USWNT vs. Costa Rica: International friendly TV channel, live stream, lineups, preview

One more test. That's all there is before the meaningful football begins.

For the first time since that meeting in the 2022 Concacaf W Championship semifinals, the USWNT squares off against the 5th ranked team in CONCACAF, Costa Rica for the 2024 Send-Off Match presented by Coca-Cola in the nation's capital.

In an encouraging display at the Red Bull Arena against a persistent opponent in Pedro Lopez's Mexico, Emma Hayes' team showed flashes of what it is capable of going forward. By no means was it a perfect result. We're not going to just snap our fingers and see the Red, White, and Blue adopt all of what one of the world's winnest club managers of all time has in mind. This takes time, but compared to what occurred earlier this year against its rivals to the south, Saturday's performance was very much improved. Just look at the box score. The U.S. had more shots on target in the first 45 minutes than the group was able to manage in the previous encounter against Mexico in 90 minutes.

Defensively, the USWNT's defensive success continued. La Tri's press never really produced many quality chances. Lopez's team had 10 fewer shots total than in its win back in February vs. the U.S.

Even with just over 70 percent of the ball, we saw this team look more threatening in the direct, transitional moments, something that'll be interesting to see if it continues over in France. The goal came from a Rose Lavelle and Naomi Girma linkup in the U.S. half followed by an exquisite through ball by the Gotham midfielder to find Trinity Rodman in stride. Then, the magic of the front three took over.

Both Sophia Smith and Hayes agreed that the U.S. was a bit "impatient" or "rushed" when it came to the final product. The hope is that the decision-making up front continues to progress positively. Tuesday's opponent will likely deploy a low block, so seeing how the U.S. can break that down will be something to watch.

Costa Rica, while not as big of an opponent as Mexico, can cause issues for even CONCACAF's best. In the CONCACAF W Gold Cup quarterfinals, Las Ticas held Canada scoreless for 104 minutes before AS Roma's Evelyne Viens finally converted the breakthrough winner.

Led by Benito Rubido, Costa Rica downed Peru twice in its first international window following that quarterfinal run in the CONCACAF W Gold Cup. Cristel Sandí
, who was not called into the team for this friendly, and Atlas F.C. forward María Paula Salas combined to net four of the seven goals scored across 180 minutes vs. the South American outfit in April.

Most recently, Las Ticas fell in consecutive matches to CONMEBOL side Argentina down in South America in late May and early June by two goal scorelines.

The roster includes a large chunk of players who compete in the Costa Rican Women's Premier Division. Raquel Rodríguez, the Angel City FC midfielder is the most familiar name to U.S. soccer fans, but be sure to keep an eye out for Priscila Chinchilla of Russian club ZFK Zenit Saint Petersburg. The forward was the PFA Scotland Women's Players' Player of the Year
and scored both goals in her nation's only win in the CONCACAF W Gold Cup against El Salvador.

Predicted USWNT starting XI vs. Costa Rica (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Alyssa Naeher
Defenders: Tierna Davidson, Naomi Girma, Casey Krueger, Jenna Nighswonger
Midfielders: Lindsey Horan (C), Korbin Albert, Jaedyn Shaw
Forward: Sophia Smith, Crystal Dunn, Mallory Swanson

How to watch the USWNT vs. Costa Rica, a pre-Olympics international friendly

• Date: Tuesday, July 16
• Start Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
• Location: Audi Field (Washington, D.C)
• TV info/Live Stream: TNT, TruTV, Telemundo, Universo, Max, and Peacock

Prediction: USWNT 3-0 Costa Rica

The Stars and Stripes will now head to Nice, France to kick off their Olympic journey against African power Zambia on July 25. Kick off is slated for 3:00 p.m. ET.