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USA vs. South Korea live score, updates, stats as Mal Swanson scores first USWNT goal of Emma Hayes era

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Emma Hayes officially takes charge of her first match as permanent USWNT head coach as the United States host South Korea in an international friendly from just outside Denver on Saturday.

The 47-year-old London native will begin her tenure a full 291 days after the dismissal of Vlatko Andonovski in the aftermath of the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Twila Kilgore was tasked with interim management of the side to fill the gap, but now this team is the responsibility of Hayes, formerly in charge of Chelsea women across a prolific 12-year tenure.

She has precious little time to prepare the side before the start of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, which for the USWNT begins on July 25 with their group-stage opener against Zambia.

The run-up to that massive international tournament begins today, with one more to come against South Korea on Tuesday plus mid-July friendlies against Mexico and Costa Rica before jetting off to France for the Olympics.

The Sporting News is following the USWNT vs. South Korea match live, providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.

USA vs. South Korea live score

  Score (2H) Goal scorers
USA 2 Swanson (34′),
Davidson (38′)
S. Korea 0 –

Kickoff: 3:07 p.m. local (5:07 p.m. ET / 2:07 p.m. PT)
Location: Dicks Sporting Goods Park (Commerce, CO)

Starting lineups:

USA (4-2-3-1, right to left): 21. Campbell (GK) — 23. Fox (Krueger, 46′), 4. Girma, 12. Davidson, 3. Nighswonger — 17. Coffey, 10. Horan — 22. Rodman, 7. Macario, 9. Swanson — 11. S. Smith.

S. Korea (3-4-3, right to left): 18. Kim JM (GK) — 2. Lee EY, 5. Go, 3. Hong — 23. Kang, 17. Lee YJ, 8. Cho, 22. Choo — 10. Ji, 13. Phair, 11. Choe.

USA vs. South Korea live updates, highlights, commentary

USA vs. South Korea stats

USA Stat (HT) S. Korea
8 Shots 2
6 Shots on target 0
66.5% Possession 33.5%
2 Corners 2
2 Fouls 5
0 Yellow cards 1

USA vs. South Korea: Second Half

Kickoff: They’re back under way in Commerce City for the second half! Emma Hayes has made the first substitution of her USWNT tenure, as Casey Krueger comes on at right-back for Emily Fox. Expect more changes on the hour mark as Hayes will want to get a look at a number of other players throughout the rest of this match and the upcoming 90 minutes on Tuesday as well.

HALFTIME: USA 2-0 South Korea

The U.S. began this pre-Olympics international friendly too slow for new head coach Emma Hayes, but after much protesting from the new USWNT head coach, they asserted their dominance in a big way scoring two goals in four minutes to take an emphatic lead at the break.

In the process, Mal Swanson scored her first USWNT goal since before her serious knee injury, Tierna Davidson bagged her first international goal since August of 2018, and Cat Macario picked up an assist on her first international start in over 700 days. A promising half with the Olympics just around six weeks away!

USA vs. South Korea: First Half

43rd min: The first yellow card of the match is shown to Choo Hyo-Joo after she is beaten by Mal Swanson in midfield and decides to grab the American star by her hip and hip drop her to the ground. A deserved caution for the 23-year-old international veteran.

38th min: GOAL! USA! AN UNBELIEVABLE HEADER FROM TIERNA DAVIDSON DOUBLES THE LEAD! What a stunning effort from Davidson as she meets a Cat Macario corner in the air and delivers a header which loops up over everyone and picks out the far top corner!

Two in four minutes for the United States before halftime!

37th min: Chance, USA! The pressure is starting to mount now as Lindsey Horan sees a second for the United States only kept out by a sensational save! It’s Sophia Smith once again who creates the chance, but it’s palmed away with a stunning one-handed stop from Jung-Mi Kim!

34th min: GOAL! USA! Mallory Swanson puts the USWNT a goal up in her home state of Colorado! The goal comes off a wonderful assist from fellow Colorado native Sophia Smith which springs a stellar off-ball run by Swanson!

With her back to goal, Smith gets the feed from Girma, turns to her right and sees Swanson cutting perpendicular across her face, feeding her before the finish.

27th min: Chance, USA! Sam Coffey fizzes a venomous effort just wide from outside the penalty area! Trinity Rodman starts the move with some razzle-dazzle on the right endline, and while her cross is redirected clear by a sliding South Korean defender, it falls to Coffey who rips a strong effort that curls agonizingly wide left, so close to the top-right corner!

