The United States Women’s National Team and Canada will meet in an international friendly for the second time in four days on Sunday, this time with the match taking place at Avaya Stadium in San Jose.
Kick is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1. If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can watch FS1 online, on your phone or on another streaming device by signing up for a free trial of one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services, ordered by my preference:
FuboTV: Fox Sports 1 is included in the “Fubo Premier” channel package, which is $19.99 per month for the first two months and $39.99 per month after that. It comes with a free 7-day trial, and you can watch on your computer via your browser, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the FuboTV app
DirecTV Now: Fox Sports 1 is included in all four channel packages, ranging from $35 to $70 per month. It comes with a free 7-day trial, and you can watch on your computer via your browser, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the DirecTV Now app
Sling TV: Fox Sports 1 is included in the “Sling Blue” channel package for $25 per month. It comes with a free 7-day trial, and you can watch on your computer via your browser, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app
Preview
These teams met in Vancouver on Thursday night, playing to a hard-fought 1-1 draw in front of a sellout crowd. Alex Morgan got the scoring started in the 31st minute after taking advantage of a poor Canada clearance, but the opposition brought the pressure in the second half and ultimately equalized in the 57th minute when Adriana Leon finished off a mad scramble in front of goal.
The final score line didn’t exactly tell the entire story, though, as Canada was able to play its game for most of the match and nearly left with a victory after Maegan Kelly’s shot went off the post in the 84th minute. Always the underdog in this rivalry, it was a promising performance from Canada’s point of view.
“I never have ended a 90 minutes against the U.S. feeling the way I did, almost like we did win,” Canadian midfielder Desiree Scott said. “I was just super proud of everyone who left absolutely everything on the pitch. But also just the way we built in the attack and the confidence we had on the ball. That fear of the U.S. is not there anymore, which I think is great. You can see it by the way we’re playing.”
The United States, meanwhile, struggled to keep possession, never really looked comfortable and left Vancouver with a mostly unsatisfying showing.
“We’ve gone through a lot — a transition year, we have a lot of new players,” defender Becky Sauerbrunn said. “We’re trying new formations. So I think, yeah, the chemistry is not where we need it to be right now. Do we all hope we’ll get that chemistry really fast? Absolutely. But it’s in progress right now. So it’s good to play a game like this, where you’re thrown under it. And in an environment like this, you’re going to learn a lot.”
Fortunately, as Jill Ellis’ team continues to search for its identity, there is still plenty of time to right the ship before the 2019 World Cup, and Sunday night in San Jose will provide another good opportunity to tinker with the blueprint.
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