USWNT to face Portugal in pair of October friendlies

The U.S. women’s national team has added a pair of October home friendlies to its fall schedule.

Emma Hayes’ squad will take on Portugal on October 23 and 26 respectively, U.S. Soccer announced Monday. Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania will host the first match before Rentschler Field in East, Hartford, Connecticut will host the second match three days later.

The USWNT will conclude their three-match October window on October 29 at CPKC Stadium against an opponent that will be determined later.

As part of U.S. Soccer’s commitment to the U.S. Way, which prioritizes strategic investment in resources, infrastructure and holistic support for the Federation’s Extended National Teams, the U.S. men’s deaf national team will feature in the first game of a doubleheader with the USWNT on Oct. 26 in Connecticut.

“Portugal is a growing team that will be highly motivated for these matches, but as always, these three games are more opportunities to work on us,” said Hayes. “I’m very impressed with the progress we’ve made since the Olympics and I want to give a lot of credit to the players for embracing our culture and ideas, but our staff and the players know we still have much work to do before World Cup qualifying next year.”

Longtime USWNT players Alex Morgan and Alyssa Naeher will be honored in Chester and East Hartford respectively. Morgan, who announced her retirement last fall, scored her first USWNT goal at Subaru Park back in October 2010.

Naeher, who is a Connecticut native, announced her retirement from international soccer after the Olympics and played her final match last December. She is the only goalkeeper in soccer history to earn a shutout in a World Cup Final and an Olympic gold medal match.

It will mark the first USWNT-Portugal showdown since the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup group stage, where the two sides played out a 0-0 draw.

These are the next matches for the USWNT since defeating CONCACAF rivals Canada 3-0 at Audi Field back on July 2. The Americans have won their last five matches in all competitions, outscoring their opponents 18-0.