2 NJ Natives On USA Team Seeking 5th Women’s World Cup

NEW JERSEY — Ready to cheer for the Stars and Stripes? The Women’s World Cup begins Thursday, and there are two New Jersey natives among the team of 23 United States soccer players looking to make history.

Alana Cook and Casey Murphy will represent New Jersey in this World Cup, as the No. 1-ranked United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) prepares to play in cities across Australia and New Zealand.

The United States has won the last two World Cups, and four overall. A fifth World Cup would be a women's record, and tie the Brazil men's team for most tournament wins in history. Both Cook and Murphy will be ready to help the USWNT keep that title from the 31 other teams in the tournament.

Defender Cook, raised partially in Far Hills, played for Pennington High School in Mercer County before going to Stanford. And goalkeeper Murphy, of Bridgewater, played for Bridgewater-Raritan High School before going on to Rutgers.

Both Cook and Murphy played in their first matches for the USA under Andonovski’s tenure according to stats from US Soccer. An international appearance is also referred to as a “cap.”

During the regular season, Murphy plays for North Carolina Courage and Cook for OL Reign in Seattle.

Trying for a three-peat

The Americans kick off their title defense on Friday night (Eastern time) with a match against Vietnam, which will be Saturday morning in Auckland, New Zealand.

The USWNT has won the World Cup four times: in 1991, 1999, 2015, and 2019. If they win this year in Oceania, it will be a fifth World Cup trophy – tying the Brazil men’s national team for the record.

Current head coach Vlatko Andonovski took over the team in 2019. For this year’s roster, Andonovski said he selected a mix of exciting young players, experienced veterans, and other squad members who are tailored to the unique challenges the United States will face.

This team has some familiar faces to USA soccer fans: Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Kelley O’Hara, and Julie Ertz all made the squad.

The USA is in Group E with the Netherlands (whom they knocked out of the World Cup in 2019), and competition debutants Vietnam and Portugal.

There are 8 groups, with four teams in each – the USA will play the other three Group E opponents, and then the top two performers will advance out of the group to the knockout stages. This is the first year the Women’s World Cup has 32 teams.

USA game info, how to watch

Here's some more info about this year's World Cup.

When and where does the World Cup take place?

• The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup takes place from July 20 to Aug. 20, 2023 across nine cities in New Zealand and Australia.

When are the USA group stage games?

• USA vs. Vietnam: July 21 at 9 p.m. Eastern
• USA vs. Netherlands: July 26 at 9 p.m. Eastern
• Portugal vs. USA: Aug. 1 at 3 a.m. Eastern

Where can I tune in?

FOX holds the English-language media rights in the United States for the Women’s World Cup. The network will broadcast 29 games on its main TV channel, and the remainder on FS1. Telemundo holds the Spanish-language rights, and Peacock will also stream matches in Spanish.