USWNT Will Face Wales in San Jose in World Cup Send-Off Match

The U.S. Women’s National Team will play its 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Send Off Match on July 9 in San Jose against Wales, marking the first meeting between the two countries in women’s soccer.

The match at PayPal Park, which will be the home stadium for the recently announced NWSL expansion team in the Bay Area, will kick off at 1 p.m. PT on TNT. The match will be followed by a special on-field sendoff ceremony, giving the fans a chance to cheer the team on as it embarks on its journey to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The match be the 52nd for the USWNT in the state of California, which has hosted more matches than any other state.

“When the 2023 World Cup roster comes together for the first time in San Jose, it will signify a lot of hard work by coaches, players and staff over the past few years to get to that point, so we’re really looking forward to having an exciting, productive camp and playing one last match to fine tune some things before we leave for New Zealand,” said U.S. head coach Vlatko Andonovski. “For everyone involved, the opportunity to be a part of a World Cup doesn’t come along very often so we are going to make sure to appreciate and take advantage of every moment we have together.”

Wales will be the 56th different country the USWNT has faced in its history and the 30th from Europe. Wales just missed qualifying for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, losing in the second round of the UEFA playoffs 2-1 in overtime to Switzerland.

At the World Cup, which is taking place from July 20 through August 20, the USA will open Group E play against Vietnam on July 22 at Eden Park in Auckland. The USA then faces Netherlands on July 27 at Wellington Regional Stadium in Wellington followed by Portugal on August 1 at Eden Park in Auckland.