Gaëtane Thiney and France will play the U.S. twice in June. (Photo: Zimbio/Getty Images)
France will visit the United States for a pair of high-profile friendlies in mid-June in Tampa, Fla., and East Hartford, Conn.
U.S. Soccer announced Monday that the two women’s national teams will meet on June 14 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa and on June 19 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford. The matches were long rumored after Philippe Bergerôo revealed his team would visit the U.S., but the exact dates and locations were previously unknown.
France will be the United States’ stiffest test on home soil this year as the No. 4 team in the world. The Americans narrowly held onto their status as world No. 1 in March for the sixth year in a row.
National Women’s Soccer League matches will be directly impacted by the friendlies, with two games taking place on June 11, three games on the weekend of the 14th, and a game each on June 18 and June 19.
These two France matches will also likely mark the first for the new permanent U.S. coach to replace Tom Sermanni. A hiring is expected to be named sometime in May, with current interim boss Jill Ellis and current Tyresö coach Tony Gustavsson as the leading candidates.
Historically, the USA-France series has gone one way, with the United States holding a 13-0-1 all-time record. The two teams last met in their group openers at the 2012 Olympics, when the U.S. overcame an early 2-0 deficit to storm back and win 4-2 en route to a third consecutive gold medal. A year prior, they met in the semifinals at the World Cup, with the U.S. winning 3-1 in a match in which they were largely outplayed by the underdog French.
East Hartford has become a frequent stop for the U.S. women, who last played there in October 2012 in a 2-2 draw vs. Germany. They also beat Sweden there 3-0 in July 2010. The U.S. last appeared in Tampa on Nov. 8, 2008, in a 1-0 win over South Korea.
