(Photo Copyright Erica McCaulley for The Equalizer)
The United States women’s national team will play four home friendlies prior to the 2015 World Cup, the federation announced Monday.
The U.S. will play New Zealand at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Mo., on April 4 at 3:30 p.m. ET. Ireland will serve as the United States’ second home opponent on May 10 at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif. (2:30 p.m. ET), followed by a U.S. vs. Mexico game on May 17 at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif (9 p.m. ET). The U.S. will play its final friendly against Korea Republic on May 30 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Ireland is the only team of the four that will not play in this year’s World Cup.
Those four matches will be played following six games in Europe to open the year. A trip to France for a Feb. 8 match and then to England for a Feb. 13 match is first on the schedule for the U.S. women, followed by the annual Algarve Cup in Portugal in March, where they will play four matches.
ESPN will broadcast the May 30 send-off match, while Fox Sports 1 will pick up the other three home matches. Fox Sports 1 will also broadcast the England match and the Fox Sports networks will pick up the Algarve Cup.
Red Bull Arena hosted the U.S. women for their 2011 World Cup send-off match, an ugly 1-0 win over Mexico in front of 5,852 fans.
On tap for the U.S. at the Algarve Cup is Norway, Switzerland and Iceland in group play on March 4, March 6 and March 9, respectively, along with a placement match on March 11.
The U.S. women open the World Cup against Australia on June 8 at Winnipeg Stadium, followed by Sweden on June 12 in Winnipeg and Nigeria on June 16 at BC Place in Vancouver.
2015 U.S. Women’s National Team Schedule:
| Date | Opponent | Time | TV | Venue |
| Feb. 8 | France | 12 p.m. ET | ESPN2 | Stade du Moustoir; Lorient, France |
| Feb. 13 | England | 3 p.m. ET | FOX Sports 1 | stadiummk; Milton Keynes, England |
| March 4 | Norway | TBD | FOX Sports 1 | Vila Real de San Antonio, Portugal |
| March 6 | Switzerland | TBD | FOX Sports 1 | Vila Real de San Antonio, Portugal |
| March 9 | Iceland | TBD | FOX Sports 1 | Lagos, Portugal |
| March 11 | TBD | TBD | FOX Sports 1 | TBD, Portugal |
| April 4 | New Zealand | 3:30 p.m. ET | FOX Sports 1 | Busch Stadium; St. Louis, Mo. |
| May 10 | Ireland | 2:30 p.m. ET | FOX Sports 1 | Avaya Stadium; San Jose, Calif. |
| May 17 | Mexico | 9 p.m. ET | FOX Sports 1 | StubHub Center; Carson, Calif. |
| May 30 | Korea Republic | 4:30 p.m. ET | ESPN, WatchESPN | Red Bull Arena; Harrison, N.J. |
| June 8 | Australia | 7:30 p.m. ET | FOX | Winnipeg Stadium; Winnipeg, Canada |
| June 12 | Sweden | 8 p.m. ET | FOX | Winnipeg Stadium; Winnipeg, Canada |
| June 16 | Nigeria | 8 p.m. ET | FOX | BC Place Stadium; Vancouver, Canada |
