USA vs. Germany
Date: March 1, 2018
Venue: MAPRE Stadium; Columbus, Ohio
Broadcast: ESPN2
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT
Tonight’s Starting XI vs. Germany: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 22-Taylor Smith, 17-Tierna Davidson, 7-Abby Dahlkemper, 5-Kelley O’Hara; 8-Julie Ertz, 9-Lindsey Horan, 10-Carli Lloyd (capt.); 11-Mallory Pugh, 13-Alex Morgan, 15-Megan Rapinoe
Subs: 2-Casey Short, 3-Andi Sullivan, 6-Morgan Brian, 12-Lynn Williams, 14-Sofia Huerta, 16-Emily Sonnett, 18-Jane Campbell, 19-Crystal Dunn, 20-Allie Long, 23-Christen Press, 24-Ashlyn Harris, 26-Savannah McCaskill
- U.S. WNT head coach Jill Ellis will use almost the exact same lineup that took the field against Denmark on Jan. 21 to start the new year. The one change is Carli Lloyd in for Andi Sullivan in the midfield.
- Just two players in the USA’s starting lineup (Alyssa Naeher and Carli Lloyd) started against Germany at last year’s SheBelieves Cup.
- There are two teenagers on the starting XI in 19-year-olds Mallory Pugh and Tierna Davidson.
- The match will be the first career game against Germany for Taylor Smith, Abby Dahlkemper and Davidson.
- Captaining the USA today is Lloyd. She is the all-time active caps leader with 247 and will earn No. 248 tonight, putting her two away from becoming the sixth player in U.S. history to earn 250 caps. Lloyd is also sitting on 98 goals, two away from becoming the sixth player to score 100 or more for the USA, and the first since 2009 when Abby Wambach scored her 100th.
- Lloyd scored 36 international goals between the time she debuted six days before her 23rd birthday, and her 30th birthday. Since turning 30, she has scored 62 goals in just over five and a half years. She earned the 50th assist of her career on Julie Ertz’ goal against Brazil on July 30, joining just seven other U.S. players to earn 50 or more assists in their careers. Lloyd is in eighth-place in all-time assists, but with six more, can move into fifth.
- Alyssa Naeher will earn her 25th cap tonight. She has 12 career shutouts and is the seventh goalkeeper in U.S. history to earn 25 or more caps.
- Smith will earn her ninth international cap tonight. She made her debut last July against Australia during the 2017 Tournament of Nations.S
- Dahlkemper makes her 15th career appearance today. The 2017 NWSL Defender of the Year made her debut for the U.S. on Oct. 19, 2016, against Switzerland in Utah, and earned her first start against Norway on June 11, 2017 where she played all 90 minutes to help the U.S. defense claim a shutout in Sandefjord. She is a former captain of the U-17 Women’s National Team.
- Kelley O’Hara, one of the most experienced players on the squad, is set to make her 106th appearance today.
- Davidson will earn her second cap for the USA today, after becoming the 21st woman to make a WNT debut under Jill Ellis on Jan. 21 in San Diego. She earned her first career assist on that game. The 19-year-old Davidson helped lead Stanford to the NCAA Championship this past season. She is the third teenager since 2013 to earn a first cap for the U.S. WNT. Mallory Pugh (17 in 2016) and Lindsey Horan (19 in 2013) are the most recent teenagers to debut for the WNT.
- Julie Ertz will earn her 59th cap tonight. Ertz, who began playing as defensive midfielder for the WNT during the 2017 Tournament of Nations, quickly excelled at the role and was named the 2017 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year. She finished 2017 six goals, second-most on the team. Ertz has 15 career goals for the WNT, with her game-winning goal against Denmark on Jan. 21 being the most recent.
- Lindsey Horan enjoyed a fine 2017, helping the Portland Thorns win the NWSL title by scoring the game-winning goal in the championship. For the WNT, she finished strong, establishing herself in the lineup. She will earn her 45th WNT cap today.
- Pugh earns her 31st cap for the WNT tonight. She leads the WNT in scoring in 2018 after tallying her first career brace against Denmark on Jan. 21.
- Alex Morgan comes into the match with 81 goals and will earn her 136th cap tonight. At age 28, she sits in sole possession of seventh place on the USA’s all-time goal scoring list. She’s scored eight goals over her last eight WNT matches, with her most recent coming on Jan. 21 against Denmark.
- Megan Rapinoe makes her 131st international appearance today. She has 34 career goals, pulling her to within one goal of tying April Heinrichs and Sydney Leroux for 15th on the all-time goals list.