The United States women’s national team will face China in a pair of games this spring as head coach Emma Hayes continues to evaluate players who will help her squad on the road toward the 2027 World Cup.
The teams will meet at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minn., on May 31 and again on June 3 at Energizer Park in St. Louis, where former USWNT defender and captain Becky Sauerbrunn will be honored for her recently concluded career.
“I love these games because they combine some rich women’s soccer history with the present, with both countries going through transitions in preparation for ’27 World Cup qualifying,” Hayes said in a statement.
“But our process continues and it’s a patient and comprehensive one. It’s up to our coaching staff to give players opportunities — opportunities they have earned — and it’s up to the players to show us they can perform at the highest levels. We are looking forward to seeing the players show their talents against an excellent team in two fantastic soccer venues.”
China and the USWNT have played 60 times, the second-most common American opponent behind Canada.
They most famously met in the first Olympic women’s soccer gold-medal game, which the USWNT won, and then again three years later in the 1999 World Cup final. The USWNT won that game in a penalty shootout.
The USWNT just lost for the first time under Hayes, a 2-1 defeat to Japan last week that cost the Americans the SheBelieves Cup title.
Hayes had gone 17 games in charge without a loss prior to the Japan result and guided the USWNT to an Olympic gold medal last August after only just over two months in charge.
Hayes experimented with lineups throughout the SheBelieves Cup in an effort to determine which players can add depth to the squad.
Against Australia, Hayes started the program’s youngest lineup in nearly 25 years and made 11 changes to the squad from the prior match — also for the first time in about the same period.
Next up for the USWNT is a 2024 Olympic gold-medal game rematch with Brazil.
The teams will play at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles on April 5, and again three days later at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif. Games against China will follow for the USWNT, followed by one more international window that begins in late June before a long break until October.
U.S. Soccer said it will honor Sauerbrunn’s career prior to the June 3 match in St. Louis, her hometown.
Sauerbrunn retired at the end of 2024 as a two-time World Cup champion and an Olympic gold medalist.
She played 219 times for the USWNT, 10th most in program history.
The USWNT last played in St. Louis in April 2023, a 1-0 win over Ireland. Allianz Field will host the USWNT for the second time in a year, nearly to the day.
The Americans defeated South Korea, 3-0 in the venue on June 4, 2024, in Hayes’ second official game in charge.
>