22nd min: Lindsey Horan has the ball in the back of the net but the offside flag had gone up well before that. She was definitely leaning across as she was flicked on by Mal Swanson, so it was the right call from the assistant.

So-Hyun Cho is down receiving treatment in midfield, and she looks to be dealing with cramps. During the stoppage, the TNT broadcast has a great shot of Emma Hayes who is still pushing her squad to build faster up the pitch, telling her players to get the ball and “go.”

21st min: Emma Hayes is pushing her team to play faster from the touchline, unhappy with the slow pace of the buildup. She wants them to go much quicker. Slow progression was a hallmark of the struggles at times under Vlatko Andonovski.

13th min: Chance, USA! A pair of efforts by the hosts go begging! First Lindsey Horan bursts down the right touchline and fizzes a delicious cross along the face of goal but nobody’s there to meet it, which is disappointing for the United States attacking unit!

Then on the recycle Catarina Macario shoots from distance, but her right-footed effort from just outside the penalty area is saved by Jung-Mi Kim who probably could have held the ball without too much trouble but instead decided to slide awkwardly to deny the effort.

12th min: Mallory Swanson is fed clean through on goal by Sophia Smith but she’s miles offside, so far that the flag goes up immediately, as the assistant referee doesn’t even bother to wait. Smith’s ball was delivered way too late, as Swanson’s run needed her to pull the trigger much earlier.

10th min: South Korea have held their own so far, managing to keep the U.S. buildup largely out wide while evading the furious counter-press when they win the ball. No real big chances on goal for either side so far.

The TNT broadcast points out that Emma Hayes has been riding Jenna Nighswonger early for not staying wide enough, glued to the left touchline.

4th min: The U.S. women are deploying an increasingly popular tactical setup in the modern game, officially playing a 4-2-3-1 but seeing Jenna Nighswonger push extremely high down the left wing in what essentially becomes a 3-2-4-1 when in possession.

It means a lot of running for Nighswonger up and down the pitch as possession trades hands, and it also means the U.S. will counter-press their opponents very hard looking to win the ball back immediately after losing it in high areas.

Kickoff: They’re under way in Colorado as the U.S. women take on South Korea! The Emma Hayes era has been in motion for quite some time, but it’s now officially under way!

USA vs. South Korea: Pre-match commentary, analysis, more

15 mins to kickoff: USWNT coach Emma Hayes sounds like she’s been looking forward to her debut with the national team for quite some time now!

30 mins to kickoff: Speaking of inexperience, South Korea know something about that as they have a 16-year-old in the starting lineup. Casey Phair became the youngest-ever Women’s World Cup player last summer, and she’s been given a chance to start today up in the South Korea attack. She has yet to make her debut for NWSL club Angel City after signing in January, but she’ll be in the shop window today looking to make an impact!

45 mins to kickoff: It’s not just Alex Morgan who’s been left out amongst the USWNT veterans. Usually recently hired coaches like leaning on experienced players to usher them into a new tenure, but not Emma Hayes, who’s left the likes of Morgan, Rose Lavelle, Emily Sonnett, Crystal Dunn, and other veterans on the bench.

1 hour to kickoff: Alex Morgan’s spot in the Olympic squad is suddenly very, very up in the air. She is mired in the longest goal drought of her international career, without a goal for nine USWNT appearances totaling 635 minutes. She has struggled to adapt at almost 35 years old, becoming more of a hold-up outlet and chance creator than a true finisher.

In such a stacked USWNT attacking squad, will Catarina Macario or Sophia Smith be the options up front at the Olympics, with Morgan left off? It would be a bold call by Emma Hayes, but not one that’s without merit.

1 hour 15 mins to kick: The U.S. has released its starting lineup 15 minutes early, and there are some surprises. Jane Campbell starts in goal, while Sophia Smith and Cat Macario enter into the starting lineup with Alex Morgan and Jaedyn Shaw left on the bench. Rose Lavelle and Emily Sonnett are also left out, with Sam Coffey and Lindsey Horan in midfield.

It’s likely that Macario will play the No. 10, with Mal Swanson and Trinity Rodman alongside and Sophia Smith up front.

1 hour 30 mins to kick: Emma Hayes has had her fingerprints on the USWNT rebuild from the Women’s World Cup disappointment since being tabbed as head coach back in November, but now she has firm control over the side. Will we learn anything from today’s starting lineup?

