Coffey receives first senior team call-up for friendly matches; Sauerbrunn, Smith named to Concacaf W Championship roster
PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Thorns FC announced today that midfielder Sam Coffey, defender Becky Sauerbrunn and forward Sophia Smith have been named to the 26-player U.S. Women’s National Team roster for a pair of friendlies against Colombia on June 25 and June 28. Additionally, Sauerbrunn and Smith were also named to the 23-player roster to participate in the Concacaf W Championship, taking place from July 4-July 11 in Mexico. The tournament will serve as qualifying for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand and the 2024 Summer Olympics in France.
Coffey helped the U.S. qualify for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and finished her U-20 career with 14 caps and one goal. She also spent time in camps with the U.S. U-18s and U-19s and traveled to Spain with the U.S. U-23s in 2019. This marks Coffey’s first call-up to the senior national team. Sauerbrunn (202 caps) most recently appeared in all three 2022 SheBelieves Cup matches, earning one start and coming off the bench twice in February. Smith (15 caps) started both friendlies against Uzbekistan in April, notching a hat trick in a 9-1 win on April 9.
The 26-player roster will play its first friendly match against Colombia at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo.; kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. (Pacific) on FS1. The June 28 friendly against Colombia will be held at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, with a kickoff time of 7 p.m. (Pacific) on ESPN.
The 23-player roster will continue on to the Concacaf W Championship, opening the eight-team tournament in Group A against Haiti on July 4 at Estadio Universitario in San Nicolás, Mexico; kickoff is set for 4 p.m. (Pacific) on CBS Sports Network with a streaming option on Paramount+. Next up they will face Jamaica on July 7 in Guadalupe, Mexico, at Estadio BBVA with a kickoff time of 4 p.m. (Pacific) on Paramount+. The U.S. will close out the group play against Mexico on July 11 at Estadio Universitario in San Nicolás, Mexico, at 7 p.m. (Pacific) on Paramount+.
The top two finishers in each group after round-robin play will advance to the semifinals while earning World Cup berths. The third-place finisher in each group will earn a berth to the 10-team inter-confederation playoff tournament that will be held in February of 2023 to decide the final three berths to the expanded 32-team field at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The tournament winner will also get an automatic berth to the 2024 Olympics in Paris while the second and third place finishers will play off in September of 2023 for Concacaf’s second and final Olympic berth. The tournament winner and the Olympic qualifier via the playoff series will also qualify directly to a new Concacaf competition, the 2024 W Gold Cup.
