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The U.S. women's national team kick off their two-game series against Germany on Thursday. The two teams will play a pair of friendlies during the international window to close out the calendar year. The No. 1 ranked USWNT will face tge No. 3 ranked team on Thursday at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The teams will then travel to New Jersey and close out the two-game series at Red Bull Arena on Sunday. 

This will be the first meeting between the two sides since 2018 with the overall series beginning in 1988. The USWNT are unbeaten in the last 15 head-to-head meetings with Germany – though all three games were decided by just one goal. Thursday's game in Fort Lauderdale will be the 17th meeting between the teams on U.S. soil, where the USA have a record a 11-2-3 in the previous 16 meetings.

Here's how you can watch the match and what to know:

Viewing information

  • Date: Thursday, November 10 | Time: 7 p.m. ET
  • Location: DRV PNK Stadium -- Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
  • TV: Fox Sports 1
  • Live stream: fuboTV (try for free)

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Weather could be a factor

The first match of the two-game series will take place in Florida, where there have been recent tropical storm warnings. U.S. Soccer has been monitoring the situation and the game remains scheduled for Thursday night. 

Coach Vlatko Andonovski addressed media and further explained that the team has been able to conduct their preparations for the upcoming match. 

"In terms of the weather, we were able to squeeze the trainings in and I thought we made the most out of it, and I'm very happy with the way training went and the preparation went," Andonovski said.

"The team is hungry, and I don't think they have a mentality that they want to prove something, it's more about they want to prove to themselves that we are moving in the right direction, to prove ourselves that we are doing the right thing. As much as we want to look back and learn from [Europe] ... we also know that we have so many things that we need to look forward to and prepare for what matters, and that's winning the World Cup."

The teams

USWNT: Andonovski and the team will close out their 2022 against a massive opponent in Germany. The 24-player roster is another familiar group of players that featured in the Concacaf W Championship. However, the final matches of the year likely symbolize a final opportunity for players to leave an impression on the coaching staff. The team is currently on a two-game losing streak after dropping results in Europe against England and Spain.

Alex Morgan and Taylor Kornieck are back in camps following injury from the European tour last month, and Mallory Pugh also returns after a family commitment. Several players who competed in the NWSL Championship final are also available for selection, including Kansas City Current goalkeeper A.D. Franch, and defender Hailie Mace, Portland Thorns defensive midfielder Sam Coffey, center back Becky Sauerbrunn, and NWSL MVP and 2022 final MVP Sophia Smith.

With the recent announcement of a future January camp to be held in New Zealand, co-host of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, players will need to show enough against Germany to be considered essential players as 2023 approaches. The Concacaf W Championship roster was largely impacted by injury and players out on maternity leave. Current player inclusion may see a shift as players out rehabbing injuries will eventually be rotated back in.

"I've said this, before that we are moving in the right direction, but for unfortunate reasons like injuries, there were setbacks there. Now, with some of the players coming back, I know that some things will be fixed. But then as we're moving forward, we're gonna have few more players back and the model, or our game model is going to evolve organically," Andovnoski said.

The games could big opportunity for the coaching staff to try and have players capitalize on a transitional game with great attacking players in Smith, Pugh, and Trinity Rodman available. We will find out quickly if the matches against Germany will have a heavier emphasis on lingering evaluations or tactical analysis ahead of the January camps. The answer is likely a mix of both, as Andonovski and the coaching staff looked for different challenges in each opponent this year.

"There's certain things that we're gonna have to improve regardless of who's on the who's on the field, or who is healthy or not within the roster. And that's why we're playing these tough games, so we can dig even deeper and find out every little thing that we need to fix so before the World Cup."

Germany: Led by head coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, the 2022 UEFA Euro runners-up are considered a deep threat to the USWNT in the midfield where there have been some lingering issues with the middle third unable to connect with the front line. 

The struggles could be an opportunity for the Germans who have been strong in the middle third with talents like Lena Oberdorf and Lina Magull among others. Klara Buhl and Jule Brand are wingers who can make things difficult for the USWNT out wide.

All but two players called in for the matches play their club soccer in Germany in the Frauen-Bundesliga. Nine players compete for reigning league champions VfL Wolfsburg, with an additional five players each from Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayern Munich. The only players currently playing their club soccer outside of Germany are goalkeepers Almuth Schult, who joined Angel City FC in NWSL after the Euro, and Ann-Katrin Berger, who players for reigning WSL champions Chelsea in England.

USWNT vs. Germany prediction

Two good programs going head to head with weather possibly an x-factor between them. Margin for errors will be small and lead to a tense first half before both teams get a goal in a second half. Draw: USWNT 1, Germany 1.