United States to play South Korea in October

The United States women’s national team will play #16 ranked South Korea in two friendlies on October 19 in New Orleans and October 22 in Cary. With these two games, the US will play six friendlies to close out the year, playing a pair in each FIFA window in September, October, and November. September is a pair of friendlies against New Zealand and November is a home-and-away series against Canada.

The last time the United States played South Korea was in 2015 in a friendly at Red Bull Arena. They came to a 0-0 draw, although the US immediately went on to win the World Cup that summer. The United States last played in New Orleans for Abby Wambach’s farewell game, in which they lost 1-0 to China PR. The game in Cary will of course bring the USWNT to the home of the North Carolina Courage.

Jill Ellis has stated that her experimentation period is now coming to a close, so these friendlies could see more stability in starting XIs and her roster as a whole as she looks ahead to World Cup qualifying in 2018.

One point of concern is that the NWSL championship match is October 14, with the FIFA window running October 16-24. It’s hard to guess right now which teams that’s likely to impact based on NWSL standings, but hopefully that will be a serious consideration for Ellis. “These games, right at the end of the NWSL season, will be a great window to get the team back together before our final FIFA dates in November,” Ellis said via US Soccer press release.

USA vs South Korea, game 1
October 19, 8 PM ET
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA
FS1

USA vs South Korea, game 2
October 22, 2 PM ET
Sahlen’s Stadium, Cary, NC
ESPN