The 2012 Olympic gold medal-winning U.S. Women’s National Team will play China on Dec. 12 at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston in the ninth match of the 10-game Fan Tribute Tour, presented by Panasonic. The match will kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on FOX Soccer.
The USWNT will make their first visit to the new venue, home of Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamo, which opened last May, and its first visit to Houston since the post-Olympic tour in 2004 when the Americans downed Ireland 5-0 at Reliant Stadium.
The USA will be playing China three times in a span of eight days, also squaring off on Dec. 8 at Ford Field in Detroit and on Dec. 15 at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Fla.
Tickets for the game in Houston go on sale to the general public Friday, Nov. 16, at 10 a.m. CT through ussoccer.com, by calling 1-888-929-7849, and at the BBVA Compass Stadium ticket office (open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.).
Ultimate Fan Tickets (special VIP packages that include a premium ticket, a custom-made official U.S. National Team jersey with name and number, VIP access to the field before and after the game, and other unique benefits) are also available exclusively through ussoccer.com.
As a sponsor of U.S. Soccer, Visa® is pleased to offer all Visa cardholders access to an advance ticket sale for these matches before the sale to the general public. This advance sale begins at ussoccer.com on Thursday, Nov. 15, at 10 a.m. CT and runs until Friday, Nov. 16, at 8 a.m. CT. Visa will be the only payment method accepted through the Visa presale and is the preferred card of U.S. Soccer. Terms and conditions apply.
The USA has played China once so far in 2012, a 4-1 victory on May 27 in front of a sell-out crowd at PPL Park in Chester, Pa., as Alex Morgan scored twice, Abby Wambach scored once and China knocked in an own goal.
The USA has averaged more than 18,000 fans per game while going 3-0-2 so far on the Fan Tribute Tour presented by Panasonic, defeating Costa Rica 8-0, beating Australia by 2-1 and 6-2 scores and drawing Germany twice, 1-1 and 2-2. The USA returns to action for a pair of matches against Ireland on Nov. 28 at JELD-WEN Field in Portland, Oregon, and Dec. 1 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
The China matches will be the first time new U.S. head coach Tom Sermanni will watch the team play in person since taking the job. He will not coach the matches but will attend in an observatory role as U.S. Soccer Director of Women’s Development Jill Ellis will lead the team in the final five matches of the tour.
The U.S. won its third straight gold medal (and fourth gold medal overall) at the 2012 London Olympics. The USA went undefeated at 6-0-0 for the first time at an Olympic tournament, which included a thrilling come-from-behind overtime victory in the semifinal against Canada on Aug. 6 and Carli Lloyd’s two-goal performance to lead the U.S. to a 2-1 win against 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup champion Japan in the gold medal match on Aug. 9.