Retired USWNT veteran Kelley O’Hara believes that whoever is named in today’s XI will be a “lock” to make the Olympic roster in a month’s time.

1 hour 45 mins to kick: With this match taking place outside Denver, new USWNT head coach Emma Hayes got a surprise visit from University of Colorado football coach Deion Sanders, who showed up to show his support for the national team.

Wherever the cameras are, Coach Prime is certain to follow, and he made sure to get his face time with the ladies in town. Maybe Hayes gave him some pointers about coaching a title-winning team while he’s on there!

2 hours to kickoff: Early in her first press conference as USWNT head coach, Emma Hayes made it clear that it will take some time getting to know the players and her new team. “I don’t do fast friends,” she declared, while stating that her first few days have left herself and the squad with some “tired brains”.

But man, is she excited. “This is something I’ve loved from the very first minute I came out of my mom’s tummy,” Hayes declared of coaching.

USA vs. South Korea pre-match facts, figures

  • Emma Hayes is the fourth woman to serve as full-time head coach of the U.S. women’s national team.
  • This is the 16th all-time meeting between the USWNT and South Korea, with the United States unbeaten across that series, winning 11 and drawing four. They have never played in a competitive match, as all 16 games have been friendlies.
  • Alex Morgan has not scored a national-team goal since February of 2023 in last year’s SheBelieves Cup. The nine-match goalless drought is the longest of her USWNT career.

USA vs. South Korea lineups, team news

It was a fascinating run-up until the first starting lineup for USWNT head coach Emma Hayes. Her fingerprints have been all over this team since her appointment, as interim boss Twila Kilgore communicated regularly with Hayes about matters such as these, but there are some real surprises here.

While Kilgore used the 4-3-3 system similar to that of former coach Vlatko Andonovski in the beginning of her time in charge, that has morphed into a 4-2-3-1 to allow in-form youngster Jaedyn Shaw to see the field amongst a crowded forward unit. Mallory Swanson is also in great form and should be in the lineup, while Catarina Macario may be more fit for a role off the bench as she has not quite recaptured her old brilliance since returning from a long ACL absence.

Interestingly, Crystal Dunn was listed on the roster as a forward despite playing most of her national-team career at full-back, so her potential deployment could be one to watch.

USA starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Campbell (GK) — Fox, Girma, Davidson, Nighswonger — Coffey, Horan — Rodman, Macario, Swanson — S. Smith.

USA subs (12): Murphy (GK), Kingsbury (GK), Staab, Krueger, Dunn, Albert, Yohannes, Sonnett, Hershfelt, Lavelle, Shaw, Morgan.

This South Korea roster is quite inexperienced given a few injuries to certain veteran players at key positions. Most notably, an injury to right-back Jang Sel-gi leaves the side thin at that wing-back position, as Jang usually takes the field out wide having collected 102 international caps before the age of 30.

They are also absent central defender Lim Seon-joo who tore her ACL back in February, leaving them without another player with over 100 international caps.

A name in the South Korea lineup some American fans may recognize is Casey Phair, who became the youngest player to ever appear in a Women’s World Cup match last summer at just 16 years, 26 days old. Phair signed with NWSL side Angel City this past offseason but hast yet to make her club debut, still a month away from her 17th birthday. She’s given a huge chance in the lineup today, starting along the South Korea attack.

S. Korea starting lineup (3-4-3): Kim JM (GK) — Lee EY, Go, Hong — Kang, Lee YJ, Cho, Choo — Ji, Phair, Choe.

S. Korea subs (12): Choi (GK), Kim KH (GK), Hong SY, Lee JE, Lee GM, Jeon, Kwon, Lee SH, Kim HR, Won, Chun, Moon.

How to watch USA vs. South Korea

  • Date: Saturday, June 1, 2024
  • Time: 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT
  • English:
    • TV channel: TNT
    • Streaming: Sling, Max
  • Spanish:
    • TV channel: Universo
    • Streaming: Fubo


The U.S. women’s friendly against South Korea will be televised in the United States on TNT, which can be streamed on Sling, who are offering $25 off the first month of service for new users. The match can also be streamed on Turner’s dedicated platform Max, formerly known as HBO Max.

There is also a televised Spanish-language broadcast on Universo, which can be streamed on Fubo, who are offering a free trial for new users.





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