USWNT in talks to play Olympic tuneup at D.C.’s Audi Field

Negotiations between the U.S. Soccer Federation, the sport’s domestic governing body, and D.C. United, which owns Audi Field, have been ongoing and are nearing completion, said two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.

The women’s team’s visit would come about five weeks after the U.S. men play a pre-Copa América friendly against Colombia on June 8 at the Washington Commanders’ stadium in Landover. Ticket sales for that match have surpassed 35,000, organizers said.

The U.S. women last played at Audi Field in September 2022, a 2-1 victory over Nigeria in a friendly that drew 18,869 spectators. They have a 14-1-0 record in the D.C. area, the loss coming to France in March 2017 at RFK Stadium.

This summer’s match would culminate domestic Olympic preparations that began under interim coach Twila Kilgore last fall and will transition to Emma Hayes in June. Hayes will step into the role after completing her tenure with English club Chelsea.

Kilgore’s final two games before becoming Hayes’s assistant will come at the SheBelieves Cup: vs. Japan on Saturday in Atlanta, then vs. Canada or Brazil on Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio.

Hayes’s first games are against South Korea on June 1 in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colo., and June 4 in St. Paul, Minn. She will then finalize the 18-player roster, plus alternates.

The U.S. program has won the most Olympic gold medals and finished second once but lost in the quarterfinals in 2016 and in the semifinals in 2021. With games spread throughout France before culminating at Parc des Princes in Paris, the Americans will play Group B matches in the southern cities of Nice and Marseille (twice).