PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Thorns FC announced today that seven players have been called up by their respective countries for the October FIFA international break.
Thorns FC defender Becky Sauerbrunn, midfielder Lindsey Horan and forward Sophia Smith are set to represent the U.S. Women’s National Team in a pair of friendlies. Also participating in two friendly matches, forward Christine Sinclair with Canada and midfielder Rocky Rodríguez with Costa Rica. Defender Natalia Kuikka was called up by Finland for two FIFA World Cup UEFA qualifying matches, and midfielder Olivia Moultrie will be in training camp with the U-20 U.S. Women’s National Team.
Horan, Sauerbrunn and Smith are set to face Korea Republic on Oct. 21 in Kansas City, Kan. (ESPN2, TUDN) and Oct. 26 in St. Paul, Minn. (FS1, TUDN). Sauerbrunn (195 caps) and Smith (eight caps) both played for the USWNT in their friendly matches against Paraguay in September. Smith earned her first career start and tallied her first goal with the national team on Sept. 21. Horan (104 caps) did not feature in the September friendly matches. She will be honored for her 100th cap prior to the match in Kansas City. Crystal Dunn opted out of the matches.
Sinclair and Canada play host to New Zealand on Oct. 23 in Ottawa, Ontario and Oct. 26 in Montreal, Quebec as part of the Women’s National Team Celebration Tour, honoring the team’s gold-medal winning performance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Sinclair (304 caps) earned her 300th cap at the Olympics and started in the gold medal match against Sweden on Aug. 6.
Kuikka (60 caps) will join Finland to face Georgia on Oct. 21 in Tbilisi, Georgia before facing Ireland on Oct. 26 in Helsinki, Finland. Most recently, Kuikka logged a full 90-minute performance in Finland’s 2-1 win over Slovakia in a World Cup qualifying match on Sept. 21.
Rodríguez and Costa Rica will take on Jamaica in a pair of friendlies on Oct. 21 and Oct. 24 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. In her last match with La Roja, Rodríguez (80 caps) scored the third goal that lifted Costa Rica over Panama in a 3-2 win on Sept. 21.
Moultrie will join the U-20 U.S. Women’s National Team for a training camp from Oct. 17 to Oct. 24 ahead of the FIFA 2022 U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica. Moultrie, 16, was most recently in camp with the U-17 Women’s National Team in February 2020, making two appearances in international friendlies against England.
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