The U.S. women continue their 2023 Women's World Cup preparations with a second friendly against the Republic of Ireland in St. Louis on Tuesday, the final USWNT match before World Cup rosters are named.
Manager Vlatko Andonovski steered the U.S. to a 2-0 victory in the first game back on Saturday, but the match was overshadowed by a serious knee injury to in-form forward Mallory Swanson that likely knocks her out of World Cup selection and interrupts the exciting progression of one of the world's rising attacking talents.
Still, the U.S. must press on with the task at hand — preparing for the World Cup. Several questions must still be answered, and Swanson's potential absence only adds another to the list ahead of the summer's tournament in Australia and New Zealand.
Ireland will be thinking similarly, as they gear up for their Women's World Cup debut. Dutch head coach Vera Pauw, in charge since 2019, was in the spotlight ahead of the first match after she denied allegations of abuse stemming from the NWSL scandal. She's been widely praised for leading Ireland to new heights, and will look to build on that at their first-ever appearance in a major FIFA tournament.
LIVE BLOG: Follow along as the USWNT face the Republic of Ireland for the second time in a week
Watch USA vs Ireland live stream, TV channel
- Date: Tuesday, Apr. 11
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- TV: Universo (Spanish)
- Streaming: Fubo, HBO Max, Peacock
While the first friendly between the USWNT and Ireland was available to watch on TNT (English) and Universo (Spanish), this match will only be televised on Universo. That broadcast will also be streamed on Fubo, which offers a free trial for new users.
The English-language stream of the match will be carried exclusively by HBO Max, with the Spanish-language stream on Peacock.
MORE: Full recap & highlights from USWNT 2-0 win over Ireland in Saturday's friendly
USA vs Ireland projected lineups, team news
U.S. forward Mallory Swanson suffered a serious knee injury in the first match on Saturday and was carted off just before halftime. She was diagnosed with a torn patella tendon and will likely miss the Women's World Cup, a devastating blow to the U.S. attacking unit. NWSL teen sensation Alyssa Thompson was called up to replace Swanson on the roster, and starts on the wing in an exciting audition for a surprise place on the World Cup roster.
Midfielder Julie Ertz, who is still without a club, came off the bench in the first game but is not considered fit enough for a start here. Tierna Davidson, who returned to camp for the first time since tearing her ACL last spring, Casey Krueger, and Kelley O'Hara did not make the matchday squad on Saturday, and it's O'Hara who slides into a full-back role in this match.
Rose Lavelle is a scratch for this game after taking a slight knock in the first match, expected after manager Vlatko Andonovski confirmed it in his pre-match press conference. Among the notable names not on the U.S. roster are Megan Rapinoe (leg), Catarina Macario (ACL), and Christen Press (ACL).
MORE: The latest on Mallory Swanson's knee injury which will sideline her for months
USA confirmed starting lineup (4-3-3): Murphy (GK) — O'Hara, Cook, Sauerbrunn, Huerta — Sanchez, Sullivan, Horan — Thompson, Morgan, Smith.
Our XI in Becky's hometown 🇺🇸#AlwaysPossible | #TodoEsPosible pic.twitter.com/UR2foSjCHx
— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) April 11, 2023
U.S. born Sinead Farrelly, a Gotham FC midfielder who was one of the whistleblowers and victims of the abuse scandal that rocked U.S. women's soccer in 2021 and led to several investigations and changes, was a late addition to the Irish roster and she started in the first match. Farrelly is one of four U.S.-born players on the squad, while 11 members played college soccer in the USA, and she begins today amongst the substitutes.
Veteran defender Aine O'Gorman was a substitute in the first game and starts on the bench again here. Goalkeeper Sophie Whitehouse and forward Alannah McEvoy were not on the gameday roster on Saturday, but it's unclear who was scratched by Ireland today as they named all 15 of their substitutes on their gameday squad. Per the friendly rules, three of them will not be eligible to participate in the match.
On Saturday, Kyra Carusa started up front in the attack and she does so again here, leaving Amber Barrett on the bench as Ireland look to find an answer amongst their extremely thin on striker options.
Rep. of Ireland projected starting lineup (4-5-1): Brosnan (GK) — Payne, Lu. Quinn, Caldwell, McCabe — Littlejohn, O'Sullivan, Lo. Quinn, Connolly, Sheva — Carusa.
STARTING XI | USA v Ireland
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) April 11, 2023
Lucy Quinn and Ruesha Littlejohn come back in to the squad, with Katie McCabe leading us out 💪
Let’s do this 🙌#COYGIG | #USAIRL pic.twitter.com/XhUq5p6zWk
