KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City NWSL goalkeeper Adrianna Franch has been called up for the U.S. Women’s National Team’s upcoming exhibitions against the Korea Republic, which will also serve as a farewell tour for soccer legend Carli Lloyd.
Lloyd will play the penultimate game of her international soccer career against the Korea Republic on Thursday, Oct. 21, at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.
She has appeared in 314 career USWNT matches and scored 134 career goals, which trails only Abby Wambach (184) and Mia Hamm (158) in team history.
National team coach Vlatko Andonovski, who led the defunct FC Kansas City franchise to back-to-back NWSL championships in 2014 and 2015, announced the 21-player roster for the pair of friendlies.
Prior to the game in Kansas City, midfielder Lindsey Horan will be honored for her 100th career appearance with the U.S. women’s national team.
She is the 41st player to reach 100 caps, a milestone she reached on July 24 during the Olympics.
The roster features 17 players from the U.S. women’s national team’s bronze medal-winning squad from the Tokyo Olympics.
The game at Children’s Mercy Park also represents a homecoming of sorts for Franch, 30, who is a native of Salina, Kansas. She has appeared in nine games, including two shutouts, with the national team and was included on the 2019 World Cup and 2020 Olympics rosters.
The team will gather Oct. 18 for training camp in Kansas City, Kansas.
The camp comes on the heels of upheaval in the NWSL, which is the top domestic women’s soccer league in the U.S.
Commissioner Lisa Baird resigned earlier this month under fire for mishandling allegations of sexual misconduct by former North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley.
KC NWSL co-owner Angie Long is among the three-member committee that will lead the league’s search for a new commissioner as he seeks a “systemic transformation.”
"It's been a stressful few weeks for the players and staff and the well-being of our players has and always will come first," Andonovski said in a statement from USWNT. "We always want to keep improving and evolving as a team, win every game we play, and put on a good show for the fans, but during this camp we will really focus on a few basic things — continuing to support each other while getting to do what we love on the field, and of course, giving Carli Lloyd the send-off she deserves."
Forward Megan Rapinoe, who missed September’s friendlies with an injury, was selected for the upcoming roster. She has 61 career goals in 185 national-team appearances.
Alex Morgan and Tobin Heath are also among the stars announced for the two-game series.
Both games will be televised on TUDN, while the Oct. 21 match in Kansas City also will air on ESPN2 and the Oct. 26 match will air on FS1. Tickets for the game at Children’s Mercy Park are available through the U.S. Soccer website.
The U.S. is 10-0-3 all-time against the Korea Republic, commonly known as South Korea.
