USA vs. Australia, Tournament of Nations: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, and Match Thread

Welcome to your live thread for the United States Women's National Team’s opening game in the Tournament of Nations — a completely made-up series of friendlies between the U.S., Australia, Brazil, and France. The USWNT takes on the Aussies, so plenty of Orlando Pride players could be involved in tonight’s match at CenturyLink Field (10 p.m. ET, ESPN).

The U.S. is 25-0-2 against Australia, having first met back in 1987, with a 95-22 advantage on the scoreboard over the years. The Matildas have only scored more than one goal against the USWNT four times in the 27 meetings. The U.S. is 14-0-1 in 15 previous meetings on home soil with the lone draw coming in a 1-1 deadlock back on Oct. 16, 2005.

The two nations last met in the first round of Group D action in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada — a match the USWNT won, 3-1, en route to winning the tournament. Former Pride forward Lisa de Vanna scored for the Aussies that day, but the U.S. was too powerful with a pair of Megan Rapinoe strikes and a Christen Press goal.

The only previous time the USWNT has played at CenturyLink Field was in a 1-1 draw vs. Brazil on Oct. 21, 2015.

Pride striker Alex Morgan and defender Ali Krieger are part of Jill Ellis’ squad for the tournament and, should they play tonight, they could face Orlando teammates Steph Catley and Alanna Kennedy of the Matildas. Krieger is just two caps from 100 in her career.

This will be the first match for Ellis’ side since a pair of narrow wins in Sweden and Norway in early June. Look for Ellis to try to erase the memory of the SheBelieves Cup and the three-player back line that failed to produce results against some of the world’s top teams. We may see less of the veteran players who Ellis trusts than usual, as the U.S. looks for the next wave of players who can come on to help in winning the next World Cup.

If the June friendlies showed us anything, the USWNT will need to figure out how to generate more dangerous scoring chances from its considerable amount of possession. The search for those chances starts tonight.

Rosters

USWNT

Goalkeepers (2): 18- Jane Campbell (Houston Dash), 1- Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars), 21- Abby Smith (Boston Breakers).

Defenders (7): 7- Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage), 8- Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars), 11- Ali Krieger (Orlando Pride), 5- Kelley O'Hara (Sky Blue FC), 4- Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City), 7- Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars), 16- Taylor Smith (NC Courage).

Midfielders (6): 6- Morgan Brian (Houston Dash), 10- Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash), 20- Allie Long (Portland Thorns FC), 3- Samantha Mewis (NC Courage), 17- Margaret Purce (Boston Breakers), 15- Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign).

Forwards (7): 19- Crystal Dunn (Chelsea FC), 9- Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC), 2- Sydney Leroux (FC Kansas City), 13-Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride), 23-Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars), 22- Mallory Pugh (Washington Spirit), 12- Lynn Williams (NC Courage).

AUSTRALIA

Goalkeepers (2): 1-Lydia Williams (Houston Dash), 18-Mackenzie Arnold (Brisbane Roar FC).

Defenders (6 ): 3-Caitlin Cooper (Illawarra Stingrays), 4-Clare Polkinghorne (Brisbane Roar FC), 5-Laura Alleway (Unattached), 7-Steph Catley (Orlando Pride), 14-Alanna Kennedy (Orlando Pride), 21-Ellie Carpenter (Western Sydney Wanderers FC)

Midfielders (8): 2-Gema Simon (Avaldsnes), 6-Chloe Logarzo (Avaldsnes), 8-Elise Kellond-Knight (FC Turbine Potsdam), 9-Caitlin Foord (Vegalta Sendai), 10-Emily van Egmond (VfL Wolfsburg), 13-Tameka Butt (Klepp I-L), 19-Katrina Gorry (Vegalta Sendai), 22-Alex Chidiac (Adelaide City).

Forwards (5): 11-Lisa De Vanna (South Melbourne), 15-Emily Gielnik (Avaldsnes), 16-Hayley Raso (Portland Thorns), 17-Princess Ibini (Football NSW NTC), 20-Sam Kerr (Sky Blue FC).

How to Watch

Match Time: 10 p.m. (ET).

Venue: CenturyLink Field — Seattle, WA.

TV: ESPN.

Streaming: Watch ESPN, Univision Deportes.

Twitter: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow @StarsStripesFC, @ussoccer_wnt, and @TheManeLand.

Match Thread Rules

This is your live thread for posting comments on the match. So use our comments section below to talk about the game in real time with other supporters. If you're new, welcome to our happy home! While you're here, please observe a few basic rules:

• Absolutely no links to illegal streams. They can get us in trouble, and no one wants that.
• Try not to be "that guy" who spews nothing but venom and hate for the team. It's OK to be critical, and, let's face it, sometimes even the best teams can be frustrating to watch, but being overly negative relentlessly can sap the enjoyment for others.
• Keep it somewhat clean and fair when criticizing players / officials. You never know who might be reading.
• Do unto others in the match thread, the way you would have others do unto you. We are a fun community and want to keep it this way. We have a moderator, but we'd rather let him enjoy the game instead of having to play babysitter.

Enjoy the match. Go America!