This coming Thursday, July 9, the USWNT will face off South Africa in Chicago at Solider Field. This will be the first of the two friendly send off games to Rio for the USWNT. Recently, the USWNT has had several victories within these past friendly games. This past June they faced Japan, one of their biggest competitors and had a tying score of three and then faced them several days later to a solid win with two to zero.
According to FIFA rankings of women's teams, South Africa is listed as the 52nd team for their skill as the US is ranked number one. US soccer stated that this will be the first match between the countries in an international friendly. This game will give insight to both the US and South Africa (SA) as both teams will be participating in the Olympics this summer. Although the US is placed in group G, while SA is in group E, this match will be an important factor to see where both teams stand and what they need to improve on.
Jill Ellis, head coach of the USWNT, has twenty-four players on her roster for this game. Two of those players, midfielders Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe will be returning to the pitch as they've recovered from recent injuries. Their appearance after being off of the field can definitely affect the ending score of this game as Lloyd is always ready to score with the assistance of Rapinoe.
US goalkeeper Hope Solo will be coming into this game against SA with 99 careers shutouts. With the completion of this game, Solo strives to make this her 100th shutout and if she accomplishes in doing so, she will be the first player in history to achieve this record
How South Africa's sponsorship was a game changer, literally
Sasol is a chemical corporation that has funded SA, which has caused their team to become more professional to where they can compete in major tournaments such as the Olympic's in Rio this summer. SA now has a national league that consists of 144 teams spread throughout the different provinces of Africa. The SA women's team participated in the 2012 Olympics and also made it to the final of the 2012 African Women's Championship where they placed fourth in the tournament.With an uprise in soccer for SA, they are grateful for this opportunity to face the current World Cup Champions to be able to prepare for this upcoming competitive tournament.
"We're very excited to play a country that we've never faced before as well as get a game against another team that will be competing in the Olympics."
- Jill Ellis, head coach of the USWNT
The US and SA have both had recent accomplishments, which have impacted their teams in the way they've improved their skill and will continue to take part in how they play in this upcoming match. The stakes will be high as this is the first match against each other and could even be a significant game that impacts the results in the Olympics. Both teams will have an insight to how the other plays that their other competitors won't have. Be sure to tune in on this important match on July 9 at 12pm CT on FS1.