The U.S. women’s national team has announced it will face Nigeria in a pair of friendlies in September.
The first game will take place on September 3 at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, and the second will be on September 6 at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.
“First, I’m just excited to play two matches against Nigeria. They have some very talented players who will present a lot of different problems for us to solve on both sides of the ball,” said USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski in a federation release.
“Secondly, of course we’re looking forward to bringing the team back to one of the best soccer cities and best soccer stadiums in the United States in Kansas City, as well as getting to play our first game at Audi Field, which I’ve visited several times for NWSL games and is also a fantastic venue for our team to play in front of our home fans.”
The USWNT has not played in Washington, D.C. since 2017, and the match will mark the first time it has played at Audi Field after 10 previous games at RFK Stadium.
Speaking from Mexico, where the USWNT has qualified for the World Cup at the CONCACAF W Championship and has a semifinal against Costa Rica on Thursday, Andi Sullivan said she is looking forward to the challenge that Nigeria will present.
“I think that Nigeria will test us in a different way than this tournament,” Sullivan said in a press conference. “So we’re looking to really just stretch ourselves in any which way that will prepare us for any circumstance so that we know that we can handle anything.”
[lawrence-related id=4100,4431,4432]