Concacaf W Championship: USA vs Canada

Available Subs: 2-Ashley Sanchez, 5-Kelley O’Hara, 6-Trinity Rodman, 12-Naomi Girma, 14-Emily Sonnett, 15-Megan Rapinoe, 18-Casey Murphy, 20-Taylor Kornieck, 21-Aubrey Kingsbury, 22-Kristie Mewis, 23-Midge Purce, 24-Sam Coffey

GAME NOTES | FIVE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW – CANADA

• USWNT Starting XI Cap Numbers (including this game): Sauerbrunn (207), Morgan (196), Horan (116), Naeher (83), Lavelle (78), Pugh (78), Sullivan (32), Smith (21), Huerta (19), Fox (17), Cook (13)

• The starting XI against Canada – USA’s fifth unique starting line-up at this Concacaf W Championship – features two different players from the line-up that faced Costa Rica in the semifinals; Closer for Murphy in goal and Fox for Sonnett in defense.
• Today’s starting XI consists of just five players who started against Canada in the Olympic semifinals, the teams’ last meeting: Naeher, Sauerbrunn, Horan, Lavelle and Morgan.

• Horan and Smith are now starting XI’s in every game for USA at the 2022 Concacaf W Championship, both starting for their fifth straight season.
• That starting lineup averages 28 years and has 77 caps per player, with three players – Sauerbrunn, Morgan and Horan – having over 100 caps and three – Huerta, Fox and Cook – having under 20 caps.

• Becky Sauerbrunn becomes captain of the USA for the 36^th Overall time but her first in a final as she reaches her 207^th international appearance for the USA. Sauerbrunn now breaks the tie with Tiffeny Milbrett to take the all-time ninth place on the US national team alone, the Most caps by players in USWNT history have played almost exclusively as defenders.

• goalkeeper Alyssa closer will be making her second start at the Concacaf W Championship as she earns her 83^approx career cap. Naeher, who kept a clean sheet in USA’s second group stage game against Jamaica on July 7, has 48 career shutouts, ranking third in USWNT history. Two of Naeher’s 48 career clean sheets came against Canada. Naeher, who had a stellar tournament in Tokyo, started against Canada in the Olympic semifinals but was sidelined in 30^th minute and the result 0-0 with a knee injury that would sideline her for the rest of the year.

• Alan Cook will be making her fourth start at the Concacaf W Championship as she celebrates her 14th^th Career cap for the USWNT. Cook, who is playing in her first competitive tournament with the USWNT, leads the USA this year with 746 minutes of play. This will be Cook’s 12^th Started in USA’s last 14 games, a span stretching back to November 2021 games in Australia.

• Sofia Hurta will make her second consecutive start and third start overall at the Concacaf W Championship as she celebrates her 19th^th Cap with the USA. Huerta, who will now have seen the field in all five Concacaf W Championship games, has two assists in 2022 and has also helped score two own goals. Seven of Huerta’s nine career starts will now have happened since her return to the national team in November 2021.

• Forward Mallory Pugh will make her fourth start at the Concacaf W Championship as she earns her 78^th career cap. Pugh leads USA with seven assists in 2022, two of which came at the tournament, and hit her 24th^th International goal in victory over Costa Rica on July 14. Pugh is in America’s second final and first since 2016 Olympic qualifiers, when she took the lead in America’s 2-0 win over Canada in the league game.

• Lindsey Horan will start her fifth straight game at the 2022 Concacaf W Championship as she finishes in 116th place^th international appearance. Horan, who led the USA with six goals in the 2020 Concacaf Olympic Qualifying Tournament, has eight goals and eight assists in 18 career games in Concacaf qualifiers and has two goals and two assists in seven career games against Canada.

• Sophia Smith do you deserve 21^St Kappe as she achieves her 11th place as team leader^th Beginning of 2022 and fifth tournament start in a row. Smith, who is playing her first competitive tournament with the USWNT, leads the USWNT with seven goals this year and scored a brace within the first eight minutes of America’s 5-0 win over Jamaica on July 7.

• After a brace in America’s opening game against Haiti Alex Morgan will make her fourth start of the tournament as she earns her 196^th Cap and moves past Shannon Boxx for solo possession of 13^th on the US all-time caps list. The brace against Haiti marked Morgans 29th multi-goal game of his career, third best in US history. She has now scored 21 goals in 23 qualifiers for the USWNT, the third most in US history.

• midfield player Rose Lavalle will make her fourth start and fifth overall appearance of this tournament as she earns her 78^th Cap for USA. Lavelle scored America’s third goal for their third goal of the year in a 5-0 win over Jamaica on July 7 provided her sixth assist of 2022 in USA’s win over Costa Rica on July 14. Lavelle, who scored twice in four career games against Canada, has been directly involved in nine goals in USA’s last eight games, scoring three goals and contributing six assists.

• Andy Sullivan do you deserve 32^nd Career Cap on her fourth start at the Concacaf W Championship, which will be her first start and appearance for the USWNT in a Finals. Sullivan is third overall in the USWNT this year with 658 minutes played, placing 10th overall^th early 2022.

• defender Emil Fuchs returns to USA starting lineup after missing last two games in COVID protocols. Fox started in USA’s games against Haiti and Jamaica and will earn her 17th^th career cap. She will now have appeared in 13 of USA’s 16 games since the October 2021 FIFA window, and will be her 12th^th Start in this period of time.