnics for this rendition of the anthem, as well as a military flyover. Tick all that off your bingo card.
But first, the national anthems...
We've got the national anthems now, and I must say, the Welsh one is very grand and trumpet-y.
As for the US anthem, well, you know how it goes. Well sung by Kennedy Holmes.
The USWNT are in white shirts, navy shorts and white socks, while Wales are in red shirts, white shorts and red socks.
Here come the players!
We're almost ready to go as the players head out of the tunnel at the PayPal Park - the atmosphere is incredible!
Ten to go!
The teams have gone down the tunnel and are making their way to the dressing rooms for the final team talk before the game kicks off!
A reminder of the XIs:
USWNT:
Naeher
Fox - Girma - Cook - Dunn
Sullivan - Sánchez - Horan
Morgan - Smith - Thompson
Wales:
Clark
Woodham - Ladd - Evans - Roberts
J. Green - Jones - James
K. Green - Cain - Holland
Not long to go now!
The two teams are out on the PayPal Park pitch for their pre-game warmups and that means we're almost ready to go!
Lindsey Horan pre-game:
It's amazing to have this send-off game.
The fans being as loud as possible is great. We want to get the win and enjoy it.
Morgan says she'll miss Megan...
I don't have a crying emoji on this keyboard, and I suppose that's a good thing. Rapinoe is going to be a huge loss to football and women's sport in general, as well as for wider society.
Let's hope she keeps her head above the parapet and stays in the spotlight for us all to enjoy and support, because we're all team Rapinoe.
Wales team news in!
Clark; Woodham, Evans, Ladd, R. Roberts; Green, James (c), Holland, K. Green; Cain, Jones
Team news: Sophie Ingle is suspended while Jess Fishlock misses out due to injury.
OK, fine, I'll mention the colourfully-haired elephant in the room.
MeganRapinoe, after winning... wait for it... two World Cups, Olympic gold, the Ballon d’Or, NWSL Shield, Division 1 Féminine, Coupe de France Féminine and spending 17 years representing the USWNT, has announced that this will be her final season as a professional footballer.
The historic figure in world sport will play her final games for the USWNT at the World Cup and will of course be looking to give the team their fifth star.
Nothing in football is eternal, and unfortunately, Megan Rapinoe cannot escape the fact that her time has come. At 38-years-old, Rapinoe has announced that she will retire when the 2023 NWSL season comes to an end, with US Soccer publishing a statement saying “[she] will play in her final World Cup this summer in Australia and New Zealand and then will finish the 2023 NWSL season with her long-time club OL Reign.”
Rapinoe’s debut for the US came against the Republic of Ireland in San Diego in 2006, and has now amassed 199 caps over 17 years; she will soon become the 14th U.S. player in history to reach 200 caps, which she will likely do against Wales (a game you can follow on AS USA). Currently, she has 63 international goals with 73 assists to her name, but, knowing Rapinoe, expect that number to grow before she finally bows out.
Who does Alex Morgan think are favourites for the World Cup?
I think England obviously winning the Euros, they showed they’re one of the top contenders.
You cant rule out Germany, they always show up big in the World Cup. Brazil is a powerhouse... there are so many good teams.
I think the team just need to get the right rhythm and anyone can make it to the final or be knocked out early, it just take the right things coming together.
Who is the referee for the game?
Karen Hernández will be the referee for today's game. The 28-year-old Mexican will be assisted by Mayra Mora and Jessica Morales, while Diana Perez Borja is the fourth official.
USWNT starting XI!
We've got a few changes to what one might say is the strongest XI, but nevertheless, that's a hugely entertaining team that has been picked by the coach!
USWNT to wear their bespoke home kit for the clash
Spotted at the top of the Twitter photo, we can see that the US will be wearing their unique home shirtfor the game against Wales, which features a paintsplatterpattern. Both the Nike and US Soccer websites have incredibly detailed explanations as to the meaning behind the seemingly arbitrary pattern:
...the design, colors and aesthetic of the jerseys were heavily influenced and built by the players. Those players insights were combined with Nike designers' inspiration from abstract expressionism, an international art movement that started in the 1940s in New York and shifted the art epicenter from Europe to the U.S., similar to what the USA team has done for women’s soccer.
Rapinoe speaks ahead of the tie:
The zoom-out picture in women’s sports now feels like we’re out of the dogged, fight phase.
Not that there’s not still a lot to fight for, but the acceptable cognitive dissonance and denial of what we actually are, how incredible women’s sport is how popular it is, how profitable we can be, what the business actually is: I think those days are pretty much long gone that would be quite a tough and embarrassing position to still keep.
You’ve seen what’s happened since the last World Cup, with the stadiums selling out, or the women’s Final Four, cricket league in India, there are so many examples of this. This is a moment we’ll look back to and say ‘nothing was ever the same after this Women’s World Cup'.
PayPal Park... is FULL!
The hype is real, and the USWNT are going to get an absolutely stunning send off; the 18,000-seater home of the San Jose Earthquakes is going to be rocking!
Alex Morgan and Linsdey Horan have been named as USWNT captains for the upcoming World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. When Horan and Morgan are on the field at the same time, Horan will be the player captaining the team.
Defender Becky Sauerbrunn, who would normally be among those wearing the armband, will unfortunately be missing from the tournament due to a foot injury.
Check out all the information regarding the captaincy of the USWNT
What's the record between the USWNT and Wales?
Well, it's an interesting question. The two teams have never actually played against each other before, so we're in for something entirely new this afternoon.
While this will be the first ever meeting between the Women’s National Teams, the USA and Wales played against each other at the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup in Qatar, battling it out to a 1-1 draw in the opening game of the first round.
USWNT have youth on their side...
Naomi Girma, TrinityRodman, Sophia Smith and Alyssa Thompson are the first players born in the 2000s to be named to a Women’s World Cup roster for the USA.
Trinity, who plays for Washington Spirit, is the daughter of famous basketball player, Dennis Rodman.
The 21-year-old has played 47 times for the Washington outfit, scoring13 goals. If she plays today, it will be her 18th international cap.
Which teams are in the USWNT's World Cup group?
The US were drawn into Group E alongside Vietnam and Portugal , as well as 2019 Women’s World Cup runners-up, The Netherlands .
All of the matches in the first round will take place in New Zealand, with the squad moving between Auckland and Wellington for the three games.
All the usual names are in the USWNT squad that was announced by manager Vlatko Andonovski late last month, with soccer veterans Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe (more on her later) and Lindsey Horan all set to be involved.
The team does have a lot of exciting young talent as well, who will be vying to make an impact. Keep an eye on Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith. These two really are the real deal.
Paul has got you covered with the rest of the squad list for the tournament...
US Soccer's pre-match message:
Following the final whistle, fans in attendance are encouraged to stay and be part of the WWC Send-Off Ceremony, during which each player on the roster will be recognized prior to departing for New Zealand. The celebration will include pyrotechnics, in-stadium video displays and more to celebrate the team’s impending departure for the World Cup.
Welcome!
Hello and welcome to a very exciting event we've got for you, live on AS USA.
It's the USWNT vs Wales in what is the final game before the current world champions head to the upcoming World Cup in Australia and New Zealand!
It's Joe here today to guide you through the action as it happens.