The start of Emma Hayes’ tenure as the U.S. women’s national team head coach is not the only first U.S. Soccer will be celebrating on Saturday. The federation is hosting a first-of-its-kind doubleheader over the weekend, with the U.S. women’s deaf national team set to kick off the day’s festivities.
The doubleheader marks the first time one of U.S. Soccer’s extended national teams will partner with one of the senior national teams, as well as the first time an extended national team match will be broadcast on TV in a U.S. Soccer-controlled event. The women’s deaf national team will take on their Australian counterparts before the USWNT face South Korea at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., a suburb of Denver.
Here’s what you need to know about both games before tuning in.
How to watch the U.S. women’s deaf national team vs. Australia
- Date: Saturday, June 1 | Time: 2 p.m. ET
- Location: Dick’s Sporting Goods Park — Commerce City, Colo.
- TV: truTV | Live stream: Max, Telemundo app
About the U.S. women’s deaf national team
The women’s deaf national team are three-time world champions, most recently winning the World Deaf Football Championships last year in Malaysia by winning each of their six games and have also won the Deaflympics on four occasions. The team has played 38 games in their history and is unbeaten, drawing just once along the way and outsourcing the opposition 177-15. The team is coached by Amy Griffin and assistant coach Joy Fawcett, both of whom were members of the USWNT when they won the first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991.
Accessibility takes center stage
The match will include several accessibility features and other inclusions of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, which will be visible both in-stadium and on the broadcast.
The English-language coverage on Max and truTV, as well as the Spanish-language coverage on the Telemundo app, will feature American Sign Language interpreters communicating during the match, while the national anthems of both the U.S. and Australia will also be signed before the game. The players will walk onto the pitch with mascots from the Rocky Mountain School of the Deaf as well as players who will take part in the Deaf WNT’s clinic at the school the following day. Deaf U.S. Soccer referee Andrew Kirst will also officiate the match after being the only North American official at last year’s Football World Championships.
How to watch USWNT vs. South Korea
- Date: Saturday, June 1 | Time: 5 p.m. ET
- Location: Dick’s Sporting Goods Park — Commerce City, Colo.
- TV: TNT, truTV, Universo | Live stream: Max, Peacock
Storylines
The months-long wait for Hayes is officially over, who officially took charge of the USWNT on Monday. A mix of veterans and fresh faces from the recent rebuild, led by assistant coach Twila Kilgore, make up the bulk of Hayes’ first roster, including Crystal Dunn and Jaedyn Shaw. Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher misses out with an injury, while the likes of Shaw, Alex Morgan and Rose Lavelle may carry fitness concerns into this camp. Despite the possible limitations injuries offer up, this first match is expected to answer several questions about Hayes’ early plans for the team with the Olympics rapidly approaching. She will likely pull primarily from her first roster to name the Olympics team in a month’s time, but this camp might also serve as a last chance for several players to make a case for themselves to be included on the 18-player roster.
