The USA opens play against defending world champion Germany Friday
(kickoff: 3 am ET) at the Four Nations Tournament in Guangzhou, China.
Both teams will be without key players. U.S. coach Greg Ryan is without his strike
force of Abby Wambach and Kristine Lilly. Germany coach Silvia Neid didn't bring regulars Birgit Prinz, Kerstin Garefrekes, Sandra Minnert, Renate Lingor and Steffi Jones to China.
The most experienced U.S. players are Kate Markgraf (153 caps) and Briana Scurry (158 caps). Defender Cat Whitehill is at 99 caps and will likely join the century club Friday. She would become the 19th U.S. player to earn 100 caps.
The game will be played at the 80,000-seat Guangdong Olympic Stadium in Guangzhou, where it's been raining since the USA arrived. Guangzhou was
the site of the 1991 Women's World Cup final but won't be a venue at
the 2007 Women's World Cup. The 16-team tournament will be held Sept. 10-30 in five cities: Hangzhou, Shanghai, Tianjin and Wuhan in the eastern part of China and Chengdu in central China.
China faces England in the first game of the doubleheader. China will be coached by former U-20 coach Wang Haiming in the absence of head coach Ma Liangxing, who is ill. England will be led by former WUSA star Kelly Smith, one of eight players from the Arsenal Ladies in Coach Hope Powell's
squad.
Action will continue with doubleheaders Sunday (USA-England,
China-Germany)
and Tuesday (China-USA, Germany-England).
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