USWNT Set for October Friendly vs. European Champion England

The U.S. women’s national team is in line for a proper Women’s World Cup tune-up this fall, with a trip to visit the freshly crowned European champions on the docket.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that England will host the U.S. at Wembley Stadium, the site of Sunday’s watershed Women’s Euro title, on Oct. 7, though the matchup comes with a slight condition. England must polish off its automatic berth to the Women’s World Cup in September in order to have its October window unencumbered by a UEFA playoff. If England can do what it’s expected to do—either by taking at least a point off Austria in an away match Sept. 3 or by beating Luxembourg at home three days later—then it’ll pave the way for a matchup of two titans.

“To get a chance to play the European champions in London at Wembley is an opportunity that doesn’t come around very often, so we’re all thankful that the match could be arranged, and we’ll be hoping that England finish their qualifying campaign in September,” U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski, who attended the Euros, said in a statement. “This is exactly the kind of match we need at exactly the right time in our World Cup preparations so we can test ourselves against a very talented England team. I saw England play live at the Euros, and I’m looking forward to an amazing atmosphere at Wembley and another big event for women’s soccer on Oct. 7.”

U.S. Soccer said that if England is unable to automatically qualify for New Zealand/Australia 2023 next month, that the two federations would “work to agree (on) a new date for the two teams to meet in future.” Should the scheduled match come to fruition, the U.S. would set up a second European friendly during the October window, “with an opponent and venue to be confirmed soon.”

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The U.S. women haven’t played at Wembley since claiming Olympic gold there in 2012. The meeting vs. England will be a rematch of their 2019 Women’s World Cup semifinal, a game the U.S. won to set up a final date vs. the Netherlands, which, at the time, was coached by current England coach Sarina Wiegman. Alyssa Naeher’s 84th-minute save on a Steph Houghton penalty kick preserved the 2–1 semifinal victory, which was also memorable for Alex Morgan’s tea-sipping goal celebration.

England is the one basking in the glow of a 2–1 scoreline now, following Chloe Kelly’s extra-time heroics vs. Germany in Sunday’s European final. That win, enjoyed in front of over 87,000 fans, now sets the stage for a world champ vs. European champ showdown, which could be a tone-setter for what follows next summer down under.