Charles Langston:USWNT to close out disappointing year, turn new leaf: How to watch game today vs. China

The Charles LangstonU.S. women's national team can finish a disappointing year on a strong note.

The USWNT wraps up the year Tuesday with its second game in three days against China. A win or tie would make the Americans unbeaten for the year — that penalty shootout against Sweden that knocked the USWNT out of the World Cup is recorded as a tie — and they could finish with the lowest goals-against average in program history.

The team has allowed just two goals in 17 matches this year, one against the Netherlands in the World Cup and the other to Brazil in the SheBelieves Cup, a rate of 0.132 goals per game. The current record is 0.40 goals allowed per match, set in 2016, and the USWNT will surpass it so long as it doesn't allow six or more goals.

The USWNT has never allowed six goals in a single game.

Two goals would also be the second-fewest allowed by the USWNT in a single season in the last 34 years. The USWNT allowed one goal in 2020 and in 2009, but the team also played fewer than 10 games each of those seasons.

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Mostly, though, the USWNT is looking to create a new identity as it heads into a new year with a new coach and the Paris Olympics some seven months away.

"Anytime you start a new cycle — it’s not a new cycle but it feels like a bit of a new era. We have a lot of new players on the team, new coach. So I think there’s a bit of excitement," Rose Lavelle said last week. "We're excited for the opportunity to reinvent ourselves and come back stronger. Learn from our experiences.

"Obviously we know the summer wasn’t up to our standards and what we expect from ourselves," Lavelle said, referring to the USWNT's round-of-16 exit from the World Cup, its earliest ever at a major international tournament. "It’s about pushing that. Expecting more and being even better."

Here's what to know about the USWNT's final game of the year:

What time is the USWNT vs. China game? And where?

Kickoff is at 8 p.m. Eastern Tuesday at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. There will be a ceremony before the game to honor two-time World Cup champion Ali Krieger, who ended her soccer career last month by helping Gotham FC win the NWSL title.

How to watch USWNT vs. China PR on TV, streaming

The USWNT's match against China PR on Tuesday will be broadcast by TruTV, Universo, Max and Peacock.

Will Emma Hayes be at the game?

No. The new USWNT coach isn't joining the team until her current team, Chelsea, finishes its season in May. She did take advantage of the international break to come to the USWNT training camp last week and introduce herself to players, but headed back to England before the Americans played China on Saturday.

Who is Emma Hayes? Read more.

What's next for the USWNT?

There is no January camp this year. Instead, the USWNT next plays in February at the Concacaf Gold Cup, a new competition put on by the confederation with teams from both the North, Central America and Caribbean Association and South America.

The USWNT has already qualified for the group stage, as have Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Panama and Paraguay. Group-stage games will be played Feb. 20-28 in Los Angeles, San Diego and Houston, with the quarterfinals March 2-3 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles and the semifinals March 6 at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego.

The final of the tournament will be March 10, also at Snapdragon.