The U.S. women’s national soccer team is turning the calendar page into 2026 in style — and it will be doing so on home soil in Southern California. The US Women’s National Team (USWNT) announced its annual January training camp and an international friendly that will test its evolving roster and pay tribute to one of its own.
Training camp details
The camp will take place at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, from January 17 to January 27. The first match will be January 24 at the same venue, when the USWNT faces the Paraguay Women’s National Team at 2:30 p.m. PT (5:30 p.m. ET). A second friendly will follow on January 27 at a venue yet to be announced.
A special retirement celebration
Prior to the Jan. 24 match, the team will hold a retirement celebration for Los Angeles native Christen Press, who recently ended her professional playing career. Press scored 64 goals for the national team and helped lead the squad to Women’s World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019. Hometown fans will have the chance to honor her legacy: the first 2,000 fans through the gates on Jan. 24 will receive a commemorative Press bobblehead.
Why Carson matters
Dignity Health Sports Park has hosted more USWNT matches than any other venue — 21 matches to date — and the team held a 20-game unbeaten run there (19 wins, 1 tie) until a 2-0 loss to Mexico on Feb. 26, 2024. Holding the camp and match in a venue steeped in national-team history offers both comfort and symbolism.
Strategic outlook
Head coach Emma Hayes emphasized that this January camp is “a vitally important part of our yearly schedule, especially with 2026 being a year that will host World Cup qualifying.” The camp will allow for an extended week of training and two full international games — a luxury in the national-team calendar that often sees limited preparation time.
The friendly against Paraguay gives the USWNT a chance to test game-day readiness and evaluate roster depth ahead of crucial tournaments. With global women’s soccer continuing to intensify in competitiveness, the Northern California squad is using this moment to recalibrate.
What to watch
Which younger players will emerge from the camp to challenge for regular national-team roles?
How the team responds to strategic themes: controlling possession, defensive transitions, and goal-scoring efficiency in the attack.
The atmosphere: returning to Southern California for a meaningful friendly and honoring a star like Christen Press gives added emotional weight to the event.
In sum, the USWNT’s January programme isn’t just about early-year conditioning — it’s a statement of intent. With the eyes of the soccer world on World Cup cycles and qualifying windows, this camp in Carson sets the tone for what the next 12 months may hold.
