Matildas to take on USA

The Matildas will take on the world number one ranked US Women’s National Team in San Antonio, Texas next month in a high-profile international friendly match.

Football Federation Australia (FFA) and US Soccer Federation (USSF) today announced that the Westfield Matildas will take on the world number one ranked US Women-s National Team (USWNT) in San Antonio, Texas next month in a high-profile international friendly match.

The match will take place at the natural-grass indoor Alamodome on Sunday 20 October.

The USWNT, now led by former long-serving Westfield Matildas coach Tom Sermanni, are two-time FIFA Women-s World Cup winners and four-time Olympic champions, including last year in London.

Westfield Matildas Head Coach Hesterine de Reus is relishing the opportunity to test her team against the best Women-s team in the World.

“It-s fantastic for us to have the opportunity to play against such a top team as the US Women-s National Team,” said de Reus.

”The main purpose of the match is to get valuable game experience into the players as we head into a very important 12 months.

“We will have 5 days of training in Texas before the match, so the players will need to do extra work prior to leaving Australia and create their own training environment in the lead-up to ensure that they are ready for the match.

“The US Women-s National Team is a very tough, mature team whilst we are younger with less experience at international level so this will be a very good challenge for us,” concluded de Reus.

The Westfield Matildas, who are currently ranked 8th in the World, are searching for their maiden win over USA with a record of two draws and 22 defeats in their 24 A-Internationals to date.

The Westfield Matildas- played two matches on US soil last September losing 2-1 and 6-2 against the Stars & Stripes despite having led in both matches.

Australia-s association with USA women-s football has strengthened over the past season with five players - Lisa De Vanna, Caitlin Foord, Sam Kerr, Kyah Simon and Emily van Egmond - all competing in this year-s inaugural season of the professional National Women-s Soccer League.

Follow the Matildas on Twitter @TheMatildas or Facebook.

Match Details

Westfield Matildas v USA 20 October 2013 Local kick-off: 12.50pm CDT (4.50am AEST, 21 October) Alamodome, San Antonio