USWNT vs. Mexico

Date: Monday, July 11th

Time: 10:00 p.m. Eastern, 9:00 p.m. Central, 7:00 p.m. Pacific, 2:00 a.m. UTC

Venue: Estadio Universitario (San Nicolás de los Garza, N.L.)

Streaming: Paramount+

A One Sided History

For fans of the USMNT, there’s nothing more delicious than playing Mexico on their turf. For USWNT fans, the last time we’ve had such a match was November 5th, 2010. Mexico won, 2-1, that day, and today, it remains one of two wins against their northern neighbors ever. In 42 matches, the USWNT has won 39 times, drawn once, and lost twice against Mexico.

But today could be Mexico’s most important match ever, and one they desperately need to win.

Entering into the tournament, Canada and the reigning champions, the USWNT, were favored to meet in the final matchup. The winner of which automatically qualified for not only the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand but also the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. As it stands, both have already qualified, having mathematically punched their tickets to the semi finals of the Concacaf W Championship. Costa Rica from Group B has also punched their ticket to the next round. The final runner up spot from Group A is still in contention, and Haiti, Jamaica, and Mexico all still have a chance.

What To Watch For

USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski said after their win against Haiti, “You saw the starting lineup against Haiti, that's probably the lineup that's going to play the majority of minutes in this tournament.” The next game he of course had a different lineup, with 5 different personnel changes. NWSL leading goal scorer Alex Morgan also never saw any minutes with the purpose of resting her, so she’ll likely replace Ashley Hatch tonight. He also has previously expressed a desire for Mal Pugh and Sophia Smith to see as many minutes together as possible so as to build chemistry so he’ll probably start them together again.

Other than those predictions, it’s hard to accurately gauge who Vlatko will be fielding tonight. But it’s almost certain he’ll be looking to put away Mexico early, especially considering their opponents have their backs up against the wall and will be fighting for not only the hope of playing in the 2023 World Cup but also to prove to their federation their program isn’t backsliding. A likely game plan is for Morgan to stretch the backline and allow Smith room to make runs into the box to drive up the score. That will allow Vlatko to make early second half subs to rest his starters for more challenging games and give more players game time. Prediction is 4-0 USWNT.

- Lis Schendel