Austin Gets Glimpse at US Women’s Olympic Soccer Team

The US Women’s National Team made its first appearance in Austin as they practiced for their  friendly match against the Nigerian women’s team.  The match is in preparation for the team’s appearance in the Tokyo Olympic games.  The roster will be pared from 23 to 18 following the match Wednesday evening at Q2 Stadium. 

The USWNT is a team of firsts.  They are top-ranked women’s team in the world, according to FIFA.  They own four World Cups, eight CONCACAF gold medals and four Olympic gold medals.  And the team will make additional history by playing the first soccer match at Q2 Stadium, the home of the Austin FC. 

“We’re honored and thankful for the opportunity to be the first ones to play at the new stadium,” USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski told reporters in a virtual press conference. “It is important to be in areas that the game is growing, and we have a responsibility to help grow the game as much as possible.”  

Sharing his observations on the match against Nigeria, Andonovski offered, “Nigeria is very fast and rapid from the attacking standpoint. I want to see the challenges they present on the counterattack and how we handle those questions, especially in the second half.”  He went on to say “defensively, they are physical. These are different challenges than we saw in the last two games.”