When is USA soccer team's first match at Women's World Cup 2023? Date, time, opponent for USWNT group stage opener

The United States, ranked No. 1 in the world by FIFA, are set to begin the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand on July 21.

Alex Morgan, Sophia Smith, and the top-ranked USWNT are looking to defend their title won in each of the last two Women's World Cups. Nobody in the history of the men's or women's World Cup has won three in a row.

The tournament will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand, which is across the globe from the USA. While the U.S. will play their opening two matches at a favorable hour in the evening, other games will see the USWNT play in the late hours of the night and into the early morning, which will make watching the games a bit more difficult.

Of note, it will be winter in Australia and New Zealand during July and August, meaning it could potentially be chilly for some games, although it doesn't get nearly as cold in Australia and New Zealand during the winter as it does in some parts of the United States.

MORE: Complete 2023 Women's World Cup schedule

When is USWNT first match at the 2023 Women's World Cup?

The United States were drawn into Group E at the 2023 Women's World Cup alongside the Netherlands, Portugal, and Vietnam. They will meet onc

USA vs Vietnam (Group E, Matchday 1)

Vlatko Andonovski and the USWNT will first take the field in Auckland, New Zealand against Vietnam on Saturday, July 22 locally, with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. local time. In the United States, that means the match will kick off the previous day, Friday, July 21, at 9 p.m. ET & 6 p.m. PT.

USA vs Netherlands (Group E, Matchday 2)

They will then match up against the Netherlands with a local time kickoff of 1 p.m. on July 27 (9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT on July 26).

USA vs Portugal (Group E, Matchday 3)

The Americans will then finish the group stage against Portugal with a local time kickoff of 7 p.m. on August 1 (3 a.m. ET / 12 a.m. PT).

MORE: Breaking down the USA's 2023 World Cup roster

Round of 16

From there, should the USA qualify for the knockout round, they would begin against a Group G team on August 6 in Australia. Group G features Sweden, South Africa, Italy, and Argentina.

Depending on their group finish, that match would be played in Sydney at 12 p.m. local time (10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT on Aug. 5) or in Melbourne at 7 p.m. local time (5 a.m. ET / 2 a.m. PT).

USA Group E schedule for 2023 Women's World Cup

What is the time difference between USA and New Zealand?

The 2023 Women's World Cup will be joint hosted by both Australia and New Zealand, which is on the other side of the globe.

The United States will play all three of their group stage matches in New Zealand, with two matches in Auckland and one in Wellington.

Both Auckland and Wellington are in New Zealand Standard Time (NZST), which is 16 hours ahead of Eastern Time in the USA, and 19 hours ahead of Pacific Time on the west coast.

The U.S. could potentially play knockout stage games in either Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane, Australia, which are all in the Australia East Time Zone (AEST). That is 14 hours ahead of Eastern Time in the United States, and 17 hours ahead of Pacific Time on the west coast.

Below is a table with the all the possible kick times assigned to the USWNT for both the group stage in New Zealand (NZST) and the knockout stage in Australia (AEST).

* Previous day (USA time zone is 14-16 hours behind Australia & New Zealand)