This will be a Texas based event as all 5 games take place in the Lone Star Stae, 4 games at BBVA, a sole game at the new Q2 in Austin. The teams contesting these games will be of course the USA, along with Portugal, Jamaica, & Nigeria, the fixtures at BBVA, Houston are to be played on June 10 & 13 with the last in Austin on the 16th.
Coverage of the USA games will be: Portugal on the 10th on FS1 from 8 p.m. ET, Jamaica the 13th beginning at 10 p.m. ET and finally the game with Nigeria on the 16th opens at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
The game at the home of Austin of the MLS will be the opening game at the venue, a sell out is expected for the 20,500 seat stadium which will not host the MLS side until June 19. Both games in Houston are double headers, Jamaica open facing Nigeria at 5:30 p.m. ET then Portugal take on Nigeria, the 13th at 7 p.m. ET.
Poised to be the last international competitions for the USWNT before Vlatko sets his Olympic roster, these teams are not so strong, of late the US has not done so well in facing better competition and these games will not help. Following these games ae a pair of Olympic Send-Off Matches in early June. They are in group G with Sweden, New Zealand & Australia, for the Olympics, those last 2 are very close and expected to be well watched by those back home.
USWNT HC Vlatko Andonovoski informed "In these COVID times, we're grateful that US Soccer has been able to organize a schedule of games for us to prepare for the Olympics and getting these 3 during the Summer Series against teams we don't play very often will be important in helping us make the final decisions on the Olympic team."
2021 WNT Summer Series Presented by AT&T 5G
Date Matches Stadium City Kickoff (CT) TV
June 10 Jamaica vs. Nigeria BBVA Stadium Houston, Texas 4:30 p.m.
June 10 USA vs. Portugal BBVA Stadium Houston, Texas 7:30 p.m. FS1
June 13 Portugal vs. Nigeria BBVA Stadium Houston, Texas 6 p.m.
June 13 USA vs. Jamaica BBVA Stadium Houston, Texas 9 p.m. FS1
June 16 USA vs. Nigeria Q2 Stadium Austin, Texas 8 p.m. ESPN2
In that the June FIFA window has been altered allowing for just a pair of games for the European teams, Portugal and Jamaica will play but two games as the US & Nigeria will get in the full compliment of games.
While only the USWNT will be competing in Japan, locally Nigeria has been strong, Portugal is improving and Jamaica with a player out of the Auburndale Club made their first World Cup in 2019. This is to be the first time facing Nigeria for the US beyond a world championship and but only the 3rd African opponent faced in a friendly over their history.
The teams will fall under the protocols of US Soccer upon arrrival and no team trainings will commence until all arrival test results are known.
Kwik Kixx:
-The whole trio of 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship games for the US were conducted at BBVA.
-5 games with Nigeria have seen 4 in World Cup matches and one in the Olympics. A trio of times in a row during World Cup play, 1999, 2003, 2007 & again in 2015, a 1-0 win for the US on the strength of the last World Cup goal of Abby Wambach.
-Randy Waldrum, the HC at Pitt is at the helm of Nigeria, he had the same position with NWSL team, Houston Dash, as well as TNT 2014-'16. The Fighting Irish had him as they took a pair of NCAA crowns during his tenure of 1999-2013.
-This game puts the US into double digits with Portugal. They have only had success facing them, lastly with a pair of goals from Carli Lloyd and one from Lindsay Horan in the 3-0 win in MN, Sept. 3, 2019.
-A trio of games with Jamaica, all in Concacaf qualifiers, lastly the 6-0 US trouncing at the 2019 World Cup, this next game will be their first friendly.
-Here are many Reggae Girlz in the NWSL.
P.S. Interesting is that in the press release on these games, US Soccer refers to the Women's World Cup as that as well as the World Cup, yet do not specify what teams at the University level here Waldrum coached, but stated it was for the WNT of TNT. In the quest for equality, when discussing the WNT or MNT the gender of the World Cup is not usually stated with the MNT, it also should not be when covering the WNT either, yes here it both was and was not? There is no reason to make the gender distinction during an item on one team or the other, the "subject" is understood, or not?